لطفا منتظر باشید ...
SERMON 161
One of Amir al-mu'minin's companions
(from Banu Asad) asked him: "How was it that your tribe (Quraysh) deprived you of
this position (Caliphate) although you deserved it most." Then in reply he said:
O' brother of Banu Asad! Your girth is loose and you
have put it on the wrong way. Nevertheless you enjoy in-law kinship and also the right to
ask, and since you have asked, listen. As regards the oppression against us in this matter
although we were the highest as regards descent and the strongest in relationship with the
Messenger of Allah. It was a selfish act over which the hearts of people became greedy,
although some people did not care for it. The Arbiter is Allah and to Him is the return on
the Day of Judgement.
"Now leave this story of devastation about
which there is hue and cry all round." (1)
Come and look at the son of Abu Sufyan (Muawiyah).
Time has made me laugh after weeping. No wonder, by Allah; what is this affair which
surpasses all wonder and which has increased wrongfulness. These people have tried to put
out the flame of Allah's light from His lamp and to close His fountain from its source.
They mixed epidemic-producing water between me and themselves. If the trying hardships
were removed from among us, I would take them on the course of truthfulness otherwise:
"... So let not thy self go (in vain) in grief
for them; verily Allah knoweth all that they do." (Qur'an, 35:8)
(1).
This is a hemistich from the couplet of the famous Arab poet Imriu'l-Qays al-Kindi. The
second hemistich is:
"And let me know the story of
what happened to the riding camels."
The incident behind this couplet is
that when the father of Imriu'l-Qays namely Hujr ibn al-Harith was killed, he roamed about
the various Arab tribes to avenge his father's life with their help. In this connection he
stayed with a man of Jadilah (tribe) but finding himself unsafe left that place, and
stayed with Khalid ibn Sadus an-Nabhani. In the meantime a man of Jadilah named Baith ibn
Huways drove away some of his camels. Imriu'l-Qays complained of this matter to his host
and he asked him to send with him his she-camels then he would get back his camels.
Consequently, Khalid went to those
people and asked them to return the camels of his guest which they had robbed. They said
that he was neither a guest nor under his protection. Thereupon Khalid swore that he was
really his guest and showed them his she-camels that he had with him. They then agreed to
return the camels. But actually instead of returning the camels they drove away the
she-camels as well. One version is that they did return the camels to Khalid but instead
of handing them over to Imriu'l-Qays he kept them for himself. When Imriu'l-Qays came to
know this he composed a few couplets out of which this is one. It means 'now you leave the
story of these camels which were robbed but now let me know about the she-camels snatched
from my hands.'
Amir al-mu'minin's intention in
quoting this verse as an illustration is that "Now that Muawiyah is at war, we
should talk about and should leave the discussion about the devastation engendered by
those who had usurped my rights. That time has gone away. Now is the time for grappling
with the mischiefs of the hour. So discuss the event of the moment and do not start
untimely strain." Amir al-mu'minin said this because the man had put the question to
him at the time of the battle of Siffin, when the battle was raging and bloodshed was in
full swing.
.Forward to Sermon 162.Back to Sermon 160.
