Translation of the saying:
One of our companions informed us, saying: On the night before my journey, I went to His Eminence Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani to bid him farewell and said: “May I be sacrificed for you, give me counsel, because I am setting out on a journey and will meet a number of your helpers and followers.” He then kindly took my hand and said:
I counsel you and my other helpers and followers to fear Allah in private and in public; and I enjoin what is right upon all of you—and anyone who joins you later—and forbid you from what is wrong. Perform the obligations of Allah, abandon His prohibitions, and observe His hudud. Be kind to each other and avoid malice. Adorn yourselves with humility and politeness, for the son of Adam has been adorned with nothing more beautiful than these two; and draw strength from patience and prayer, for the servant of Allah has drawn no greater strength than from these two. Make provision for the Day of Recompense—which will come sooner or later—and devise a remedy for its disgrace. Keep death in mind, for the remembrance of death is a restraining shield; and do not forget Allah, for His remembrance is a healing medicine. Your young must respect your elders, and your elders must show mercy to your young. Sit with the righteous and associate with them, and avoid the wicked and flee from them. Inform the unaware and teach the ignorant. Guide the misguided and answer those who ask. Be patient with the foolishness of fools, and grit your teeth when they insult you to hurt you and slander you to distress you, for before you they did the same to the Prophets of Allah, and they do so to us more than to you. Your likeness among them is like that of the honeybee among the birds: there is no bird except that it looks down on it; yet if it knew what it carries with it, it would not look down on it. The earth has decayed, and time is like a bloated carcass; but we have not seen a night that was not followed by a day. So be patient, for your relief is at hand.
