In the name of Allah
The All compassionate, the All-Merciful
16th Jamadial-Awwal 1447 (7th November 2025)
Islamic Universal Association
20 Penzance Place, Holland Park
London, W11 4 PG
Imam Ali (a.s.)’s advice in the Nahjal-Balagha – Part 108
Over the past few weeks I have analyzed the first two parts of Imam Ali (a.s.)’s Sermon 114, namely, the benefits of piety and the characteristics of a pious individual. However, today I will discuss the valuable lessons to be learnt from this transient and changing world and how death brings about an end to worldly and frivolous desires. I quote below a relevant extract from the said sermon:
“This world is a place of destruction, tribulations, changes and lessons. As for destruction, its bow is in readiness, its dart does not go amiss and its wounds does not heal; it afflicts the living with death, the healthy with ailments and the protected with distress. It is an eater who is not satisfied and a drinker whose thirst is never quenched. As for tribulation, a man collects what he does not eat and builds where he does not live. Then he goes to Allah without carrying his wealth or shifting the building.”
As for its changes, you see a pitiable man becoming enviable and an enviable man becoming pitiable. This is because wealth has gone and misfortune has taken over. As for its lessons, a man almost realizes his desires when suddenly death puts an end to them; then the desires are not achieved nor are the desirer spared. Glory to Allah, how deceitful is its pleasures, how thirst-rousing are its quenching and how sunny are its shades. That which approaches (i.e. death) cannot be sent back; he who goes away does not return. Glory to Allah, how near is the living to the dead because he will meet him soon and how far is the dead from the living because he has gone away from him.”
The above passages serve as a warning to focus less on the transient pleasures of the world and more on the certainty of death and the spiritual realm. The Imam describes the deceptive and fleeting nature of worldly pleasures and the inevitability of death, which can bring about a sudden loss of desires. It also contrasts the transient nature of wealth and misfortune, noting how fortune can quickly reverse someone’s situation.
Key points:
- The deceptive pleasures of the world are temporary and ultimately unsatisfying, like a thirst-quenching drink that leaves one even more thirsty.
- Death is presented here as an approaching reality that cuts short the realization of desires and offers no return for the deceased.
- A man’s fortunes can change suddenly, with wealth disappearing and misfortune taking its place, turning the enviable into the pitiable.
- The living will soon meet the dead, yet they are at present separated from them because they have departed from this world and cannot return.
- Death is a finality and the Imam highlights the closeness of the living to the dead because they will soon join them.
However I would like to add that death is not considered a change in fortune but rather a divine preordained event, a transition from the worldly life to the afterlife, and a test of one’s faith and deeds. Life is a trial of good and evil, and death signifies the return to Allah (s.w.t.) for accountability, making it a natural and expected part of His plan rather than a mere change of fortune. To be continued
Second Sermon
Life of Fatima (a.s.) – Part 1
The remarkable life of Fatima (a.s.) was short and yet it contained many valuable lessons for the Islamic nation, in particular for Muslim women. She was praised by Allah (s.w.t) in the Holy Quran and by her father, the Holy Prophet (s.a.) and the Ahlul Bait. I will discuss her impeccable life in the following order:
- Her birth and the period until the death of her mother, Khadija (a.s.).
- The period after the death of her mother and until her migration to Medina (Hijrat).
- Her life in Medina until the death of her father, the Holy Prophet (s.a.).
- The final juncture of her life
Fatima (a.s.) was born on the 20th of Jamadial-Thani, five years after the initiation of the Islamic mission by her father, in Mecca. The house of the Holy Prophet (s.a.) and Khadija was illuminated by her birth and there are several traditions relating to this auspicious event. It has been reported in Bahjatul-Qalb Al-Mustafa P: 142 that Imam Ali Ibne Al-Hussain (a.s.) has said that she was born during a very important era of Islam and during exceptional circumstances. Moreover, it has been reported by many scholars that Allah (s.w.t.) had revealed to the Holy Prophet (s.a.) that he would be blessed in abundance through the birth of his daughter, Fatima (a.s.) and he was asked to prepare special food and prayer for her. According to a tradition, Gabriel revealed to the Holy Prophet (s.a.) that Surah Kauthar was specially revealed for this divine occasion, which reads: “Verily, we have granted you (O Muhammad) Al-Kauthar (the abundance). So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice. Verily your enemy shall be the one who is cut off (in his progeny).”
The reason for the revelation of this Surah is that one day one of the polytheists’ leaders, Aas ibne Wa’el, ridiculed the Holy Prophet (s.a.) and referred to him as an ‘abtar’ (an animal whose tail is cut-off) in the presence of his followers, implying that he did not have a son or an heir. The Holy Prophet (s.a.)’s two sons, Qasim and Taher (Abdullah) through his wife, Khadija (a.s.), had died and he was very upset by this remark. To console the Holy Prophet (s.a.), this Surah was revealed with glad tidings that the highest degree of Allah (s.w.t.)’s grace would be bestowed upon him. His enemies, on the other hand, happily thought that with the demise of the Holy Prophet (s.a.) his mission would cease to exist, as he had no son or an heir. Hence, the revelation of this Surah was an answer to them that Islam and the Holy Quran would continue forever.
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