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SERMON 215
Delivered at the battle of Siffin
Mutual rights of the ruler and the
ruled
So now, Allah, the Glorified, has, by placing me
over your affairs,created my right over you, and you too have a right over me like
mineover you. A right is very vast in description but very narrow in equitability of
action. It does not accrue to any person unless it accrues against him also, and right
does not accrue against a person unless it also accrues in his favour. If there is any
right which is only in favour of a person with no (corresponding) right accruing against
him it is solely for Allah, the Glorified, and not for His creatures by virtue of His
might over His creatures and by virtue of the justice permeating all His decrees. Of
course, He the Glorified, has created His right over creatures that they should worship
Him, and has laid upon Himself (the obligation of) their reward equal to several times the
recompense as a mark of His bounty and the generosity that He is capable of.
Then, from His rights, He, the Glorified, created
certain rights for certain people against others. He made them so as to equate with one
another. Some of these rights produce other rights. Some rights are such that they do not
accrue except with others. The greatest of these rights that Allah, the Glorified, has
made obligatory is the right of the ruler over the ruled and the right of the ruled over
the ruler. This is an obligation which Allah, the Glorified, has placed on each other. He
has made it the basis of their (mutual) affection, and an honour for their religion.
Consequently, the ruled cannot prosper unless the rulers are sound, while the rulers
cannot be sound unless the ruled are steadfast. If the ruled fulfil the rights of the
ruler and the ruler fulfils their rights, then right attains the position of honour among
them, the ways of religion become established, signs of justice become fixed and the
sunnah gains currency.
In this way time will improve, the continuance of
government will be expected, and the aims of the enemies will be frustrated. But if the
ruled gain sway over the ruler, or the ruler oppresses the ruled, then difference crops up
in every word, signs of oppression appear, mischief enters religion and the ways of the
sunnah are forsaken. Then desires are acted upon, the commands (of religion) are
discarded, diseases of the spirit become numerous and there is no hesitation in
disregarding even great rights, nor in committing big wrongs. In such circumstances, the
virtuous are humiliated while the vicious are honoured, and there are serious
chastisements from Allah, the Glorified, onto the people.
You should therefore counsel each other (for the
fulfilment of your obligations) and co-operate with each other. However extremely eager a
person may be to secure the pleasure of Allah, and however fully he strives for it, he
cannot discharge (his obligation for) obedience to Allah, the Glorified, as is really due
to Him, and it is an obligatory right of Allah over the people that they should advise
each other to the best of their ability and co-operate with each other for the
establishment of truth among them. No person, however great his position in the matter of
truth, and however advanced his distinction in religion may be, is above co-operation in
connection with the obligations placed on him by Allah. Again, no man, however small he
may be regarded by others, and however humble he may appear before eyes, is too low to
co-operate or to be afforded co-operation in this matter.
One of Amir al-mu'minin's companions replied to him
by a long speech wherein he praised him much and mentioned his own listening to him and
obeying him, whereupon Amir al-mu'minin said:
If a man in his mind regards Allah's glory as being
high and believes in his heart that Allah's position is sublime, then it is his right that
on account of the greatness of these things he should regard all other things small. Among
such persons he on whom Allah's bounty is great and Allah's favours are kind has a greater
obligation, because Allah's bounty over any person does not increase without an increase
in Allah's right over him.
In the view of virtuous people, the worst position
of rulers is that it may be thought about them that they love glory, and their affairs may
be taken to be based on pride. I would really hate that it may occur to your mind that I
love high praises or to hear eulogies. By the grace of Allah I am not like this. Even If I
had loved to be mentioned like this, I would have given it up in submissiveness before
Allah, the Glorified, rather than accept greatness and sublimity to which He is more
entitled. Generally, people feel pleased at praise after good performances; but do not
mention for me handsome praise for the obligations I have discharged towards Allah and
towards you, because of (my) fear about those obligations which I have not discharged and
for issuing injunctions which could not be avoided, and do not address me in the manner
despots are addressed. Do not evade me as the people of passion are (to be) evaded, do not
meet me with flattery and do not think that I shall take it ill if a true thing is said to
me, because the person who feels disgusted when truth is said to him or a just matter is
placed before him would find it more difficult to act upon them. Therefore, do not abstain
from saying a truth or pointing out a matter of justice because I do not regard myself
above erring (1). I do not escape erring in my actions but
that Allah helps me (in avoiding errors) in matters in which He is more powerful than I.
Certainly, I and you are slaves owned by Allah, other than Whom there is no Lord except
Him. He owns our selves which we do not own. He took us from where we were towards what
means prosperity to us. He altered our straying into guidance and gave us intelligence
after blindness.
(1).
That the innocence of angels is different from the innocence of manneeds no detailed
discussion. The innocence of angels means that they do not possess the impulse to sin, but
the innocence of man means that, although he has human frailties and passions, yet he
possesses a peculiar power to resist them and he is not over-powered by them so as to
commit sins. This very ability is called innocence and it prevents the rising up of
personal passions and impulses. Amir al-mu'minin's saying that "I do not regard
myself above erring" refers to those human dictates and passions, and his saying that
"Allah helps me in avoiding 'errors'" refers to innocence. The same tone is
found in the Qur'an in the words of Prophet Yusuf that:
I exculpate not myself, verily
(one's) self is wont to bid (him to) evil, except such as my Lord hath had mercy on;
verily my Lord is Oft- forgiving, All-merciful. (12:53)
Just as in this verse, because of
the existence of exception, its firstpart cannot be used to argue against his innocence,
similarly, due to the existence of the exception "but that Allah helps me in avoiding
errors" in Amir al-mu'minin's saying, its first part cannot be used to argue against
his innocence, otherwise the Prophet's innocence too will have to be rejected. In the same
way, the last sentence of this sermon should not be taken to mean that before the
proclamation of prophethood he had been under the influence of pre-Islamic beliefs, and
that just as others had been unbelievers he too might have been in darkness and
misguidance, because from his very birth Amir al-mu'minin was brought-up by the Prophet
and the effect of his training and up-bringing permeated him. It cannot therefore be
imagined that he who had from infancy trod in the foot-prints of the Prophet would deviate
from guidance even for a moment. Thus, al-Masudi has written:
Amir al-mu'minin never believed in
any other god than Allah so that there could be the question of his accepting Islam. He
rather followed the Prophet in all his actions and (virtually) initiated him, and in this
very state he attained majority. (Muruj adh-dhahab, vol. 2, p. 3).
Here, by those whom Allah led from
darkness into guidance, the reference is to the persons whom Amir al-muيminin was
addressing. Ibn Abiيl-Hadid writes in this connection:
The reference here is not to his
own self because he had never been an unbeliever so as to have accepted Islam after that,
but in these words he is referring to those group of people whom he was addressing. (Sharh
Nahj al-balaghah, vol. 11, p. 108)
.Forward to Sermon 216.Back to Sermon 214.
