ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام)

About the Consultative Committee and the Battle of Jamal

[حمد الله :] الْحَمْدُ لله الَّذِي لاَ تُوَارِي عَنْهُ سَمَاءٌ سَمَاءً، وَلاَ أَرْضٌ أَرْضاً.

Praise be to Allāh from whose view one sky does not conceal another sky nor one earth another earth.

[منها في يوم الشورى :] وَقَالَ قَائِلٌ: إِنَّكَ يابْنَ أبِي طَالِب عَلَى هذَا الاْمْرِ لَحَرِيصٌ. فَقُلْتُ: بَلْ أَنْتُمْ وَاللهِ أحْرَصُ وَأَبْعَدُ، وَأَنَا أَخَصُّ وَأَقْرَبُ، وَإِنَّمَا طَلَبْتُ حَقّاً لِي وَأَنْتُمْ تَحُولُونَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ، وَتَضْرِبُونَ وَجْهِي دُونَهُ، فَلَمَّا قَرَّعْتُهُ بِالْحُجَّةِ فِي الْملاءِ الْحَاضِرِينَ هَبَّ كَأَنَّهُ بُهِتَ لاَ يَدْرِي مَا يُجِيبُنِي بِهِ!

[A part of the same sermon About the Consultative Committee after the death of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb :] Someone [1] said to me, “O ’ son of Abī Ṭālib, you are eager for the caliphate.” Then I told him: “Rather, you are, by Allāh, more greedy, although more remote, while I am more suited as well as nearer. I have demanded it as my right, while you are intervening between me and it, and you are turning my face from it.” When I knocked at his ears with arguments among the crowd of those present he was startled as if he was stunned not knowing what reply to give me about it.

[الاستنصار على قريش :] اللَّهُمَّ إنَّي أَسْتَعْدِيكَ عَلى قُرَيْش وَمَنْ أَعَانَهُمْ! فَإِنَّهُمْ قَطَعُوا رَحِمِي، وَصَغَّرُوا عَظِيمَ مَنْزِلَتِي، وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى مُنَازَعَتِي أَمْراً هُوَ لِي. ثُمَّ قَالُوا: أَلاَ إنَّ فِي الْحَقِّ أَنْ تَأْخُذَهُ، وَفِي الْحَقِّ أَنْ تَتْرُكَهُ.

[Seeking aid against the Quraysh :] O my Allāh ! I seek Thy succour against the Quraysh and those who are assisting them, because they are denying me (the rights of) kinship, have lowered my high position, and are united in opposing me in the matter (of the caliphate) which is my right, and then they said, “Know that the rightful thing is that you have it and also that you may leave it.” [2]

[منها في ذكر أصحاب الجمل :] فَخَرَجُوا يَجُرُّونَ حُرْمَةَ رَسُولِ اللهِ (صلى الله عليه وآله) كَمَا تُجَرُّ الاْمَةُ عِنْدَ شِرَائِهَا، مُتَوَجِّهِينَ بِهَا إِلَى الْبَصْرَةِ، فَحَبَسَا نِسَاءَ هُمَا فِي بُيُوتِهِمَا، وَأَبْرَزَا حَبِيس رَسُولِ اللهِ (صلى الله عليه وآله) لَهُمَا وَلِغَيْرِهِمَا، فِي جَيْش مَا مِنْهُمْ رَجُلٌ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أَعْطَانِي الطَّاعَةَ، وَسَمَحَ لِي بِالْبَيْعَةِ، طَائِعاً غَيْرَ مُكْرَه، فَقَدِمُوا عَلَى عَامِلِي بِهَا وَخُزَّانِ بَيْتِ مَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَغَيْرِهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا، فَقَتَلُوا طَائِفَةً صَبْراً، وَطَائِفَةً غَدْراً.

[A part of the same sermon Describing the people of Jamal :] They (Ṭalḥah, az-Zubayr and their supporters) came out dragging the wife of the Messenger of Allāh — the peace and blessing of Allāh be upon him and his descendants — just as a maidslave is dragged for sale. They took her to Baṣrah where those two (Ṭalḥah and az-Zubayr) put their own women in their houses but exposed the wife of the Messenger of Allāh to themselves and to others in the army in which there was not a single individual who had not offered me his obedience and sworn to me allegiance quite obediently, without any compulsion. Here in Baṣrah they approached my governor and treasurers of the public treasury and its other inhabitants. They killed some of them in captivity and others by treachery.

فَوَاللهِ لَوْ لَمْ يُصِيبُوا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ إِلاَّ رَجُلاً وَاحِداً مُعْتَمِدِينَ لِقَتْلِهِ، بِلاَ جُرْم جَرَّهُ، لَحَلَّ لي قَتْلُ ذلِكَ الْجَيْشِ كُلِّهِ، إِذْ حَضَرُوهُ فَلَمْ يُنْكِرُوا، وَلَمْ يَدْفَعُوا عَنْهُ بِلِسَان وَلاَ يَد. دَعْ مَا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ قَتَلُوا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِثْلَ الْعِدَّةِ الَّتِي دَخَلُوا بِهَا عَلَيْهِمْ!

By Allāh, even if they had wilfully killed only one individual from among the Muslims without any fault, it would have been lawful for me to kill the whole of this army because they were present in it but did not disagree with it nor prevented it by tongue or hand, not to say that they killed from among the Muslims a number equal to that with which they had marched on them.

[Louange à Dieu :] Louange à Dieu Auquel un ciel ne voile pas un autre, ni une terre une autre.

[Le Jour de consultation :] Quelqu’un dit: Tu es avide, ô fils de Abi Taleb, en ce qui concerne cette affaire. Alors, je dis: Vous êtes, par Dieu, beaucoup plus avides que moi; surtout que je me sens extrêmement concerné dans cette affaire. Le fait est que j’ai demandé un droit qui m’est dû, tandis que vous vous mettez entre moi et mon droit que vous refusez. Lorsque je l’ai réduis au silence par mon argument devant le public, il s’est levé ébahi, ne sachant que répondre!

Seigneur, je Te demande d’être l’ennemi de Qoraïche et de leurs partisans! Es ont coupé mes liens consanguins, minimisé ma haute position et se sont tous mis d’accord à me prendre ce qui m’est dû, puis ils ont adopté deux attitudes contradictoires; je suis le plus digne pour le califat mais je dois accepter qu’il soit donné à quelqu’un d’autre!

[Les gens du Chameau :] Ils sont sortis traînant l’épouse du Prophète -la prière de Dieu sui lui et les siens- comme on traîne une servante achetée, la dirigeant vers Basra. Ils [Talhat et Zubaïr] ont tenu leurs épouses éloignées dans leurs maisons et ont mis au grand jour la femme retenue uniquement au Prophète, à la tête d’une armée où il n’y avait un seul homme qui ne m’ait juré obéissance et qui n’ait accepté ma désignation librement et sans contrainte. lls se sont attaques à mon gouvemeur et aux caissiers du tresor public des musulmans, faisant mourir lentement les uns et perfidement les autres.

Par Dieu, s’ils n’avaient massacré par préméditation qu’un seul musulman innocent, alors il me serait licite de tuer toute leur armée, car ils avaient tous assisté aux meurtres sans protester, ni les empêcher par leurs paroles et leurs actes...

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #172