Eternal Words Nahj al-Balaghah Sermons SERMON 25 - When Amir al-Mu’minin, Peace be Upon Him received successive news that Mu`awiyah’s men were occupying cities and his own officers in Yemen namely `Ubaydullah ibn `Abbas and Sa’i d ibn Imran came to him retreating after being overpowered by Bi
SERMON 25 - When Amir al-Mu’minin, Peace be Upon Him received successive news that Mu`awiyah’s men were occupying cities and his own officers in Yemen namely `Ubaydullah ibn `Abbas and Sa’i d ibn Imran came to him retreating after being overpowered by Bi
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Nothing (is left to me) but Kufah which I can hold and extend (which is in my hand to play with). (O Kufah) if this is your condition that whirlwinds continue blowing through you then Allah may destroy you.
Then he illustrated with this verse of a poet:
O `Amr! By your good father’s life, I have received only a small bit of fat from this pot (fat that remains sticking to it even after it has been emptied).
Then he went on to say:
I have been informed that Busr has overpowered Yemen. By Allah, I have begun thinking about these people that they would shortly snatch away the whole country through their unity on their wrong and your disunity (from your own right) and separation, your disobedience of your Imam in matters of right and their obedience to their leader in matters of wrong, their fulfillment of the trust in favor of their master and your betrayal, their god work in their cities and your mischief. Even if I give you charge of a wooden bowl I fear you would run away with its handle.
O Lord! They are disgusted of me and I am disgusted of them. They are weary of me and I am weary of them. Change them for me with better ones and change me for them with a worse one. O my Allah melt their hearts as salt melts in water. By Allah I wish I had only a thousand horsemen of Banu Firas ibn Ghanm (as the poet says):
If you call them the horsemen would come to you like the summer cloud.
Thereafter, Amir al-Mu’minin (p.b.u.h.) stepped down from the pulpit.
Sayyid ar-Razi says the following: “In this verse, the word armiyah is plural of ramiyy which means cloud and hamin here means summer. The poet has particularized the cloud of summer because it moves swiftly. This is so because it is devoid of water while a cloud moves slowly when it is laden with rain. Such clouds generally appear (in Arabia) in winter. By this verse, the poet intends to convey that when they are called and referred to for help they approach with rapidity and this is borne by the first line “If you call them, they will reach you.”
