٣٤٣. وَقَالَ (عليه السلام): الْأَقَاوِيلُ مَحْفُوظَةٌ وَ السَّرَائِرُ مَبْلُوَّةٌ وَ ﴿كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ﴾ وَ النَّاسُ مَنْقُوصُونَ مَدْخُولُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ عَصَمَ اللَّهُ: سَائِلُهُمْ مُتَعَنِّتٌ وَ مُجِيبُهُمْ مُتَكَلِّفٌ يَكَادُ أَفْضَلُهُمْ رَأْياً يَرُدُّهُ عَنْ فَضْلِ رَأْيِهِ الرِّضَى وَ السُّخْطُ ، وَ يَكَادُ أَصْلَبُهُمْ عُوداً تَنْكَؤُهُ اللَّحْظَةُ وَ تَسْتَحِيلُهُ الْكَلِمَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ.
343. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: Utterances are preserved and actions are to be tried. Every soul, for what it earned, is held in pledge! (Qur’ān, 74:38). People are to be made deficient (as regards their bodies) and meddled with (as regards their minds) except those whom Allāh protects. The questioner among them aims at confusing and the answerer creates hardship. It is possible that the man who has the best views among them will be deviated from the soundness of his thinking by pleasure or displeasure, and it is possible that a single glance may affect even the man with the best wisdom among them or a single expression may transform him.
