Verily it behoves you to prepare for the matter about the...
Verily it behoves you to prepare for the matter about the timing of whose sudden occurrence you have no knowledge of before it overcomes you. 13ـ إنَّ أمْراً لاتَعْلَمُ مَتى يَفْجَأُكَ يَنْبَغي أنْ تَسْتَعِدَّ لَهُ قَبْلَ أنْ يَغْشاكَ.
Verily this matter has not started with you nor will it end with you, for this companion of yours travels, so consider him to have gone on one of his travels, and if he comes back to you [then so be it], otherwise you are [all] going towards him [and will meet him]. 14ـ إنَّ هذا الأمْرَ لَيْسَ بِكُمْ بَدَأَ، ولا إلَيْكُمُ انْتَهى، وقَدْ كانَ صاحِبُكُمْ هذا يُسافِرُ، فَعُدُّوهُ في بَعْضِ سَفَراتِهِ، فَإنْ قَدِمَ عَلَيْكُمْ، وإلاّ قَدِمْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ.
Verily the one who approaches, bringing with him [either everlasting] felicity or wretchedness, is deserving of the best preparation. 15ـ إنَّ قادِماً يَقْدَمُ بِالفَوْزِ، أوِ الشِّقْوَةِ لَمُسْتَحِقٌّ لأفْضَلِ العُدَّةِ. Indeed the absent one who is driven forward by the [succession of the] new night and day, is indeed worthy of a quick return. 16ـ إنَّ غائِباً يَحْدُوهُ الجَديدانِ اَللَّيْلُ والنَّهارُ، لَحَرِيٌّ بِسُرْعَةِ الأوْبَةِ.
Verily in front of you there is a path that covers a long distance, and severe hardships, and you cannot do without good exploration and acquiring the necessary amount of provisions. 17ـ إنَّ أمامَكَ طَريقاً ذا مَسافَة بَعيدَة، ومَشَقَّة شَديدَة، ولاغِنى بِكَ مِنْ حُسْنِ الاِرْتيادِ، وقَدْرِ بَلاغِكَ مِنَ الزّادِ.
Verily our statement: “Indeed we belong to Allah” is an affirmation we make to ourselves that we are owned and our statement: “Indeed we will return to Him” is an affirmation to ourselves that we will die. 18ـ إنَّ قَوْلَنا «إنّا لِلّهِ » إقْرارٌ عَلى أنْفُسِنا بِالمِلْكِ، وقَوْلَنا « إنّا إلَيْهِ راجِعُونَ » إقْرارٌ عَلى أنْفُسِنا بِالهُلْكِ.
Verily before you is an arduous mountain-pass [that is difficult to traverse] where the one with a light burden will be in a better condition than the one with a heavy burden and the one who has to go through it slowly will be worse off than the one who can pass through swiftly. Indeed its place of descent for you inevitably leads either to Paradise or hellfire.
19ـ إنَّ أمامَكَ عَقَبَةً كَؤُوداً، المُخِفُّ فيها أحْسَنُ حالاً مِنَ المُثْقِلِ، وَالمُبْطِيُ عَلَيْها أقْبَحُ أمْراً مِنَ المُسْرِعِ، إنَّ مَهْبِطَها بِكَ لامَحالَةَ عَلى جَنَّة أوْ نار. Verily this death is a swift seeker - neither does the steadfast escape it nor does the fleer frustrate it.
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