Tradition

إنَّهُ لَيْسَ لاِنْفُسِكُمْ ثَمَنٌ إلاّ الْجَنَّةُ فَلا تَبِيْعُوها إِلاَّ بِها.

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “Know that you are worthy of only the everlasting felicity of paradise; therefore, do not sell yourself short for anything less.”1

Brief Commentary

If someone was asked how much they felt their life was worth, they would typically consider it as being priceless. The reality is that our lives are so precious that we can’t even fathom an amount we would be willing to sell it for. Unfortunately, the truth is that most people sell their lives for things of meager value every single day. At the end of their lives, they see that they have given away their entire lifespan for things like a home, a car, and a few other trinkets. Such people have, in reality, exchanged the very essence of their lives for things of little to no value. Interestingly enough, they realize that they must soon leave even these inconsequential things which they have spent their entire lives working for.

Here, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is telling us that there is nothing in this world that is worth our souls. There is nothing that we can gain in this world that is worth the value of our lives. The only thing which is worth this grand amount is the pleasure of God and the perfection and completion of ourselves as human beings. Even if we were to exchange the entirety of our lives for the pleasure of God and the reward of paradise, it would be well worth it. In fact, such an exchange is the only thing which can be considered a proper trade for our life’s work.

• 1. Nahj al-Balaghah, Aphorism 456.