Appreciate five blessings

From Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) advices to Abuzar: appreciate five blessings

Appreciate five blessings before you lose them

Meanwhile, giving you an introduction, I want to mention five blessings from God’s blessings that the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has said which are among the blessings that there isn’t any replacement for them, if we act inattentively and unmindfully toward those blessings and lose them, unless human instead of their spending, with awareness, earn a competent thing that can fill these blessings’ empty space for him constantly.

Some parts of Abuzar’s life, the addressee of this holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) quotation

The introduction of this important, shiny and stimulator quotation is this that Abuzar-e-Gaffari who had been living at the time of holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was one of the people who believed truthfully and honestly to the God, hereafter, holy Quran, prophecy and all previous prophet and the leadership of Ahl-e-Beyt (God bless them), he was a person who kept his faith by tolerance, effort and morality until the end of his lifetime. I want to mention some short parts of this great man’s lifetime which are informative for our life.

Abuzar’s absolute loyalty toward the holy Prophet (peace be upon him)

There was supposed to occur a war in the hottest days of summer. The distance between Medina and the battle field was very much. In the way of battle field, occasionally the fighters were leaving the corps with their horses and luggage and coming back. When the holy Prophet was informed about those fighters he said “they would have stayed with us if there were be any blessing by their staying.” if they have blessing, they will stay us and if they haven’t any blessing so they will not stay with us.

This sentence is a very great sentence. The person who has blessing will stay with messengers, he will stay with God and will stay with Ahl-e-Beyt (God bless them). But the person who hasn’t any blessing in spite of his coming but he will leave and depart the way and come back, that of course this returning is actually will bring about God’s anger and hell’s fire. One of the fighters in that hot day whose departure’s news was given to the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was Abuzar Gaffari and the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) repeated this answer “if there is any blessing in Abuzar’s staying so he will stay with us, and if there isn’t any blessing in Abuzar staying, he will not stay with us.”

About the afternoon, in a place of Islam’s corps way to the battle field, the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered to the corps to stop for taking rest because of heat intensity and fighters’ severe tiredness and exhaustion and commanded them to set up the tents to stay there for a while so that they can refresh themselves and prepare themselves to resume their way.

When the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting to take a rest in his tent, stood up and put the curtain’s of the tent aside in order to entering cold air which blows at the end of the afternoons. While he was looking the desert he said to his fighters “this dark things which can be seen and seems to be on foot is Abuzar”, go and help him and bring him to corps location. The holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) fighter ran toward that darkness and saw that Abuzar is panting and coming on foot carrying a leather bottle on his shoulder which was full of water.

 The Abuzar’s condition wasn’t good and he was about to be die. The holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) fighter said “where is your horse, Abuzar?” he said “he perished, my horse wasn’t able to tolerate to continue the way and died because of heat intensity and thirstiness and tiredness and I was looking for water and found a puddle which had water then I filled this leather bottle with water and put it on my shoulder and began to walk on foot.” The holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) fighters brought Abuzar beside holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) tent.

How much loyalty? One of the first features is faith and loyalty. Loyalty to God, loyalty to holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and loyalty to Aeme-y-Atehar (God bless them). The power of loyalty should be so great that any biter or sweat event can’t destroy mankind’s loyalty and make him disloyal. Our loyalty to God and to messengers and to Aeme-y-Atehar (God bless them) should be so strong that any biter and sweat event can’t change it to disloyalty and discourage us in this way. We should be discourage but not from God and holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and Aeme-y-Atehar (God bless them).

As soon as Abuzar arrived to the holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) tent he fell down and collapsed because of thirstiness, tiredness and heat intensity. The holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said “restore to him consciousness” but they hadn’t any water and the only water was the water which Abuzar had brought it in his leather bottle. The holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said “open the leather bottle’s door and pour his water in his throat”

In this time Abuzar opened his eyes and said whiles his eyes were full of tear “I brought this water on foot to here for holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and now if holy Prophet (peace be upon him) doesn’t drink this water, don’t pour this water in my mouth”. This was just a short part of his life that we should know it as complete loyalty to magnificence of the holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) dignity.

Abuzar’s fair trade

This is an important part of his life even more important than previous one. Abuzar got poor and indigent in the time of Osman’s government and his worldly life wasn’t good. Amir Kabir wrote this poem on the wall of Kashan Fin bathroom when they had cut his hand’s vessel. He put his hand in his blood and wrote on the wall of that Fin bath room with his finger, this poem was there about fifty or sixty years ago:

“You can pull it even with a fiber if God wants / and if he doesn’t want, you can’t pull it even the chains”

If the kind God wants to stop a work and wants to examine mankind at this point, so that make clear our loyalty to him, mankind’s work won’t be complete. To whomever he goes even with using his credit and reputation and begging to them, his work won’t be done. As there is a saying, his work locks and its key also lose and his work won’t be done in any case. But when God wants his work to be done as we said before “You can pull it even with a fiber if God wants” all doors will open to him, and all world and its people will beg him that “we want to help you.” he says that “I’m filling and I don’t need to anything”, but will they say “accept this thing from us and don’t deprive us”.

This didn’t happen for Abuzar and his work didn’t complete, but this not coming and finishing Abuzar’s work didn’t discourage him from God in any way. As Imam Hussein said “I praise you, whether I am in welfare or in poverty”[1] Osman said to his tow servants “take this two hundred dinar (unit of money) and give it to Abuzar and try so that he accept it” this is really interesting, it means he knew that Abuzar don’t accept every money, so he said “try so that he accept it” and maybe he has told them if Abuzar accept this money I’ll emancipate you. Osman’s servants went and knocked Abuzar’s house door. Abuzar opened the door; we are talking about a man who hasn’t any money even for buying bread. He invited servant to come in his home. Bravo to Abuzar. Abuzar said “what is happen?” one of the servants opened his mouth and said with bass tone “I have brought two hundred dinar money for you.”

 The servant thought if he says that he has brought two hundred dinar with bass tone, he can tempt Abuzar and he will accept that money immediately. Abuzar “said what is this money?” one of the servant answered “Osman has sent this money for you” Abuzar said “has also Osman given this amount of money to any other Muslim?” they said “no” Abuzar said “I’m a Muslim too the things which is for other, it would be for mine too” they said that “Osman says this is my lawful money and swear to God who is unique that I haven’t mix it with any unlawful money and I has sent it lawfully for you .”

About one thousand four hundred years ago, two hundred dinar was a great deal of money. Abuzar was able to buy a big, nice and well founded house in the uptown of Medina and also was able to start a desirable business for himself with the rest of that money and as we say he doesn’t need to embarrass from his wife and child anymore.

This part of story is more enjoyable and interesting when Abuzar said to servants “I don’t need to this money because today I’m among the wealthy people.” The servants who wanted to give that dinar to Abuzar in any case and make him to accept it so that Osman will emancipate them said “Abuzar, we praise God to keeps you healthy and removes problems from your work, we can’t see anything in your home whether a little or more that you can use them.” Abuzar said “no, I have an outworn bread under this cloth that has remain from some days before.”

Abuzar knew that Osman’s words and swear are lie and he knew that how he dealt with Muslim’s Public funds, so thought that if he accept this money, supposing that these two servant will emancipate, but he will go under a nation’s debt and should stand and answer all people in hereafter for the usage of this money and he knew that he wouldn’t have any answer in that day. That’s why he didn’t want to accept this money.

I want to say to the brothers who are in government that our work by using people money is much easier than your work for using a nation’s money in judgment day. We ten million people spend one person’s money and in judgment day we ten million people should answer to one person, then maybe we can satisfy him, maybe we have to beg him or cry there and ask him to forgive us and he will say that I forgive you or perhaps he will say that I don’t forgive you and afterwards we will entangle and at the end God will say to that person “have you any sin in your dossier?” as our Aeme-y-Atehar (God bless them) have said, the lender will say “ yes I have.” God will say to him “if you forgive these ten million servants, I will forgive your all sins.” Probably our problem will solve in this way.

 But you who are in government, if Satan will tempt you and your self will provoke you or your life or wife and child allure you to unlawfully pick up a 10 toman form public funds , the amount which we can’t buy even a cucumber with it, then you will entangle and you have to answer to seventy million people. Abuzar had understood the religious very well. We also should live with satisfactory to our lawful earnings in this world’s two days and believe these words. The mankind can alter his life by believing these words. If we don’t believe them, being religious won’t have any profit for us, so we have to believe them, the belief is a great asset.

In one of the Ramadan month’s night, I came down from rostrum and sat beside the rostrum after my speech. The youth had some question and discussion with me and after asking them they went. A person came and told me sir “I have a private discussion with you.” I said I come, let’s go sitting in that corner of salon and said that no one come there so that he can tell me whatever he wants without any tension and disturbance. Then we went along with him and sat in that corner, while he was crying. I said “what happen?” he said “I saw that here is crowded tonight when I was crossing here. Because I’m a thief, I came here to see that whether I can steal shoes, rug and any valuable thing in this crowded place or not? So I came here and sat beside the door, and then you sat on the rostrum. I accepted your tonight speech.” Afterward he asked me “have you heard about the fire which caught on a month ago?” I said “no I haven’t heard this news.” That thief said “that passage which caught on fire, after that event, I stole two valuable carpets from a store using from that chaos. Those carpets are really valuable, the carpets cost is more than one million toman” he told me this about seven or eight years ago. Then he said “And I don’t know where that store address is now. I didn’t sell those two carpets still. I have two questions now, one of them is what should I do about my previous thievery so that my sins will remove? The other question is that will you give back those carpets if I want to give them back to his owner? Because I want the seller doesn’t identify me.” I said “it’s okay.” Then he said “this is the address those carpets’ seller and you can find his phone number from this address.” Afterward he brought out those carpets from a bag which was along with him and gave them to me. That night I found the phone number of the seller’s store. After that I phoned him and said to him “did you lose carpets at the night when passage got fire?” the shopkeeper said “I have lost two valuable carpets at that night.” I said “those carpets didn’t lose and a thief has taken them away.” He said “how do you know that?” I said “I am not the thief of your carpets, but that thief has brought those carpets to me and wants give them back through Me.” Then I gave him my rostrum address. At the next day night that seller came and sat under my rostrum and after finishing my speech, we went together to show him his carpets, and he saw the carpets and he checked those carpets with his carpets list and said “these are my lost carpets.” I said “so pick them up and go.” He said “I want to give one of these carpets to you so that you use them in any good way that you think and I’ll bring the other carpet with myself.” Then he asked me “are you looking the thief here?” I said “I don’t know. He was with me only last night.” The carpets owner told me “I want if that thief come to see you again you ask him instead of me that how much money he needs to start a lawful business so that he can solve his life problems, because I don’t want to embarrass him by looking at me.”

My purpose to saying this story was this that if we haven’t any job, and after that we decide to defraud other people money, we are confronting with a man who doesn’t really need that money and doesn’t want to retaliate from us, but if someone defraud public funds, he is confronting with seventy million people. I swear to God that if a person embezzle and steal government treasury for thirty years, it will not make any profit for him in judgment day, because he has to give his all mitzvah to his creditors.

To sum up, Abuzar didn’t accept the Osman’s dinar because he didn’t want to debit himself front of the nation. We can put all narratives aside and this narrative aside. This part of narrative is really valuable, really valuable. I swear to God that if today Abuzar had been here, I would kiss his shoes’ bottom, not his leg’s bottom. I really would kiss his shoes’ bottom. This part of narrative is really costly and pricey. One will amaze about our narratives commandments. Oh youth, men, ladies, swear to God, in the history of human and earth, there weren’t and aren’t any religions which have our religion’s culture. We have come to appropriate place and we shouldn’t leave this place. There isn’t any news in anywhere, nowhere. I have checked all religions and say you that there isn’t any news. I have sat hours and hours with fire worshipper’s scientists. I went to visit their fireplace. I went to visit Jewish scientists. I have seen their Synagogue. I have seen Christian scientists. I have seen friars and deferent friary. In England, in Austria, in Ukraine, in Bahrain, I have sat with noneshia scientists in Qatar for many times. Swear to God that all of them haven’t any thing. Their pockets are also empty. They haven’t any thing. But when you come toward holy Prophet (peace be upon him), “we didn’t send you except to be mercy for human.”[2] And when you come toward Imam Ali (God bless him), “Ali the son of Abitaleb’s leadership is my shelter, and whoever enter in my shelter will be secure from my torment.”[3] And when you went toward sainthood Fatimah (God bless her), in judgment day, as Imam Sadegh (God bless him) has said, you will see that God says to my mother, go to heaven and stand in doomsday’s scene. Sainthood Fatimah (God bless her) will come and stand at the heaven’s door. God will say her “oh my good pal this (heaven) is your place, why you don’t enter in it?” she will say “oh God! I can’t enter lonely” it means her step doesn’t go. God will say “with whom you want to enter?” she will say “I want to enter with the people who were loyal to Ali (God bless him) and to my child especially to my Hussein (God bless him).” God will say her “call all of them and go”[4]. And when you come toward Imam Hassan (God bless him), the holy Prophet said about a person who has cried a little bit on Imam Hassan (God bless him), his eye’s won’t be crying in hereafter, and when you come toward Imam Hussein (God bless him), the God says, all this world and the other world’s Benefits are here. When you come toward Imam Sajjad (God bless him), there is Sahife-ye-Sajjadiye. When you come toward Imam Baqer (God bless him) and Imam Sadegh (God bless him), there are all knowledge’s’ and sciences’ fields. When you come toward Imam Kazem (God bless him) and Imam Reza (God bless him),….

And we are in Imam Mahddi’s (God bless him) presence. The God has brought you toward some people whose hands and pockets are fuller than any other person in all world. I will kiss Abuzar leg’s bottom for this part of narrative which says that when Abuzar saw the Osman’s servants insistence and didn’t want to lie even for his convenience, said to them “go and say to Osman that he has mistaken about me, and his mistake was that he thought that I’m poor and indigent, that’s why he has sent this two hundred dinars for me. Say to Osman that no one has my asset in this world right now, what should I do with these dinars? No, swear to God, I won’t accept these dinars, so that omnipotent God knows that I am not able to any more or less and I’m needless and powerful with Imam Ali (God bless him) and his family’s leadership and with their guidance and instructing who have guided and guide people toward God.”[5] Abuzar is saying to Osman that his asset is Imam Ali’s (God bless him) leadership and if it is possible to put it in one side of scalepan and put all world in the other scalepan, this asset will be more heavier than the other one.

Abuzar’a death in loneliness within banishment

Here I want to tell you about Abuzar’a death moment. Abuzar stayed in Rabzeh and died there. So when his moment of death was arriving, said to his wife that “slays a sheep from your sheep and cook it and it will cooked, sit on the way of first convoy and say to them, oh God’s Muslim servants! Abuzar, the holy Prophet’s friend has died and went to God, so help me and him. Holy Prophet had informed him that he will die in banishment and a group of righteous people from my nation will wash and bury him and they will pray for him.”[6] One day in hadj journey I went to his tomb in Rabzeh. Swear to God that there was amazing sparkle even in day.

The text of holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) advice to Abuzar

Once Abuzar came beside holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and said to him when he was sitting alone “oh holy Prophet (peace be upon him)! Advise me” and holy Prophet advised something to him. Alama Majlesy has interpreted and explained these advices in seven hundred pages and wrote a valuable and beautiful book which he named it as Eyno-Al-Hayt (source of life). One of the holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) advices to Abuzar was about five blessing that if they will not be appreciated and missed, there aren’t any replacement for them. The advices’ text is this:

“Oh Abuzar, appreciate five blessings before messing them, your youth before being senescence and your health before being sick and your enrichment before being poor and your liberty before being busy and your life before your death.”

The blessing of youth

Oh Abuzar! One of the blessings which you have to appreciate it before losing is youth. Appreciate your youth before the senescence arrives. The youth is climax of the power and memory; it is climax of your alacrity. In this period you can be Ebne Sina; in this period you can be Alame Tabatabaee; in the youth you can be Abu Nasre Faraby; you can be Einstein in this period of time; you can be any famous scientist in this period. But when senescence come and the eyes wouldn’t work anymore and the ear wouldn’t hear and arm and knee don’t have any power, then one can’t do anything except waiting for death. And sometimes he says to God, oh God! I have tired from life, and give my death. In that time you can’t do anything. There is poem about youth:

“Once a young person said to an elder person / that how are you going with your senescence?

He said there is an obscure word in this letter / that you won’t know its meaning except in senescence

You can say about your condition more better / but you don’t know anything about senescence

Appreciate youth that is beautiful bird / will not stay in this bony house

The stuff which I lost it freely / you don’t lose it if you can

Every uprising that I had done / the world did more uprising to me

From the time that my asset burnt, I can’t do anything / because doing business without asset is futile

The world’s thief stole my asset because / I was sleeping during sentry”[7]  

Youth is one of the God’s superlative blessings to human. I want to say to young people that when I was in sixth and seventh class of school, I memorized Komeyl orison in seven or eight days not more. On that time I was eleven years old and I memorized about four thousands lines of poem; but know when I want to memorize eight poem lines for my rostrum, it takes about two days; moreover when I memorize them, the next day when I want to practice them, I see that I have forgotten them.

Four other blessings which you should appreciate them

Those four blessings which you should appreciate them before missing is:

2-Work when you are healthy before you becomes sick and unable to do anything.

3-Do something when you have money and are wealthy because you will not be able to do anything when you get poor.

4-Do something when you are free before you becomes busy and preoccupied.

5-And appreciate your life before the moment of death arrives.

And you can make most of these five blessings so in that case you can gain much more in this world and in the other world.