Amir al-mu'minīn's nocturnal reflections on asceticism
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 3|Chapter 104
يَا نَوْفُ طُوبَى لِلزَّاهِدِينَ فِى الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبِينَ فِى الْآخِرَةِ أُولَئِكَ قَوْمٌ اتَّخَذُوا الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطاً وَتُرَابَهَا فِرَاشاً وَمَاءَهَا طِيباً وَالْقُرْآنَ شِعَاراً وَالدُّعَاءَ دِثَاراً ثُمَّ قَرَضُوا الدُّنْيَا قَرْضاً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ الْمَسِيحِ.
O Nawf! Blessed be those who abstain from this world and are eager for the next world. They are the people who regard this earth as a floor; its dust as their bed-cloth; and its water as their perfume; they recite the Qur’ān in low tones and supplicate in high tones and then they are cut off from the world like ‘Īsā (Jesus).