Nahj al-Balāgha

وَإِنَّ القُرآنَ ظَاهِرُهُ أَنِيقٌ وَبَاطِنُهُ عَمِيقٌ، لاَ تَفْنَى عَجَائِبُهُ، وَلاَتَنْقَضِي غَرَائِبُهُ، وَلاَ تُكْشَفُ الظُّلُمَاتُ إلاَّ بِهِ.

Certainly the outside of the Qur’ān is wonderful and its inside is deep (in meaning). Its wonders will never disappear, its amazements will never pass away and its intricacies cannot be cleared except through itself.

ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) قاله للاشعث بن قيس وهو على منبر الكوفة يخطب فمضى في بعض كلامه شيء اعترضه الاشعث، فقال: يا أميرالمؤمنين، هذه عليك لا لك، فخفض (عليه السلام) إليه بصره ثم قال:

Amīr al-mu’minīn was delivering a lecture from the pulpit of (the mosque of) Kūfah when al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays [1] objected and said, “O Amīr al-mu’minīn this thing is not in your favour but against you.” [2] Amīr al-mu’minīn looked at him with anger and said :

ومَا يُدْرِيكَ مَا عَلَيَّ مِمَّا لِي؟ عَلَيْكَ لَعْنَةُ اللهِ وَلَعْنَةُ اللاَّعِنِينَ! حَائِكٌ ابْنُ حَائِك! مُنَافِقٌ ابْنُ كُافِر! وَاللهِ لَقَدْ أَسَرَكَ الكُفْرُ مَرَّةً وَالاسْلامُ أُخْرَى! فَمَا فَداكَ مِنْ وَاحِدَة مِنْهُمَا مَالُكَ وَلاَ حَسَبُكَ! وَإِنَّ امْرَأً دَلَّ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ السَّيْفَ، وَسَاقَ إِلَيْهِمُ الحَتْفَ، لَحَرِيٌّ أَنْ يَمقُتَهُ الاْقْرَبُ، وَلاَ يَأْمَنَهُ الاْبْعَدُ!

How do you know what is for me and what is against me?! Curse of Allāh and others be on you. You are a weaver and son of a weaver. You are the son of an unbeliever and yourself a hypocrite. You were arrested once by the Unbelievers and once by the Muslims, but your wealth and birth could not save you from either. The man who contrives for his own people to be put to sword and invites death and destruction for them does deserve that the near ones should hate him and the remote ones should not trust him.

قال السيد الشربف: يريد عليه السلام أنه أُسر في الكفر مرة وفي الاِسلام مرة . وأما قوله: «دل على قومه السيف»، فأراد به: حديثاً كان للاَشعث مع خالد بن الوليد باليمامة، غرّ فيه قومه ومكر بهم حتى أوقع بهم خالد، وكان قومه بعد ذلك يسمو نه «عُرْفَ النار»، وهو اسم للغادر عندهم.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: This man was arrested once when an unbeliever and once in days of Islam. As for Amīr al-mu’minīn’s words that the man contrived for his own people to be put to sword, the reference herein is to the incident which occurred to al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays in confrontation with Khālid ibn Walid at Yamāmah, where he deceived his people and contrived a trick till Khālid attacked them. After this incident his people nicknamed him “‘Urf an-Nār” which in the parlance stood for traitor.

ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام) وفيها ينفر من الغفلة وينبه إلى الفرار لله

Death and taking lessons from it

فَإِنَّكُمْ لَوْ عَايَنْتُمْ مَا قَدْ عَايَنَ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْكُمْ لَجَزِعْتُمْ وَوَهِلْتُمْ وَسَمِعْتُمْ وَأَطَعْتُمْ، وَلكِنْ مَحْجُوبٌ عَنْكُمْ مَا عَايَنُوا، وَقَرِيبٌ مَا يُطْرَحُ الحِجَابُ! وَلَقَدْ بُصِّرْتُمْ إِنْ أَبْصَرْتُمْ، وَأُسْمِعْتُمْ إِنْ سَمِعْتُمْ، وَهُدِيتُمْ إِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُمْ، وَبِحَقٍّ أَقَولُ لَكُمْ: لَقَدْ جَاهَرَتْكُمُ العِبَرُ وَزُجِرْتُمْ بِمَا فِيهِ مُزْدَجَرٌ، وَمَا يُبَلِّغُ عَنِ اللهِ بَعْدَ رُسُلِ السَّماءِ إِلاَّ البَشَرُ.

If you could see what has been seen by those of you who have died, you would be puzzled and troubled. Then you would have listened and obeyed; but what they have seen is yet curtained off from you. Shortly, the curtain would be thrown off. You have been shown, provided you see and you have been made to listen provided you listen, and you have been guided if you accept guidance. I spoke unto you with truth. You have been called aloud by (instructive) examples and warned through items full of warnings. After the heavenly messengers (angels), only man can convey message from Allāh. (So what I am conveying is from Allāh).

ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام) وهي كلمة جامعة للعظة والحكمة

Advice to keep light in this world

فإِنَّ الغَايَةَ أَمَامَكُمْ، وَإِنَّ وَرَاءَكُمُ السَّاعَةَ تَحْدُوكُمْ تَخَفَّفُواتَلْحَقوا، فَإنَّمَا يُنْتَظَرُ بِأوَّلِكُمْ آخِرُكُمْ .

Your aim (reward or punishment) is before you. Behind your back is the hour (of resurrection) which is driving you on. Keep (yourself) light and overtake (the forward ones). Your last ones are being awaited by the first ones (who have proceeded).

وأقول: إنّ هذا الكلام لو وزن بعد كلام الله سبحانه وكلام رسوله صلى الله عليه وآله بكل كلام لمال به راجحاً، وبرّز عليه سابقاً. فأما قوله عليه السلام : «تخففوا تلحقوا»، فما سمع كلام أقل منه مسموعاً ولا أكثر منه محصولاً، وما أبعد غورها من كلمة! وأنقع نطفتها من حكمة! وقد نبهنا في كتاب «الخصائص» على عظم قدرها وشرف جوهرها.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: If this utterance of ‘Ali (a.s.) is weighed with any other utterance except the word of Allah or of the Holy Prophet, it would prove heavier and superior in every respect. For example, ‘Ali’s saying “Keep light and over-take” is the shortest expression ever heard with the greatest sense conveyed by it. How wide is its meaning and how clear its spring of wisdom! We have pointed out the greatness and meaningfulness of this phrase in our book al-Khaṣā’iṣ.

ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام) وقد تواترت عليه الاَخبار باستيلاءِ أصحاب معاوية على البلاد، وقدم عليه عاملاه على اليمن ـ وهما عبيدالله بن العباس وسعيد بن نمران ـ لمّا غلب عليها بُسْرُ بن أبي أَرْطَاة، فقام (عليه السلام) إلى المنبر ضجراً بتثاقل أَصحابه عن الجهاد، ومخالفتهم له في الرأْي، وقال:

When Amīr al-mu’minīn received successive news that Mu‘āwiyah’s men were occupying cities, [1] and his own officers in Yemen namely ‘Ubaydullāh ibn ‘Abbās and Said ibn Nimrān came to him retreating after being overpowered by Busr ibn Abi Arṭāt, he was much disturbed by the slackness of his own men in jihād and their difference with his opinion. Proceeding on to the pulpit he said :