Sermon of Muttaqin, Part 10 — Their hearts are filled with sorrow

The Tenth Characteristic of the God-Conscious (Muttaqīn), Based on the Sermon of Muttaqīn by Amir al-Mu’minin (pbuh)

They are people of sorrow (ḥuzn):

“Their hearts are filled with sorrow”—that is, a heart in a constant state of remembrance of Allah.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And he turned away from them and said, ‘Oh, how great is my grief for Yusuf!’ And his eyes became white from sorrow, while he restrained his anguish.”

Surah Yusuf (12), Verse 84

It was asked of Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH):

“To what extent did Prophet Ya’qub (PBUH) grieve for Yusuf (PBUH)?”

He replied:

“His grief was equal to the sorrow of seventy mothers who had each lost a child.“

One of the servants of Imam al-Sajjad (PBUH) once watched him while he was in prostration beneath a shelter, weeping.

He said:

“My Master, will there ever come a time when your weeping will come to an end?”

The Imam raised his head and replied:

“Woe to you! (Or he said: May your mother mourn you!)

Ya’qub (PBUH) complained only to Allah, even though the trial he suffered was far less than mine. He said:

’Ya Asafa ‘ala Yusuf’ — ‘Oh, how great is my grief for Yusuf!’

He lost only one son.

But I witnessed my father and many of my relatives being slaughtered before my very eyes.”

It is also narrated that Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (PBUH) showed exceptional affection toward the descendants of Aqil.

When he was asked:

“Why do you show greater affection to the children of your cousin Aqil than to the descendants of Ja’far?”

He replied:

“Because I remember how they sacrificed themselves alongside my father, Abu Abdillah al-Husayn (PBUH), on the Day of Ashura and my heart aches for them.“²

Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said:

The breath of the one who grieves over the ظلم (oppression) committed against us is an act of glorifying Allah (tasbih), and his sorrow for us is an act of worship.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) said:

When Allah loves one of His servants, He places within that servant’s heart a continual lament born of sorrow (for the Hereafter). Indeed, Allah loves every sorrowful heart.

References

• The Holy Qur’an, Surah Yusuf (12), Verse 84; Tafsir Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), Vol. 7, p. 138; Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 12, p. 242; al-Burhan; Nur al-Thaqalayn.
• Tafsir Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), Vol. 7, p. 138; Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 46, p. 110; Nur al-Thaqalayn.
• Al-Amali (Shaykh al-Mufid), Vol. 1, p. 338.
• Irshad al-Qulub, p. 96.