Nahj al-Balagha (Peak of Eloquence)

About the world and its people In what way shall I describe this world whose beginning is grief and whose end is destruction? [1] The lawful actions performed here have to be accounted for, while for the forbidden ones there is punishment. Whoever is rich here faces mischief and whoever is poor gets grief. One who hankers after it does not get it. If one keeps away from it then it advances towards him. If one sees through it, it would bestow him sight, but if one has his eye on it then it would blind him. as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: If a thinker thinks over this phrase of Amīr al-mu’minin “waman abṣara bihā baṣṣarat-hu” (“If one sees through it, it would bestow him sight”) he would find there-under very amazing meaning and farreaching sense whose purpose cannot be appreciated and whose aim cannot be understood particularly when he joins it with Amīr al-mu’minin’s phrase “waman abṣara ilayhā a'mat-hu” (“If one has his eye on it, then it would blind him”) he would find the difference between “abṣara bihā” and “abṣara lahā”, clear, bright, wonderful and shining.