Tradition

خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْحَياةِ ما إذا فَقَدْتَهُ أَبْغَضْتَ الْحَياةَ! وَ شَرٌّ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ مَا إِذا نَزَلَ بِكَ أَحْبَبْتَ الْمَوْتَ!

Imam Hasan al-’Askari (‘a) is narrated to have said: “What is more valuable than life itself is that, which if you were to lose, you would become fed up with life as a result. And what is worse than death is that, which if you were to gain, you would welcome death with open arms.”1

Brief Commentary

Some people imagine that the most valuable things in life are found in those things which relate to the material and this is while there are a multitude of things much greater in value. There are non-material things, which, if lost, will cause unbelievable anguish to a person. These are things which no amount of money can replace or make up for. We should always be careful to keep things in perspective and be thankful for the multitude of blessings which God has given to us.

• 1. Taken from the book: Tuhaf al-’Uqul, p. 368.