THE HABIT* العادَةُ

[Jamal Almousawi]

 

 

العادَةُ The Habit 1ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): العادَةُ طَبعٌ ثانٍ. 1– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Habit is second nature.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 702] 2ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): لِلعادَةِ عَلى كُلِّ إنسانٍ سُلطانٌ. 2– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘A habit holds every man under its authority.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 7327] 3ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): غَيرُ مُدرِكِ الدَّرَجاتِ مَن أطاعَ العاداتِ. 3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He who obeys habits does not attain high levels.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6409] 4ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): لِسانُكَ يَستَدعيكَ ما عَوَّدتَهَ، ونَفسُكَ تَقتَضيكَ ما ألِفتَهُ. 4– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Your tongue will urge you to whatever you have accustomed it [to say], and your inner self will require you to do whatever you have made it fond of.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 7634] 5ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): لا تُسرِعَنَّ إلَى الغَضَبِ فيَتَسَلَّطَ عَلَيكَ بِالعادَةِ . 5– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Do not hasten to resort to anger lest it prevail over you by becoming a habit.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10288] 6ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ـ في وَصِيَّتِه لاِبنِه الحَسَنِ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ـ: إنَّما قَلبُ الحَدَثِ كالأرضِ الخالِيَةِ ما اُلقِيَ فيها مِن شَيءٍ قَبِلَتهُ، فبادَرتُكَ بِالأدَبِ قَبلَ أن يَقسُوَ قَلبُكَ، ويَشتَغِلَ لُبُّكَ. 6– Imam Ali (AS) said in his will to his son, al-Hasan (AS), ‘Verily the heart of a young person is like the untilled earth, which accepts whatever is placed therein. I, therefore, urge you to hasten to self-discipline before your heart hardens, and your mind becomes preoccupied.’ [Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 31] 7ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ـ لَمّا اُتِيَ بِفالوذَجٍ فوُضِعَ قُدّامَهُ ـ: إنَّكَ طَيِّبُ الرّيحِ حَسَنُ اللَّونِ طَيِّبُ الطَّعمِ، ولكن أكرَهُ أن اُعَوِّدَ نَفسي ما لَم تَعتَدْ . 7– Imam Ali (AS), was once offered a sweetmeat called faludhaj, so he placed it in front of him, saying, ‘Verily you have a fragrant smell, are of a beautiful colour, and taste delicious, but I hate to habituate my soul [to anything] since it has not yet formed any habits.’ [Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 36549] 8ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): عَوِّدْ نَفسَكَ فِعلَ المَكارِمِ، وتَحَمَّلْ أعباءَ المَغارِمِ، تَشرُفْ نَفسُكَ، وتُعمَرْ آخِرَتُكَ، ويَكثُرْ حامِدوكَ. 8– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Habituate yourself to performing noble actions and to bear the burdensome consequences [of your actions], and your soul will be elevated as a result, your Hereafter will flourish, and your admirers will increase.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6232] 9ـ الإمامُ الحسنُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): العاداتُ قاهِراتٌ، فَمَنِ اعتادَ شَيئا في سِرِّهِ وخَلَواتِهِ، فَضَحَهُ في عَلانِيَتِهِ وعِندَ المَلاَءِ. 9– Imam al-Hasan (AS) said, ‘Habits are overpowering, for he who forms a habit to something in secret and during his free times is plagued by them in public and when occupied.’ [Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 2, p. 113] غَلَبَةُ العادَةِ Overcoming the Habit 10ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): الفَضيلَةُ غَلَبَةُ العادَةِ. 10– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Virtue is overcoming one’s habit.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 357] 11ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): أفضَلُ العِبادَةِ غَلَبَةُ العادَةِ. 12– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The best of worship is to overcome one’s habit.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2873] 12ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): بِغَلَبَةِ العاداتِ الوُصولُ إلى أشرَفِ المَقاماتِ . 13– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘[Only] Through overcoming one’s habits are the highest of stations attained.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4300] 13ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): غَيِّروا العاداتِ تَسهُلْ عَلَيكُمُ الطّاعاتُ . 14– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Change your habits and your acts of obedience will become easier for you.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6405] 14ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): ذَلِّلوا أنفُسَكُم بِتَركِ العاداتِ، وَقودوها إلى فِعلِ الطّاعاتِ، وحَمِّلوها أعباءَ المَغارِمِ، وحَلُّوها بِفِعلِ المَكارِمِ، وصُونوها عَن دَنَسِ المَآثِمِ . 15– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Subjugate your souls to abandon their habits, drive them to perform acts of obedience, make them bear the burdensome consequences of their actions, adorn them with the performance of noble acts, and protect them against the pollution of sins.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5199] صُعوبَةُ نَقلِ العاداتِ The Difficulty of Removing a Habit 15ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): أصعَبُ السِّياساتِ نَقلُ العاداتِ . 16– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The most difficult of things to manage is the removal of habits.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2969] 16ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): كُلُّ شَيءٍ يُستَطاعُ، إلّا نَقلَ الطِّباعِ. 17– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Everything is achievable, except the removal of an ingrained habit.’ [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6906] 17ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): أيُّها النّاسُ، تَوَلَّوا مِن أنفُسِكُم تَأديبَها، وَاعدِلوا بِها عَن ضَرَاوَةِ عاداتِها. 18– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘O people, take upon yourselves your own training, and turn away from the voracious dictates of your habits.’ [Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 359]