To See The End From The Beginning

From the beginning of the enterprise, discern the end, that you may not repent on the Day of Judgment. 

A certain man came to a goldsmith. "Give me the scales," he said, "so that I may weigh some gold."
"Go away," said the goldsmith. "I do not have a sieve."
"Give me the scales" the man repeated, "and have done with such jokes." "
I have no broom in the shop," replied the goldsmith.
"Enough, enough!" said the man. "No more of these jests. Give me the scales I am asking for. Do not pretend to be deaf and stop talking in riddles."
"I heard what you said," responded the goldsmith. "I am not deaf, nor am I in my dotage. I know what you asked for, but you are a trembling old man. Your hand shakes, that gold of yours consists of the tiniest filings, and so the fragments of gold will spill. Then you will say, Bring me a broom, so that I may search for my gold in the dust! And when you have swept it up you will find dust mixed with your gold, and then you will ask for a sieve. I saw the end completely from the beginning. Go away, and good day to you!"
From the beginning of the enterprise, discern the end, that you may not repent on the Day of Judgment.
The Masnavi, Volume III:1624-33