Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Sermon 163

#suntv #nahjulbalagha #nahjulbalaghaenglish

When people went to Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) in a

deputation and complained to him about Othman, requesting him to speak to him on their behalf and to admonish him for their sake, he went to see Othman to whom he said the following : 1

The people are behind me and they have made me an ambassador between you and themselves; but by Allah, I do not know what to say to you. I know nothing (in this matter) which you do not know, nor can I lead you to any matter of which you are not aware. You certainly know what we know. We have not come to know anything before you which we could tell you, nor did we learn any secret which we should reveal to you. You have seen as we have seen and you have heard as we have heard. You sat in the company of the Prophet of Allah (h) as we did. (Abu

Bakr) the son of AbiQuhafah as well as (Umar) ibn al-Khattab were no more responsible for acting righteously than you, since you are nearer than both of them to the Prophet of Allah (k) through kinship and you also hold relationship to him by marriage which they do not have.

Then (fear) Allah, with regard to your own self for, by Allah, you are not being shown anything as if you are blind or being apprised of anything as if you are ignorant. Everything is clear while the banners of faith are fixed. You should know that among the servants of Allah, the most distinguished person before Allah is the just imam who has been guided (by Allah) and who guides others. So, he stands by the recognized ways of the Prophet’s behavior and destroys unrecognized innovations. The (Prophet’s) ways are clear and they have signs, while innovations are also clear and they, too, have signs. Certainly, the worst man before Allah is the oppressive imam who has gone astray and through whom others go astray. He destroys the accepted Sunnah and revives abandoned innovations. I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “On the Day of Judgement, the oppressive imam will be brought with none to support him

564

or to advance excuses on his behalf. Then he will be thrown into Hell where he will rotate as the hand-mill rotates, then (eventually) he will be confined to its hollow.

I swear to you by Allah that you should not be such an imam of the people who will be killed because it has been said that an imam of this people will be killed after which killing and fighting will be made open for them till the Day of Judgement and he will confuse their matters and spread troubles over them. As a result, they will not distinguish right from wrong. They will oscillate like waves and will be utterly misled. You should not behave as the beast of burden for Marwan [ibn al-Hakam, your cousin] so that he may drag you wherever he likes, despite (your) seniority of age and length of life.

It was then that Othman said the following to Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x): “Ask the people to give me time till I redress their grievances.” Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) said, “As far as Medina is concerned, time is

out of the question. As for more remote areas, you can have the time needed for your order to reach your objectives.”