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III. A tradition from Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, says: Quarrels bring about ruin.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "quhm" means ruin because quarrels often drive men into ruin and grief. In the same way, it is said "quhmatu'l-A 'rab" which means the period (of drought) when the cattle owned by the nomad desert Arabs are reduced to bones, and this is their being driven to it. Another argument is also advanced in this matter; namely that the situation drives them to green areas, in other words the hardship of the desert life drives them to hadar (a civilized region with town and villages and a settled population [as opposed to desert] ).

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IV. A tradition of Amir al-mu'niinin, peace be upon him, says: When girls reach the stage of (realizing) realities, relations on the father's side are preferable.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: Instead of "nassa'l-hiqaq "the combination "nassa'l-haqa'iq" has also been related. "nass" means the last end of things or their remotest limit, such as "an-nassi fi's sayr" means the maximum a beast can walk. Or you say "nasastu'r-rajula 'ani'l-amri" when you have questioned a man to the extreme to make him utter all he has. Thus, "nassu'l-haqa'iq" means prudence because it is the last limit of childhood and is the time when a child crosses childhood into majority, and this is a very eloquent reference to the point, and strange too. Amir al-mu'minin intends to say: When girls reach this stage their relations on father's side have a better right than their mother, provided they are those with whom marriage is prohibited like brothers and uncles, to arrange for their marriages if they so desire. "al-hiqaq" also means the quarrelling of the mother with a girl's paternal relations. This quarrel is that everyone of them says he has a better 'right for her. That is why it is said "haqatuhu hiqaqan" on the lines of "jadaltuhu jidalan". It has also been said that "nassu'l-hiqaq" means acquiring understanding and this is prudence, because Amir al-mu'minin refers to the stage when rights and duties become applicable. The person who has related the word as "haqa'iq" intends to signify the plural of "haqiqah" (reality).

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The above is what Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam has stated (in Gharib al-hadith, vol.3, pp.456 -458); but I think that the intention here by the word "nassu'l-hiqaq " is a girl's reaching the stage when it is possible to marry her and to allow her to dispose of her rights herself on the analogy of "bil hiqaqi mina '1-ibili" (a camel's attaining majority) wherein "hiqaq is the plural of "hiqqah" or "hiqq " and it means completion of three years (of age) and entry into the fourth, which is the time when it reaches the age when it is possible to ride on its back and to exert it in walking. "haqa'iq" too is the plural of "hiqqah". Thus, both the versions point to the same meaning, and this interpretation is more in keeping with the way of the Arabs than the other one stated earlier.

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V. A tradition of Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, says: Faith produces a "lumzah" in the heart. As faith develops, the "lumzah" also increases.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "lumzah" is a white spot or something like that. On that analogy if a horse has a white spot on its lower lip it is called "farusun almaz", that is, a white-spotted horse.

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30. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Fear! Fear! By Allah, He has hidden your sins so much so as though He has forgiven.

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VI. A tradition of Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him) says: If a man has a "ad-daynu'z-zanun" (i.e. doubtful loan) it is his duty to pay zakat thereon for all the past years when he recovers it.

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as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "az-zanun" is the loan about which the lender does not know whether he will be able to recover it from the borrower. He is like the one who hopes as well as loses hope. This is the most eloquent way of expression. In this way everything about which you do not know where you stand would be zanun. In the same strain poet al-A' sha (Maymun ibn Qays al-Wa'ili [d. 7/629] )says:

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The az-zanun well (i.e., the one that may or may not have water) which is also deprived of the rain of the raining clouds cannot be compared to the Euphrates whose waves are rising high and which is pushing away the boat as well as the adept swimmer.

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"Judd" means the well (situated in a wilderness), while zanun is that about which it is not known whether or not it has water.

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VII. A tradition of Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, relates that he arranged a force for advancing for jihad and said: i'dhibu (turn away) from women so far as you can.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: It (i'dhibu) means that "keep off" from thoughts of women and from clinging your heart to them, and do not have union with them; because all this produces weakness in enthusiasm, affects the firmness of determination, weakens against the enemy and prevents from exerting in fighting. Whatever prevents from something is called " 'adhaba 'anhu" i.e., turned away from it. Thus, "al-'adhib" and "al-'adhub" mean one who gives up eating and drinking.

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VIII. A tradition of Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, says: Like the successful shooter (al-yasir al-falij) who looks forward to achieving success at his first shot.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "al-ya~sirun' (pl. of al-yasir) means those who shoot with arrows on the slaughtered camel by way of gambling; while "al-falij" means successful or victorious. For example, it is said: 'falaja 'alayhim" or 'falajahum" (that is, he got victory over them or overpowered them). A poet has said by way of war recital:

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When I noticed a successful person securing victory.

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IX. A tradition of Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, runs: When the crisis became red-hot we sought refuge with the Messenger of Allah (peace-be upon him and his descendants), arid none of us was closer to the enemy than he himself.

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31. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, was asked about faith. He said:

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as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: This means that when fear of the enemy increased and fighting became serious, the Muslims would begin to think that since the Messenger of Allah had taken up fighting himself, Allah must give them victory through him and that therefore they would be safe from all the dangers because of his existence.

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261. When the news of the attack of Mu'awiyah's men on al-Anbar reached Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, he himself came out walking till he reached an-Nukhaylah, where people overtook him and said: "O' Amir al-mu'minin, we are enough for them," then he said:

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You cannot be enough for me against yourselves, so how can you be enough for me against others? Before me the people used to complain of the oppression of their rulers but now I have to complain of the wrongful actions of my people; as though I am led by them and they are the leaders or that I am the subject and they are the rulers.

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The narrator says: When Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, uttered this during his long speech which we have included in the collection of sermons (No.27), two men from his companions advanced towards him and one of them said: I rule no one except myself and my brother (Qur'an, 5:25). So, order us with your command, O Amir al-mu'minin and we will accomplish it. Thereupon, Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: How can you two accomplish what I aim at?

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262- It is said that al-Harith ibn Hawt came to Amir al-mu'minin, and said: Do you believe I can ever imagine that the people of Jamal were in the wrong? Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: O al-Harith! You have seen below yourself but not above yourself, and so you have been confused. Certainly, you have not known right, so that you can recognize the righteous. And you have not known wrong, so that you can recognize the people of wrong! Then al-Harith said: In that case, I shall withdraw along with Sa'd ibn Malik and 'Abdullah: ibn 'Umar; whereupon Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Verily, Sa'd and 'Umar have neither sided with Right nor forsaken Wrong. 66

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263- Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The holder of authority is like the rider on a lion - he is envied for his position but he well knows his position. 67

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264. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Do good with the bereaved ones of others so that good is done to your bereaved ones also.

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265. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: When the utterance of the wise is to the point it serves as a cure, but if it is wrong it proves like an illness. 68

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266. Someone asked Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, to define faith for him, so he said: Come to me tomorrow so that I enlighten you in the presence of all the people, so that if you forget what I say others might retain it, because an utterance is like a fluttering prey which may be grappled with by someone but missed by others.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: We have already stated in the earlier chapter what Amir al-mu'minin replied to this man, namely his saying (no.31) "Faith stands on four supports."

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Faith stands on four supports: on endurance, conviction, justice and jihad (fighting in the way of Allah).

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267. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: O son of Adam, do not inflict the worry of the day that has not yet come on the day which has already come, because if that day be in your life Allah will bestow its livelihood also.

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268. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Have love for your friend up to a limit, for it is possible that he may turn into your enemy some day; and hate your enemy up to a limit for it is possible that he may turn into your friend some day.

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269. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: There are two kinds of workers in the world. One is a person who works in this world for this world and his work of this world keeps him unmindful of the next world. He is afraid of destitution for those he will leave behind but feels himself safe about it. So, he spends his life after the good of others. The other is one who works in this world for what is to come hereafter, and he secures his share of this world without effort. Thus, he gets both the benefits together and becomes the owner of both the houses together. In this way, he is prestigious before Allah. If he asks Allah anything He does not deny him.

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270. It is related that during the days of (Caliph) 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the question of the excess of the ornaments of the Ka'bah was mentioned to him and some people suggested: If you prepare with it an army of Muslims that will be a matter of great reward; and what would the Ka'bah do with the ornaments? 'Umar thought of doing so but asked Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, who said:

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When the Qur'an was descended on the Prophet, peace be upon him and his descendants, there were four kinds of property. One, the property of Muslim individuals which he distributed among the successors according to fixed shares. Second, the tax (fay') which he distributed to those for whom it was meant. Third, the one-fifth (khums) levy for which Allah had fixed the ways of disposal. Fourth, amounts of charity (sadaqat) whose disposal was also fixed by Allah. The ornaments of Ka'bah did exist in those days but Allah left them as they were, but did not leave them by omission, nor were they unknown to Him. Therefore, you retain them where Allah and His Prophet placed them.

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Thereupon, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: If you had not been here we would have been humiliated; and he left the ornaments as they were. 69

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271. It is related that two persons were brought to Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him. They had committed theft of public property. One of them was a slave purchased from public money and the other had been purchased by someone among the people. Then Amir al-mu'minin said: As for this one who is the property of public money, there is no punishment for him for it means one property of Allah having taken another property of Allah. As for the other, he should get the punishment. Consequently, his hand was cut.

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272. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: If my steps acquire firmness out of these slippery places, I will alter several things. 70

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273. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Know with full conviction that Allah has not fixed for any person more livelihood than what has been ordained in the Book of Destiny, even though his means (of seeking it) may be great, his craving for it intense and his efforts for it acute; nor does the weakness of a person or the paucity of his means stand in the way between what is ordained in the Book of Destiny and himself. He who realizes it and acts upon it is the best of them all in point of comfort and benefit; while he who disregards it arid doubts it exceeds all men in disadvantages. Very often a favoured person is being slowly driven (towards punishment) through those favours; and very often an afflicted person is being done good through his affliction. Therefore, O listener, increase your gratefulness, lessen your haste and stay within the bounds of your livelihood.

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274. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Do not turn your knowledge into ignorance or your conviction into doubt. When you gain knowledge act (upon it) and when you acquire conviction proceed (on its basis) .71

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Endurance again has four aspects: eagerness, fear, abstention (from the world) and anticipation (of death). So, whoever is eager for Paradise will ignore the passions; whoever fears the Fire (of Hell) will refrain from prohibited acts; whoever abstains from the world takes hardships lightly; and whoever anticipates death will hasten towards good deeds.

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275. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Greed takes a person to the watering place but gets him back without letting him drink. It undertakes responsibility but does not fulfil it. Often the drinker gets choked before the quenching of his thirst. The greater the worth of a thing yearned for the greater is the grief for its loss. Desires blind the eyes of understanding. The destined share will reach him who does not approach it.

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276. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: O My God, I seek Your protection from this that I may appear to be good in the eyes of the people whilst my inward self may be sinful before You, and that I may guard myself (from sins) only for show before the people although You are aware of all about me. Thus, I appear before the people in good shape although my evil deeds are placed before You. This means achieving nearness to Your creatures but remoteness from Your pleasure.

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277. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: I swear by Him Who let us pass the dark night after which there was a bright day that such and such 72 did not happen.

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278. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: A small action which is continued with regularity is more beneficial than a long one performed with disgust.

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279. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: When optional issues stand in the way of obligatories, abandon them.

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280. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Whoever keeps in view the distance of the journey remains prepared.

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281. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Perception by the eyes is not real observation because the eyes sometimes deceive people; but wisdom does not deceive whomsoever it counsels.

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282. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Between you and the preaching there is a curtain of deception.

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283. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The ignorant among you are excessive in their deeds (without knowledge) while your learned fall short (in their deeds).

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284. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Knowledge dispels the excuse of those who advance excuses.

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Conviction also has four aspects: prudent perception, intelligence and understanding, drawing lessons from instructive things and following the precedents of past people. So, whoever perceives with prudence, wise knowledge will be manifest to him, and to whomsoever wise knowledge becomes manifest he appreciates instructive objects, and whoever appreciates instructive objects he is just like past people.

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285. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: He whom death overtakes early seeks time while he whose death is deferred puts forth excuses for postponement (of doing good actions).

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286. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: For every thing to which people say "how good!" there is an evil hidden in this world.

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287. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, was asked about Destiny, when he said: It is a dark path -- do not tread upon it, it is a deep ocean - do not dive in it, and it is the secret of Allah -- do not take trouble about (knowing) it.

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288. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: When Allah intends to humiliate a person He denies him knowledge.

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289. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: In the past I had a brother-in-faith 73 and he was prestigious in my view because the world was humble in his eyes, the needs of the stomach did not have sway over him, he did not long for what he did not get; if he got a thing he would not ask for more; most of his time he was silent, if he spoke he silenced the other speakers, he quenched the thirst of questioners, he was weak and feeble but at the time of fighting he was like the lion of the forest or the serpent of the valley, he would not put forth an argument unless it was decisive.

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He would not reproach anyone in an excusable matter unless he had heard the excuse, he would not speak of any ailment except after its disappearance, he would say what he would do, and would not say what he would not do, even if he could be exceeded in speaking, he could not be excelled in silence; he was more eager to listen than to speak and if two things confronted him he would see which was more akin to the longing of the heart and he would oppose it.

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These qualities are incumbent upon you. So, you should acquire them and excel each other in them. Even if you cannot acquire them you should know that acquiring a part is better than giving up the whole.

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290. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Even if Allah had not warned of chastisement on those disobedient to Him, it would be obligatory by way of gratefulness for His favours that He should not be disobeyed.

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291. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said in condoling Ash'ath ibn Qays about (the death of) his son: O Ash' ath, if you grieve over your son, certainly it is the consequence of the blood relationship; but if you endure, then Allah provides recompense for every affliction. O Ash'ath, if you endure even then matters will move on as ordained by Allah but in that case you will deserve reward; while if you lose patience, matters will again move as ordained by Allah, but in this case you will be bearing the burden (of sins). O Ash'ath, your son (when he lived) gave you happiness while, at the same time, he was a trial and hardship and (when he died) he grieved you while, at the same time, he has proved a source of reward and mercy for you.

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292. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said on the grave of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his descendants, at the time of burial:

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Justice also has four aspects: keen understanding, deep knowledge, a good power of decision and firm forbearance. Therefore, whoever understands comes to acquire depth of knowledge; whoever acquires depth of knowledge drinks from the spring of judgement; and whoever exercises forbearance never commits evil actions in his affairs and leads a praiseworthy life among the people.

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Certainly, endurance is good except about you; fretting is bad except over you; and the affliction about you is great while every other affliction before or after it is small.

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293. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Do not associate with a fool because he will beautify his actions before you and long that you too be like him. 74

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294. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, was asked about the distance between East and West when he replied: One day's travelling for the sun.

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295. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Your friends are three and your enemies are (also) three. Your friends are: your friend, your friend's friend and your enemy's enemy. And your enemies are: your enemy, your friend's enemy and your enemy's friend.

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296. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, saw a man busy against his enemy with what was harmful to himself too, so he said: You are like one who pierces a spear through himself in order to kill the person sitting behind him.

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297. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: How many are the objects of lessons, but how few the taking of lessons. 75

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298. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: He who goes too far in quarrelling is a sinner, but if one falls short in it, one is oppressed and it is difficult for a quarreller to fear Allah.

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299. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: I am not worried by a sin after which I get time to offer prayer in two units (rak 'ah) and beg safety from Allah.

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300. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, was asked: How Allah would conduct the accounting of all persons despite their large number. He replied: Just as He provides them livelihood despite their large number. Then it was said to him: How will He conduct their accounting without their seeing Him. He replied: Just as He provides them livelihood although they do not see Him.

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301. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Your messenger is the interpreter of your intelligence while your letter is more eloquent in expressing your true self.

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4. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Incapability is a catastrophe; endurance is bravery; abstinence is riches; self-restraint is a shield (against sin); and the best companion is submission (to Allah's will).

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Jihad also has four aspects: to ask others to do good, to keep away others from doing evil, to fight (in the way of Allah) sincerely and firmly on all occasions, and to detest the vicious. So, whoever asks others to do good provides strength to the believers; whoever desists others from evil humiliates the unbelievers; whoever fights sincerely on all occasions discharges all his obligations; and whoever detests the vicious and becomes angry for the sake of Allah, then Allah will be angry in favour of him and will keep him and will keep him pleased on the Day of Judgement.

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302. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The person who is afflicted with hardship is not in greater need of praying than the one who has been spared affliction but is not immune from it.

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303. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: People are the progeny of the world and no one can be blamed for loving his mother.

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304. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The destitute is the Messenger of Allah. Whoever denies him denies Allah and whoever gives him gives Allah.

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305. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: A self- respecting man never commits adultery.

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306. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The fixed limit of life is enough to remain watchful.76

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307. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: A man can sleep on the death of his child, but cannot sleep at loss of property.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: It means that a man keeps patience on the death of his children but does not do so on the loss of property.

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308. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Mutual affection between fathers creates a relationship between the sons. Relationship is more in need of affection than affection is of relationship.

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309. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Be afraid of the ideas of believers, because Allah, the Sublime, has put truth on their tongues.

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310. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The belief of a person cannot be regarded as true unless his trust in what is with Allah is more than his trust in what he himself has.

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Unbelief stands on four supports: hankering after whims, mutual quarrelling, deviation from the truth, and dissension. So, whoever hankers after whims does not incline towards right: whoever quarrels much on account of ignorance remains permanently blinded from the right; whoever deviates from truth, for him good becomes evil and evil becomes good and he remains intoxicated with misguidance; and whoever makes a breach (with Allah and His Messenger), his path becomes difficult, his affairs become complicated and his way of escape becomes narrow.

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311. When Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, came to Basrah he sent Anas ibn Malik to Talhah and az-Zubayr to make them recall what he (Anas) himself had heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his descendants, say concerning them both, but he avoided doing so and when he came back to Amir al-mu'minin, he said that he had forgotten that matter. Thereupon, Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: If you are speaking a lie Allah may afflict you with white spots (leucoderma) which even the turban may not cover.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: White spot means leucoderma. After sometime this disease did occur to Anas's face so much so that he was never seen without a veil. 77

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312. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Sometimes the hearts move forward and sometimes they move backward. When they move forward get them to perform the optionals (as well), but when they move backward keep them confined to obligatories only.

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313. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: The Qur'an contains news about the past, foretellings about the future and commandments for the present.

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314. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: Throw a stone in return from where one comes to you because evil can be met only with evil.

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315. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said to his secretary 'Ubaydullah ibn Abi Rafi': Put cotton flake in the inkpot, keep the nib of your pen long, leave space between lines and close up the letters because this is good for the beauty of the writing.

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316. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said: I am the ya'sub (leader) of the believers, while wealth is the leader of the wicked.

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As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: It means that the believers follow me while the wicked follow wealth just as the bees follow their "ya'sub" who is their leader. 78

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317. Some Jews said to Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him; You had not buried your Prophet when you picked up differences about him, when Amir al-mu'minin replied: We did not differ about him but we differed after him (i.e. about his succession); whereas your feet had not yet dried after coming out of the river (Nile) when you began asking your Prophet: Make you for us a god as they have gods of their own. Said he; 'Verily you are a people behaving ignorantly. ' 79 (Qur'an, 7:138)

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318. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, was asked: With what did you overpower your adversaries? He answered: Whenever I confronted a person he helped me against himself.

QUOTES

QUOTE-42.txt

Doubt has also four aspects: unreasonableness, fear, wavering and undue submission to every thing. So, he who adopts unreasonableness as his way, for him there is no dawn after the night; he who is afraid of what befalls him has to run on his heels; he who wavers in doubt Satans trample him under their feet and he who submits to the destruction of this and tile next world succumbs to it.

QUOTES

QUOTE-420.txt

as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: Amir al-mu'minin is pointing out his striking of awe in the hearts. 80

QUOTES

QUOTE-421.txt

319. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said to his son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah: O my son, I fear lest destitution overtakes you. So, you should seek Allah's protection from it, because destitution is deficiency of religious belief, perplexity of intelligence, and it is conducive to hatred of obstinate people.

QUOTES

QUOTE-422.txt

320. Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, replied to a man who had asked him a difficult question: Ask me in order to gain understanding but do not ask me seeking to create confusion, because the ignorant person who tries to learn is like the learned man, but the learned man who tries to create confusion is like the ignorant.