Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
87

SERMON 87

About the division of the
community into factions

So now, certainly,
Allah did not break the neck of any unruly tyrant in this world
except after allowing him time and opportunity and did not join
the broken bone of any people (ummah) until He did not inflict
calamity and distress upon them. Even less than what sufferings
and misfortunes have yet to fall upon you or have already befallen
you are enough for giving lessons. Every man with a heart is not
intelligent, every ear does not listen and every eye does not see.

I wonder, and there is
no reason why I should not wonder, about the faults of these
groups who have introduced alterations in their religious pleas,
who do not move on the footsteps of their Prophet nor follow the
actions of the vicegerent. They do not believe in the unknown and
do not avoid the evil. They act on the doubts and tread in (the
way of) their passions. For them good is whatever they consider
good and evil is whatever they consider evil. Their reliance for
resolving distresses is on themselves. Their confidence in regard
to dubious matters is on their own opinions as if every one of
them is the Leader (Imam) of himself. Whatever he has decided
himself he considers it to have been taken through reliable
sources and strong factors.