أَحْسَنُهُمْ مَعْرِفَةً لِلَّهِ وَ أَعْلَمُهُمْ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ أَحْسَنُهُمْ عَقْلًا وَ أَعْقَلُهُمْ أَرْفَعُهُمْ دَرَجَةً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْآخِرَةِ.

is the best of them in knowledge of God; and the most knowing of them in the affair of God is the best of them in intellect; and the most intelligent of them is the highest of them in degree in this world and in the hereafter.

بيان: ضمير الجمع في قوله عليه السلام ليعقلوا راجع إلى العباد أي ما بعثهم إلا ليعقل العباد عن اللّٰه ما لا يعقلون إلا بتفهيم الأنبياء و الرسل عليهم السلام

Elucidation: the plural pronoun in his words, peace be upon him, "that they might understand", refers to the servants — that is, He did not send them save that the servants might understand from God what they would not understand except by the prophets' and the messengers' making them understand, peace be upon them.

يَا هِشَامُ مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ إِلَّا وَ مَلَكٌ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ فَلَا يَتَوَاضَعُ إِلَّا رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ وَ لَا يَتَعَاظَمُ إِلَّا وَضَعَهُ اللَّهُ يَا هِشَامُ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حُجَّتَيْنِ حُجَّةً ظَاهِرَةً وَ حُجَّةً بَاطِنَةً فَأَمَّا الظَّاهِرَةُ فَالرُّسُلُ وَ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَ الْأَئِمَّةُ عليهم السلام وَ أَمَّا الْبَاطِنَةُ فَالْعُقُولُ يَا هِشَامُ إِنَّ الْعَاقِلَ الَّذِي لَا يَشْغَلُ الْحَلَالُ شُكْرَهُ وَ لَا يَغْلِبُ الْحَرَامُ صَبْرَهُ يَا هِشَامُ مَنْ سَلَّطَ ثَلَاثاً عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ فَكَأَنَّمَا أَعَانَ هَوَاهُ عَلَى هَدْمِ عَقْلِهِ مَنْ أَظْلَمَ نُورُ فِكْرِهِ بِطُولِ أَمَلِهِ وَ مَحَا طَرَائِفَ حِكْمَتِهِ بِفُضُولِ كَلَامِهِ وَ أَطْفَأَ نُورَ عِبْرَتِهِ بِشَهَوَاتِ نَفْسِهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا أَعَانَ هَوَاهُ عَلَى هَدْمِ عَقْلِهِ وَ مَنْ هَدَمَ عَقْلَهُ أَفْسَدَ عَلَيْهِ دِينَهُ وَ دُنْيَاهُ.

Hisham, there is no servant but that an angel takes him by the forelock; so he does not humble himself but that God raises him, and does not magnify himself but that God lowers him. Hisham, God has two proofs against people: an outward proof and an inward proof. As for the outward, they are the messengers and the prophets and the Imams, peace be upon them; and as for the inward, they are the intellects. Hisham, the man of intellect is he whom the lawful does not distract from his gratitude and whom the forbidden does not overcome in his patience. Hisham, whoever sets three things in mastery over three has, as it were, aided his caprice to the demolishing of his intellect: whoever darkens the light of his thought by the length of his hope, and effaces the choice things of his wisdom by the excess of his speech, and quenches the light of his taking-lesson by the appetites of his soul — he has, as it were, aided his caprice to the demolishing of his intellect. And whoever demolishes his intellect has corrupted for himself his religion and his world.

بيان: نور مرفوع ١إذ لم تر أظلم متعديا و إضافته إلى الفكر إما بيانية أو لامية و السبب في ذلك أن بطول الأمل يقبل إلى الدنيا و لذاتها فيشغل عن التفكر و الطريف الأمر الجديد المستغرب الذي فيه نفاسة و محو الطرائف بالفضول إما لأنه إذا اشتغل بالفضول شغل عن الحكمة في زمان التكلم بالفضول أو لأنه لما سمع الناس منه الفضول لم يعبئوا بحكمته أو لأنه إذا اشتغل به محا اللّٰه عن قلبه الحكمة.

Elucidation: "light" is in the nominative (1), since azlama has not been seen as transitive; and its annexation to thought is either explicative or possessive. And the reason for that is that by the length of hope he turns to the world and its pleasures, so he is distracted from reflection. And al-tarif is the new, uncommon matter in which there is preciousness. And the effacing of the choice things by excess is either because when he occupies himself with excess he is distracted from wisdom during the time of speaking excess; or because, when people have heard excess from him, they pay no regard to his wisdom; or because when he occupies himself with it God effaces wisdom from his heart.

يَا هِشَامُ كَيْفَ يَزْكُو عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَمَلُكَ وَ أَنْتَ قَدْ شَغَلْتَ عَقْلَكَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّكَ وَ أَطَعْتَ هَوَاكَ عَلَى غَلَبَةِ عَقْلِكَ.

Hisham, how shall your deed grow pure with God while you have distracted your intellect from the affair of your Lord and obeyed your caprice against the mastery of your intellect?

بيان: الزكاة تكون بمعنى النمو و بمعنى الطهارة و هنا يحتملهما و الأمر مقابل النهي أو بمعنى مطلق الشأن أي الأمور المتعلقة به تعالى.

Elucidation: al-zakat comes in the sense of growth and in the sense of purity, and here it admits of both. And al-amr is the counterpart of prohibition, or in the sense of the matter generally — that is, the affairs pertaining to Him, exalted be He.

يَا هِشَامُ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْوَحْدَةِ عَلَامَةُ قُوَّةِ الْعَقْلِ فَمَنْ عَقَلَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى

Hisham, patience in solitude is a mark of the strength of the intellect. So whoever understands from God, blessed and exalted,