وَمِنۡ خُطۡبَةٍ [في بعض النسخ: كَلَامٍ] لَهُ عَلَيۡهِ السَّلَامُ
From one of his sermons
وَفِيهِ يُحَذِّرُ مِنۡ اتِّبَاعِ الۡهَوَى وَطُولِ الۡأَمَلِ فِي الدُّنۡيَا
About base desires and extended hopes
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! إِنَّ أَخۡوَفَ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيۡكُمُ اثۡنَانِ: اتِّبَاعُ الۡهَوَى، وَطُولُ الۡأَمَلِ؛ فَأَمَّا اتِّبَاعُ الۡهَوَى فَيَصُدُّ عَنِ الۡحَقِّ، وَأَمَّا طُولُ الۡأَمَلِ فَيُنۡسِي الۡآخِرَةَ.
O people what I fear most about you are two things — acting according to desires and extending of hopes. As regards acting according to desires, this prevents from truth; and as regards extending of hopes, it makes one forget the next world.
أَلَا وَإنَّ الدُّنْيَا قَدْ وَلَّتْ حَذَّاءَ، فَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا صُبَابَةٌ كَصُبَابَةِ الْإِنَاءِ اصْطَبَّهَا صَابُّهَا، أَلَا وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ قَدْ أَقْبَلَتْ، وَلِكُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا بَنُونَ، فَكُونُوا مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ وَلَدٍ سَيُلْحَقُ بأُمِّهِ [في بعض النسخ: بِأَبِيهِ] يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَإِنَّ الْيَوْمَ عَمَلٌ وَلَا حِسَابَ، وَغَداً حِسَابٌ وَلَا عَمَلَ.
You should know this world is moving rapidly and nothing has remained out of it except last particles like the dregs of a vessel which has been emptied by some one. Beware, the next world is advancing, and either of them has sons i.e. followers. You should become sons of the next world and not become sons of this world because on the Day of Judgement every son would cling to his mother. Today is the Day of action and there is no reckoning while tomorrow is the Day of reckoning but there would be no (opportunity for) action.
[قال السيد الشريف:] أَقُولُ: الۡحَذَّاءُ: السَّرِيعَةُ، وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنۡ يَرۡوِيهِ «جَذَّاءَ» [وزاد في بعض النسخ: بِالۡجِيمِ وَالذَّالِ، أَيۡ انۡقَطَعَ دَرُّهَا وَخَيۡرُهَا].
as-Sayyid ar-Raḍi says: “al-ḥadhdhāʾ” means rapid, but some people have read it “jadhdhāʾ”. According to this version, the meaning would be that the cycle of worldly enjoyments would end soon.
