Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources]

letters letter 7

A letter to Mu'awiya, on receiving letters from him based on hypocritical advice and false accusations.

After praising Allah and invoking His Blessings and Peace on the Holy Prophet (s), I write to inform you that I am in receipt of many of your letters which appear to consist of various pieces of advice to me. You have very cunningly tried to couch them in flowery words and phrases. You have done this because of your natural evil-mindedness and because of the envy, enmity and malice you bear against me.

(These kinds of letters show that they have been written from a person who has no inner-light and no benevolent guide to show him the true path. Avarice, self-aggrandizement and lust of power prompted him to do so and he jumped at the suggestion. It is a letter from a person, whom selfishness has led astray and who has lost his sense of proportion and therefore, it contains no sense and no real worth. Some commentators consider the following passage as a part of the letter above.)

Remember that the allegiance and fidelity sworn to me is such that it does not require reconsideration on the part of those who have sworn it nor are they at liberty (from a religious point of view) to go back upon it. Therefore, those who belittle it, scoff at it, or go back upon it are hypocrites and traitors.