Nahj al-Balāgha

ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) قاله وهو يلي غسل رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله) وتجهيزه

Spoken when Amīr al-mu’minīn was busy in the funeral ablution (ghusl) of the Holy Prophet and shrouding him

بِأَبِي أَنْتَ وأُمِّي، لَقَدِ انْقَطَعَ بِمَوْتِكَ مَا لَمْ يَنْقَطِعْ بِمَوْتِ غَيْرِكَ مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ وَالاْنْبَاءِ وأَخْبَارِ السَّماءِ، خَصَصْتَ حَتَّى صِرْتَ مُسَلِّياً عَمَّنْ سِوَاكَ، وَعَمَمْتَ حَتّى صَارَ النَّاسُ فِيكَ سَواءً،

May my father and my mother shed their lives for you. O Messenger of Allāh! With your death the process of prophethood, revelation and heavenly messages has stopped, which had not stopped at the death of others (prophets). Your position with us (members of your family) is so special that your grief has become a source of consolation (to us) as against the grief of all others; your grief is also common so that all Muslims share it equally.

وَلَوْ لاَ أَنَّكَ أَمَرْتَ بِالصَّبْرِ، وَنَهَيْتَ عَنِ الْجَزَعِ، لاَنْفَدْنَا عَلَيْكَ مَاءَ الشُّؤُونِ، وَلَكَانَ الدَّاءُ مُمَاطِلاً، وَالْكَمَدُ مُحَالِفاً، وَقَلاَّ لَكَ! وَلكِنَّهُ مَا لاَ يُمْلَكُ رَدُّهُ، وَلاَ يُسْتَطَاعُ دَفْعُهُ!

If you had not ordered endurance and prevented us from bewailing, we would have produced a store of tears and even then the pain would not have subsided, and this grief would not have ended, and they would have been too little of our grief for you. But this (death) is a matter that cannot be reversed nor is it possible to repulse it.

بِأَبِي أَنْتَ وَأُمّي! اذْكُرْنَا عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ، وَاجْعَلْنَا مِنْ بَالِكَ!

May my father and my mother die for you; do remember us with Allāh and take care of us.