Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
130

SERMON 130

Grounds for accepting the
Caliphate and the qualities of a ruler and governor

O' (people of)
differing minds and divided hearts, whose bodies are present but
wits are absent. I am leading you (amicably) towards truthfulness,
but you run away from it like goats and sheep running away from
the howling of a lion. How hard it is for me to uncover for you
the secrets of justice, or to straighten the curve of
truthfulness.

O' my Allah! Thou
knowest that what we did was not to seek power nor to acquire
anything from the vanities of the world. We rather wanted to
restore the signs of Thy religion and to usher prosperity into Thy
cities so that the oppressed among Thy creatures might be safe and
Thy forsaken commands might be established. O' my Allah! I am the
first who leaned (towards Thee) and who heard and responded (to
the call of Islam). No one preceded me in prayer (salat) except
the Prophet.

You certainly know
that he who is in charge of honour, life, booty, (enforcement of)
legal commandments and the leadership of the Muslims should not be
a miser as his greed would aim at their wealth, nor be ignorant as
he would then mislead them with his ignorance, nor be of rude
behaviour who would estrange them with his rudeness, nor should he
deal unjustly with wealth thus preferring one group over another,
nor should he accept a bribe while taking decisions, as he would
forfeit (others) rights and hold them up without finality, nor
should he ignore sunnah as he would ruin the people.