العربية
فارسى
Türkçe
اُردُو
Français
Deutsch
Kiswahili
Español
In this sermon we will read like we have done in the previous weeks, some of the words of our Imam the Commander of the Faithful Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (Peace be upon him) during his days of khilafah, giving important lessons to those who are in positions of responsibility, in which he (peace be upon him) disowned the injustice and infringement of people's rights:
"By Allah, I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on the thorns of as-sa`dan (a plant having sharp prickles) or be driven in chains as a prisoner than meet Allah and His Messenger on the Day of Judgement as an oppressor over any person or a usurper of anything out of worldly wealth. And how can I oppress any one for (the sake of a life) that is fast moving towards destruction and is to remain under the earth for a long time?"
The he (peace be upon him) described how he dealt with his brother 'Aqeel when he asked him to have more of his right from the house of money: "By Allah, I certainly saw (my brother) `Aqil fallen in destitution and he asked me a sa` (about three kilograms in weight) out of your (share of) wheat, and I also saw his children with dishevelled hair and a dusty countenance due to starvation, as though their faces had been blackened by indigo. He came to me several times and repeated his request to me again and again. I heard him, and he thought I would sell my faith to him and follow his tread leaving my own way.
Then I (just) heated a piece of iron and took it near his body so that he might take a lesson from it, then he cried as a person in protracted illness cries with pain and he was about to get burnt with its branding. Then I said to him, "Moaning women may moan over you, O `Aqil. Do you cry on account of this (heated) iron which has been made by a man for fun while you are driving me towards the fire which Allah, the Powerful, has prepared for (a manifestation of) His wrath? Should you cry from pain, but I should not cry from the flames?"
Then he (peace be upon him) recounted what he has said to the one who offered to him as a gift: "A stranger incident than this is that a man came to us in the night with a closed flask full of honey paste but I disliked it as though it was the saliva of a serpent or its vomit. I asked him whether it was a reward, or zakat (poor-tax) or charity, for these are forbidden to us members of the Prophet's family. He said it was neither this nor that but a present. Then I said, "Childless women may weep over you. Have you come to deviate me from the religion of Allah, or are you mad, or have you been overpowered by some jinn, or are you speaking without senses? "
By Allah, even if I am given all the domains of the seven (stars) with all that exists under the skies in order that I may disobey Allah to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from an ant I would not do it. For me your world is lighter than the leaf in the mouth of a locust that is chewing it. What has `Ali to do with bounties that will pass away and pleasures that will not last? We seek protection of Allah from the slip of wisdom and the evils of mistakes, and from Him we seek succour."
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) has also addressed some of his sermons to those who exaggerated in praising him: "Do not address me in the manner despots are addressed. Do not evade me as the people of passion are (to be) evaded, do not meet me with flattery and do not think that I shall take it ill if a true thing is said to me, because the person who feels disgusted when truth is said to him or a just matter is placed before him would find it more difficult to act upon them. Therefore, do not abstain from saying a truth or pointing out a matter of justice because I do not regard myself above erring. I do not escape erring in my actions but that Allah helps me (in avoiding errors) in matters in which He is more powerful than I. Certainly, I and you are slaves owned by Allah, other than Whom there is no Lord except Him. He owns our selves which we do not own."