Nahj al-Balāgha

ومن كتاب له (عليه السلام) إلى زياد بن أبيه وقد بلغه أن معاوية كتب إليه يريد خديعته باستلحاقه

To Ziyād ibn Abīh when Amīr al-mu’minīn had come to know that Mu‘āwiyah had written to Ziyād to deceive him and to attach him to himself in kinship.

وَقَدْ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ مُعَاويَةَ كَتَبَ إِلَيْكَ يَسْتَزِلُّ لُبَّكَ، وَيَسْتَفِلُّ غَرْبَكَ، فاحْذَرْهُ، فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَأْتِي الْمَرْءَ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ، وَعَنْ يَمينِهِ وَعَنْ شِمَالِهِ، لِيَقْتَحِمَ غَفْلَتَهُ، وَيَسْتَلِبَ غِرَّتَهُ.

I have learnt that Mu‘āwiyah has written to you to deceive your wit and blunt your sharpness. You should be on guard against him because he is the Satan who approaches a believer from the front and from the back, from the right and from the left, to catch him suddenly in the hour of his carelessness and overcome his intelligence.

وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنْ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ فِي زَمَنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ فَلْتَهٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ، وَنَزْغَةٌ مِنْ نَزَغَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ، لَا يَثْبُتُ بِهَا نَسَبٌ، وَلَا يُسْتَحَقُّ بِهَا إِرْثٌ، وَالْمُتَعَلِّقُ بِهَا كَالْوَاغِلِ الْمُدَفَّعِ، وَالنَّوْطِ الْمُذَبْذَبِ.

In the days of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Abū Sufyān [1] happened to utter a thoughtless point which was an evil suggestion of Satan, from which neither kinship is established nor entitlement to succession occurs. He who relies on it is like the uninvited guest to a drink-party or like the dangling cup (tied to a saddle).

فَلَمَّا قَرَأَ زِيَادٌ الْكِتَابَ قَالَ: شَهِدَ بِهَا وَرَبِّ الْكَعْبَةِ، وَلَمْ تَزَلْ فِي نَفْسِهِ حَتَّى ادَّعَاهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ.

(as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says:) When Ziyād read this letter he said, “By Allāh he has testified to it.” This point remained in his mind till Mu‘āwiyah claimed him (as his brother by his father).

قال السيد الرضى: قوله (عليه السلام) الواغلُ: هو الذي يهجم على الشّرْب ليشرب معهم وَليس منهم، فلا يزال مُدفّعاً محاجزاً. و النّوْط المُذَبْذَب: هو ما يناط برحل الراكب من قعب أو قدح أو ما أشبه ذلك، فهو أبداً يتقلقل إذا حث ظهره واستعجل سيره.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: Amīr al-mu’minīn’s word “al-wāghil” means the man who joins the drinking group so as to drink with them, but he is not one of them. He is therefore constantly turned out and pushed off. As for the words “an-nawṭu ’l-mudhabdhab”, it is a wooden cup or a bowl or the like attached to the saddle of the rider so that it dangles when the rider drives the beast or quickens its pace.

ومن كتاب له (عليه السلام) إلى عثمان بن حنيف الأنصاري وهو [وكان] عامله على البصرة وقد بلغه أنه دعي إلى وليمة قوم من أهلها، فمضى إليها [قوله]

To ‘Uthmān ibn Ḥunayf al-Anṣārī who was Amīr al-mu’minīn’s Governor of Baṣrah, when he came to know that the people of that place had invited ‘Uthmān to a banquet and he had attended.

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، يَابْنَ حُنَيْفٍ، فَقَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنْ فِتْيَةِ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ دَعَاكَ إلى مَأْدُبَةٍ، فَأَسْرَعْتَ إِلَيْهَا، تُسْتَطَابُ لَكَ الْأَلْوَانُ، وَتُنْقَلُ إِلَيْكَ الْجِفَانُ، وَمَا ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّكَ تُجِيبُ إِلى طَعَامِ قَوْمٍ، عَائِلُهُمْ مَجْفُوٌّ وَغَنِيُّهُمْ مَدْعُوٌّ. فَانْظُرْ إِلَى مَا تَقْضَمُهُ مِنْ هذَ الْمَقْضَمِ، فَمَا اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْكَ عِلْمُهُ فَالْفِظْهُ، وَمَا أَيْقَنْتَ بِطِيبِ وُجُوهِهِ فَنَلْ مِنْهُ.

O’ Ibn Ḥunayf, I have come to know that a young man of Baṣrah invited you to a feast and you leapt towards it. Foods of different colours were being chosen for you and big bowls were being given to you. I never thought that you would accept the feast of a people who turn out the beggars and invite the rich. Look at the morsels you take, leave out that about which you are in doubt and take that about which you are sure that it has been secured lawfully.

أَلَا وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَأْمُومٍ إِمَاماً، يَقْتَدِي بِهِ، وَيَسْتَضِيءُ بِنُورِ عِلْمِهِ. أَلَا وَإِنَّ إِمَامَكُمْ قَدِ اكْتَفَى مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ بِطِمْرَيْهِ، وَمِنْ طُعْمِهِ بِقُرْصَيْهِ. أَلَا وَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى ذلِكَ، وَلكِنْ أَعِينُوني بِوَرَعٍ وَاجْتِهَادٍ، وَعِفَّةٍ وَسَدَادٍ فَوَاللهِ مَا كَنَزْتُ مِنْ دُنْيَاكُمْ تِبْراً، وَلَا ادَّخَرْتُ مِنْ غَنَائِمِهَا وَفْراً، وَلَا أَعْدَدْتُ لِبَالِي ثَوْبِي طِمْراً وَلَا حُزْتُ مِنْ أَرْضِهَا شِبْراً وَلَا أَخَذْتُ مِنْهُ إِلَّا كَقُوتِ أَتَانٍ دَبِرَةٍ وَ لَهِيَ فِي عَيْنِي أَوْهَى وَأَوْهَنُ مِنْ عَفْصَةٍ مَقِرَةٍ

Remember that every follower has a leader whom he follows and from the effulgence of whose knowledge he takes light. Realize that your Imam has contented himself with two shabby pieces of cloth out of the (comforts of the) world and two loaves for his meal. Certainly, you cannot do so but at least support me in piety, exertion, chastity and uprightness, because, by Allāh, I have not treasured any gold out of your world nor amassed plentiful wealth nor collected any clothes other than the two shabby sheets. ---

بَلَى! كَانَتْ في أَيْدِينَا فَدَكٌ مِنْ كلِّ مَا أَظَلَّتْهُ السَّماءُ، فَشَحَّتْ عَلَيْهَا نُفُوسُ قَوْمٍ، وَسَخَتْ عَنْهَا نُفُوسُ قَوْمٍ آخَرِينَ، وَنِعْمَ الْحَكَمُ اللهُ. وَمَا أَصْنَعُ بِفَدَك وَغَيْرِ فَدَكٍ، وَالنَّفْسُ مَظَانُّهَا فِي غَدٍ جَدَثٌ، تَنْقَطِعُ فِي ظُلْمَتِهِ آثَارُهَا، وَتَغِيبُ أَخْبَارُهَا، وَحُفْرَةٌ لَوْ زِيدَ فِي فُسْحَتِهَا، وَأَوْسَعَتْ يَدَا حَافِرِهَا، لَأَضْغَطَهَا الْحَجَرُ وَالْمَدَرُ، وَسَدَّ فُرَجَهَا التُّرَابُ الْمُتَرَاكِمُ،

Of course, all that we had in our possession under this sky was Fadak [1], but a group of people felt greedy for it and the other party withheld themselves from it. Allāh is, after all, the best arbiter. What shall I do: Fadak, or no Fadak, while tomorrow this body is to go into the grave in whose darkness its traces will be destroyed and (even) news of it will disappear. It is a pit that, even if its width is widened or the hands of the digger make it broad and open, the stones and clods of clay will narrow it and the falling earth will close its apperture.

وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ نَفْسِي أَرُوضُهَا بِالتَّقْوَى لِتَأْتِيَ آمِنَةً يَوْمَ الْخَوْفِ الْأَكْبَرِ، وَتَثْبُتَ عَلَى جَوَانِبِ الْمَزْلَقِ. وَلَوْ شِئْتُ لَاهْتَدَيْتُ الطَّرِيقَ، إِلَى مُصَفَّى هذَا الْعَسَلِ، وَلُبَابِ هذَا الْقَمْحِ، وَنَسَائِجِ هذَا الْقَزِّ، وَلكِنْ هَيْهَاتَ أَنْ يَغْلِبَنِي هَوَايَ، وَيَقُودَنِي جَشَعِي إِلَى تَخَيُّرِ الْأَطْعِمَةِ ـ وَلَعَلَّ بِالْحِجَازِ أَوِ بِالْـيَمَامَةِ مَنْ لَا طَمَعَ لَهُ فِي الْقُرْصِ، وَلَا عَهْدَ لَهُ بِالشِّبَعِ ـ أَوْ أَبِيتَ مِبْطَاناً وَحَوْلِي بُطُونٌ غَرْثَى وَأَكْبَادٌ حَرَّى، أَوْ أَكُونَ كَمَا قَالَ الْقَائِلُ:

I try to keep myself engaged in piety so that one the day of great fear it will be peaceful and steady in slippery places. If I wished I could have taken the way leading towards (worldly pleasures like) pure honey, fine wheat and silk clothes but it cannot be that my passions lead me and greed take me to choosing good meals while in the Ḥijāz or in Yamāmah there may be people who have no hope of getting bread or who do not have a full meal. Shall I lie with a satiated belly while around me there may be hungry bellies and thirsty livers? Or shall I be as the poet has said: