لطفا منتظر باشید ...
letters
letter
10
A
letter to Mu'awiya
Have
you ever seriously considered what would happen to you if all your
wealth and property is taken away from you. The possessions, the
riches and the luxuries that you have surrounded yourself with,
belong to this world, a world which has profusely decorated itself
and which is bent upon alluring you with its enjoyments. It has
enticed you away and you have fallen an easy prey to its
allurements. It has dragged you and you have followed it like a
tame animal on the other end of the rope. It has ordered you and
you have obeyed its orders submissively.You have forgotten that shortly you will be called to bear the
consequences of such a life; consequences from which no one can
shield, liberate or absolve you.Abstain from such a life, keep yourself ready for the Day of
Judgement; be ready for death which is inevitable, bound to come
and sure to end every life, rich or poor. Do not listen to the
exciting whispers of those who want to tempt you and do not make
them believe that they and their heinous whisperings have any
importance in your mind.If you do not faithfully and sincerely follow the dictates of
religion and do not act as I have advised you, then I want to warn
you of something that you have entirely forgotten. It is that you
are unthankful to Allah for all which He has granted to you and
you are ungrateful to Him for the Favours bestowed upon you. Satan
has taken possession of your soul. Its desire to secure you as his
obedient slave, is fully fulfilled. It has a firm hold on your
mind.O Mu'awiya! Were you ever entrusted with the noble status of
dispensing peace and justice to mankind? Have you the necessary
knowledge for the work? Do you really know the canons of equity
and justice as laid down by Islam? You and your ways of
government! May Allah protect me from and may withhold me from
behaving towards mankind the way you have behaved and from
tyranny, exploitations and murders that you commit. Take care! You
are being madly driven by the lust of wealth, power and vicious
indulgence, you are behaving hypocritically against man and Allah.
You shall be damned forever.You have challenged me to a battle. I accept your challenge. But I
have a proposal to make. Why have a war involving murder and
bloodshed of thousands of ignorant people? Why be a scourge to
mankind? Let us have mercy on them, whether they are sincere and
Allah-fearing Muslims, or ignorant, unenlightened and greedy
mercenaries misguided and fooled by you. Let there be peace and
tranquillity for all the creatures of Allah.Let us, you and I, have a single combat. Let it be a combat unto
death. Let the soldiers of both armies stand aside and let two of
us alone combat with each other. Let the world see and realize who
is the sinner and who has forgotten Allah and the Day of
Judgement. Will you accept this invitation of mine? Have you the
courage for it? Are you a man to face death boldly and bravely or
are you merely a vampire sucking the blood of others
surreptitiously?Remember Mu'awiya! Though now old I am still Abu al-Hasan, the man
who killed your maternal grandfather, your uncle and your brother
in single combats in the Battle of Badr. The same sword is still
in my hand, the same blood is still flowing in my veins, the same
heart is still throbbing in my chest and with the same courage I
still face my enemy. Will you come and face me alone?
Remember
that I have not introduced any innovation in religion, nor have I
insinuated schism. Verily, I sincerely believe in the religion
which you pretended to embrace hypocritically with mental
reservations and pretensions, a religion which you in your heart
of hearts actually hated and which you gave up quickly and
cheerfully.You pretend that you want to avenge the murder of Caliph Uthman.
Do you know who actually killed him and who caused his murder? If
really you do so, then seek vengeance on them.I see before me the day when you will be tired of this war, when
you will face defeat, when you will find death or disgrace facing
you, when I shall scatter your armies, killing your famous but
misguided marshals, when I shall thin your ranks and files; then
in despondency and despair you will turn towards the Book of
Allah, though you will have no faith in it and no belief in the
truth preached by it because you and your followers being
hypocrites have no faith in Allah, in the Holy Prophet (s) and the
Day of Judgement and who have gone back on their promises.[ What a prophecy! It all took place as Imam Ali (a) had
prophesied. While facing defeat in the Battle of Siffin, Mu'awiya
following Amr bin Aas tied some scraps of paper to the spears of
his soldiers and raising them declared that it was the Holy Qur'an
and that they wanted the Holy Book to act as an arbitrator between
him and Imam Ali (a). ]
