اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون
اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
The nineteenth sign of the pious:
قُرَّةُ عَینِهِ فِیمَا لَا یزُولُ وَ زَهَادَتُهُ فِیمَا لَا یبْقَی
His joy is in eternal things, and his reluctance is in things that are unstable.
«قُرَّةُ عين» is something that brings joy, vitality and happiness to human beings. In the story of Moses’ infancy in Pharaoh’s palace, holy Quran says:
وَ قالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَ لَكَ (قصص ۹)
Pharaoh’s wife said, “An eye’s delight for me and for you.
And God says about his return to his mother:
فَرَدَدْنَاهُ إِلَى أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ (قصص ۱۳)
Thus We returned him to his mother, that she may be comforted, and not grieve.
Amir al-Mu’minin states that one of the signs of the pious is that something causes happiness for them, which there is no annihilation in it, and they basically do not let their hearths to what is not eternal. This is a sign of the high degrees of rationality, wisdom and foresight of the pious that they use their valuable and expensive gift of life in the way of gaining the lasting and the immortals.
The pious people are not deceived by the appearance of mortal things and are not happy with them, and do not devote the limited time of their lives to these matters. Instead, learning what is lasting brings joy and brightness to their eyes, and they excel in gaining it.
What is immortal?
The Holy Quran says :
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْها فانٍ * وَ يَبْقى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلالِ وَ الْإِكْرامِ (الرحمن(۲۶-۲۷
Everyone upon it is perishing. But will remain the Presence of your Lord, Full of Majesty and Splendor.
وَ لا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلهاً آخَرَ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هالِكٌ إِلاَّ وَجْهَهُ (قصص:۸۸
And do not invoke with God any other god. There is no god but He. All things perish, except His presence. His is the judgment, and to Him you will be returned.
Therefore, survival and immortality are limited to God Almighty, and everything other than Him is mortal, and therefore the happiness of the pious and the light of their hearts is God Almighty.
A group of pious people use the moments of their lives only to get closer to God and do their best to please Him. This is what Amir al-muminin says:
مِنْ نَارِكَ وَ لَا طَمَعاً فِي جَنَّتِكَ وَ لَكِنْ رَأَيْتُكَ أَهْلًا لِلْعِبَادَةِ فَعَبَدْتُكَ؛ (نهج البلاغه ص ۲۴۸)
(God!) I did not worship you for fear of fire and longing for your paradise, but I found you worthy of worship, so I worshiped you.
Their knowledge of God Almighty has reached such a level that they only see him in the world. The attributes of God have manifested in them so much that they have involuntarily fallen in love with him. They are unique in the worship of God and in this praise they seek nothing but the beloved carpenter. Neither the fear of punishment and not the greed for the blessings and rewards of God have diverted their attention from God, and they are immersed in the love of God.
There is another group of pious people who, although they are not like the first group and are far away from them in approaching God, but in any case, they have cut off their attention from this world and its deceptive manifestations and have placed the heart in the bondage of the Hereafter and its eternal blessings. They have learned well that:
وَ الْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَ أَبْقى (اعلی ۱۷)
Though the Hereafter is better, and more lasting.
This group of the pious also have their eyes fixed on the immortals and do not spend theire life’s on whatever is not stable, but it is the fear of God’s punishment and divine wrath or the longing for paradise and the blessings of God that has made them seek the pleasure of God. By acquiring righteous deeds and abandoning the things that God hates, they will get rid of the wrath of God Almighty and achieve paradise and the reward of the Hereafter.
They know very well that the world, with all its patterns and ostentation, is very fleeting and unstable, and attaching to it will lead to eternal losses. The world is so fleeting that the Almighty God has interpreted it as a blossom, because the life of a blossom is very short despite its beauty, freshness and fragrance. The Holy Quran says:
وَ لا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلى ما مَتَّعْنا بِهِ أَزْواجاً مِنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَياةِ الدُّنْيا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَ رِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَ أَبْقى(طه ۱۳۱)
And do not extend your glance towards what We have given some classes of them to enjoy—the splendor of the life of this world—that We may test them thereby. Your Lord’s provision is better, and more lasting.
In any case, the pious have cut their feelings for the world and are attached to eternal life, and have made this verse their motto:
وَ ما هذِهِ الْحَياةُ الدُّنْيا إِلاَّ لَهْوٌ وَ لَعِبٌ وَ إِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوانُ لَوْ كانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ؛(عنکبوت ۶۴)
The life of this world is nothing but diversion and play, and the Home of the Hereafter is the Life, if they only knew.