فِي أَعْيُنِكُمْ فَتَجْتَمِعُ وَ تَكْثُرُ فَتُحِيطُ بِكُمْ بِحَقٍّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنَّ النَّاسَ فِي الْحِكْمَةِ رَجُلَانِ فَرَجُلٌ أَتْقَنَهَا بِقَوْلِهِ وَ صَدَّقَهَا بِفِعْلِهِ وَ رَجُلٌ أَتْقَنَهَا بِقَوْلِهِ وَ ضَيَّعَهَا بِسُوءِ فِعْلِهِ فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَهُمَا فَطُوبَى ١لِلْعُلَمَاءِ بِالْفِعْلِ وَ وَيْلٌ ٢لِلْعُلَمَاءِ بِالْقَوْلِ يَا عَبِيدَ السَّوْءِ اتَّخِذُوا مَسَاجِدَ رَبِّكُمْ سُجُوناً لِأَجْسَادِكُمْ وَ جِبَاهِكُمْ وَ اجْعَلُوا قُلُوبَكُمْ بُيُوتاً لِلتَّقْوَى وَ لَا تَجْعَلُوا قُلُوبَكُمْ مَأْوًى لِلشَّهَوَاتِ إِنَّ أَجْزَعَكُمْ عِنْدَ الْبَلَاءِ لَأَشَدُّكُمْ حُبّاً لِلدُّنْيَا وَ إِنَّ أَصْبَرَكُمْ عَلَى الْبَلَاءِ لَأَزْهَدُكُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا يَا عَبِيدَ السَّوْءِ لَا تَكُونُوا شَبِيهاً بِالْحِدَاءِ الْخَاطِفَةِ وَ لَا بِالثَّعَالِبِ الْخَادِعَةِ وَ لَا بِالذِّئَابِ الْغَادِرَةِ وَ لَا بِالْأُسُدِ الْعَاتِيَةِ كَمَا تَفْعَلُ بالفراس [بِالْفَرَائِسِ كَذَلِكَ تَفْعَلُونَ بِالنَّاسِ فَرِيقاً تَخْطَفُونَ وَ فَرِيقاً تَخْدَعُونَ وَ فَرِيقاً تَقْدِرُونَ بِهِمْ بِحَقٍّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ لَا يُغْنِي عَنِ الْجَسَدِ أَنْ يَكُونَ ظَاهِرُهُ صَحِيحاً وَ بَاطِنُهُ فَاسِداً كَذَلِكَ لَا تُغْنِي أَجْسَادُكُمْ الَّتِي قَدْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ وَ قَدْ فَسَدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَ مَا يُغْنِي عَنْكُمْ أَنْ تُنَقُّوا جُلُودَكُمْ وَ قُلُوبُكُمْ دَنِسَةٌ لَا تَكُونُوا كَالْمُنْخُلِ يُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ الدَّقِيقَ الطَّيِّبَ وَ يُمْسِكُ النُّخَالَةَ كَذَلِكَ أَنْتُمْ تُخْرِجُونَ الْحِكْمَةَ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِكُمْ وَ يَبْقَى الْغِلُّ ٣فِي صُدُورِكُمْ يَا عَبِيدَ الدُّنْيَا إِنَّمَا مَثَلُكُمْ مَثَلُ السِّرَاجِ يُضِي ءُ لِلنَّاسِ وَ يُحْرِقُ نَفْسَهُ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ زَاحِمُوا الْعُلَمَاءَ فِي مَجَالِسِهِمْ وَ لَوْ جُثُوّاً عَلَى الرُّكَبِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْقُلُوبَ الْمَيْتَةَ بِنُورِ الْحِكْمَةِ كَمَا يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ الْمَيْتَةَ بِوَابِلِ الْمَطَرِ.

in your eyes, so they gather and become many and encompass you. Truly I say to you: people in respect of wisdom are two men. A man who has made it firm by his speech and confirmed it by his deed; and a man who has made it firm by his speech and squandered it by the badness of his deed. And how far apart are the two! So blessed (1) are the learned in deed, and woe (2) to the learned in speech. O evil servants, take the mosques of your Lord as prisons for your bodies and your brows; and make your hearts houses for God-fearing, and do not make your hearts a refuge for appetites. The most anxious of you at affliction is the strongest of you in love of this world; and the most patient of you in affliction is the most abstinent of you in this world. O evil servants, do not be like the snatching kites, nor like the deceiving foxes, nor like the treacherous wolves, nor like the insolent lions. As they do with their prey, so you do with people: a party you snatch, and a party you deceive, and a party you overpower. Truly I say to you: it does not avail the body that its outward be sound and its inward corrupt. Likewise your bodies, which have pleased you, do not avail while your hearts are corrupt. And what avails you that you cleanse your skins while your hearts are filthy? Do not be like the sieve, from which the good flour comes out while it holds back the bran. Likewise you bring wisdom out of your mouths while rancour (3) remains in your breasts. O servants of this world, your likeness is only the likeness of the lamp: it gives light to people and burns itself. O Children of Israel, press close to the learned in their gatherings, even upon your knees; for God revives dead hearts by the light of wisdom as He revives the dead earth by the heavy rain.

بيان: عبيد السوء بالفتح و قد يضم السين و منهم من منع الضم و هو من قبيل إضافة الموصوف إلى الصفة كقولهم حاتم الجود و مئونة مراقيها أي شدة الارتقاء عليها و مرافقتها من الرفق بمعنى اللطف و النفع و لعله كان مرافقها على صيغة الجمع و الضمير راجع إلى الثمر أو النخلة قوله ما تفضون إليه من قولهم أفضى إليه أي وصل و نورها بضم النون و فتحها و القمح بالفتح البر و يهنئكم مهموزا بفتح

Elucidation: 'abid al-saw', with fatha — and the sin is sometimes given damma, though some have forbidden the damma — and it is of the sort of the annexation of the qualified to the quality, like their saying hatim al-jud. And "the trouble of climbing it" — that is, the hardship of ascending it. And "its benefits", from al-rifq in the sense of kindness and profit; and perhaps it was marafiquha in the plural form, and the pronoun refers to the fruit or to the palm-tree. His words "what you will come to" — from their saying afda ilayhi, that is, he reached. And "its light", with damma on the nun and with fatha. And al-qamh, with fatha, is wheat. And yahna'ukum, with hamza, with fatha on