ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام) المعروفة بالشقشقية وتشتمل على الشكوى من أمر الخلافة ثم ترجيح صبره عنها ثم مبايعة الناس له

Known as the Sermon of ash-Shiqshiqiyyah [1]

أَمَا وَالله لَقَدْ تَقَمَّصَها ابْنُ اَبى قُحافَةَ، وَإِنَّهُ لَيَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مَحَلِّيَ مِنهَا مَحَلُّ القُطْبِ مِنَ الرَّحَا، يَنْحَدِرُ عَنِّي السَّيْلُ، وَلا يَرْقَى إِلَيَّ الطَّيْرُ، فَسَدَلْتُ دُونَهَا ثَوْباً، وَطَوَيْتُ عَنْهَا كَشْحاً، وَطَفِقْتُ أَرْتَئِي بَيْنَ أَنْ أَصُولَ بِيَد جَذَّاءَ، أَوْ أَصْبِرَ عَلَى طَخْيَة عَمْيَاءَ، يَهْرَمُ فيهَا الكَبيرُ، وَيَشِيبُ فِيهَا الصَّغِيرُ، وَيَكْدَحُ فِيهَا مُؤْمِنٌ حَتَّى يَلْقَى رَبَّهُ.

Beware! By Allāh the son of Abu Quḥafah (Abu Bakr) [2] dressed himself with it (the caliphate) and he certainly knew that my position in relation to it was the same as the position of the axis in relation to the hand-mill. The flood water flows down from me and the bird cannot fly upto me. I put a curtain against the caliphate and kept myself detached from it. Then I began to think whether I should assault or endure calmly the blinding darkness of tribulations wherein the grown up are feeble and the young grow old and the true believer acts under strain till he meets Allāh (on his death).

ترجيح الصبرعلى فقد الاعوان

Proposes Patience in Absence of Supporters

فَرَأَيْتُ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى هَاتَا أَحْجَى، فَصَبَرتُ وَفي الْعَيْنِ قَذىً، وَفي الحَلْقِ شَجاً، أرى تُرَاثي نَهْباً، حَتَّى مَضَى الاْوَّلُ لِسَبِيلِهِ، فَأَدْلَى بِهَا إِلَى ابْنِ الْخَطّابِ بَعْدَهُ. (ثم تمثل بقول الاعشى):

I found that endurance thereon was wiser. So I adopted patience although there was pricking in the eye and suffocation (of mortification) in the throats. I watched the plundering of my inheritance till the first one went his way but handed over the Caliphate to Ibn al-Khaṭṭab after himself. (Then he quoted al-A`sha's verse):

شَتّانَ ما يَومي عَاى كُوْرِها *** و يَوْمُ حَيَّانَ أخي جابِرِ

My days are now passed on the camel’s back (in difficulty) while there were days (of ease) when I enjoyed the company of Jābir’s brother Hayyan. [3]

فَيَا عَجَباً!! بَيْنَا هُوَ يَسْتَقِيلُها في حَيَاتِهِ إِذْ عَقَدَهَا لاخَرَ بَعْدَ وَفَاتِهِ ـ لَشَدَّ مَا تَشَطَّرَا ضَرْعَيْهَا ! ـ فَصَيَّرَهَا في حَوْزَة خَشْنَاءَ، يَغْلُظُ كَلْمُهَا، وَيَخْشُنُ مَسُّهَا، وَيَكْثُرُ العِثَارُ فِيهَا وَالاْعْتَذَارُ مِنْهَا، فَصَاحِبُهَا كَرَاكِبِ الصَّعْبَةِ، إِنْ أَشْنَقَ لَهَا خَرَمَ، وَإِنْ أَسْلَسَ لَهَا تَقَحَّمَ، فَمُنِيَ النَّاسُ ـ لَعَمْرُ اللهِ ـ بِخَبْط وَشِمَاس، وَتَلَوُّن وَاعْتِرَاض.

It is strange that during his lifetime he wished to be released from the caliphate but he confirmed it for the other one after his death. No doubt these two shared its udders strictly among themselves. This one put the Caliphate in a tough enclosure where the utterance was haughty and the touch was rough. Mistakes were in plenty and so also the excuses therefore. One in contact with it was like the rider of an unruly camel. If he pulled up its rein the very nostril would be slit, but if he let it loose he would be thrown. Consequently, by Allāh people got involved in recklessness, wickedness, unsteadiness and deviation.

فَصَبَرْتُ عَلَى طُولِ الْمُدَّةِ، وَشِدَّةِ الْمحْنَةِ، حَتَّى إِذا مَضَى لِسَبِيلِهِ جَعَلَهَا في جَمَاعَة زَعَمَ أَنَّي أَحَدُهُمْ. فَيَاللهِ وَلِلشُّورَى! مَتَى اعْتَرَضَ الرَّيْبُ فِيَّ مَعَ الاْوَّلِ مِنْهُمْ، حَتَّى صِرْتُ أُقْرَنُ إِلَى هذِهِ النَّظَائِرِ!

Nevertheless, I remained patient despite length of period and stiffness of trial, till when he went his way (of death) he put the matter (of Caliphate) in a group [4] and regarded me to be one of them. But good Heavens! what had I to do with this “consultation”? Where was any doubt about me with regard to the first of them that I was now considered akin to these ones?

لكِنِّي أَسفَفْتُ إِذْ أَسَفُّوا، وَطِرْتُ إِذْ طَارُوا، فَصَغَا رَجُلُ مِنْهُمْ لِضِغْنِه، وَمَالَ الاْخَرُ لِصِهْرهِ، مَعَ هَن وَهَن. إِلَى أَنْ قَامَ ثَالِثُ القَوْمِ، نَافِجَاً حِضْنَيْهِ بَيْنَ نَثِيلهِ وَمُعْتَلَفِهِ، وَقَامَ مَعَهُ بَنُو أَبِيهِ يَخْضَمُونَ مَالَ اللهِ خَضْمَ الاْبِل نِبْتَةَ الرَّبِيعِ، إِلَى أَنِ انْتَكَثَ عَلَيْهِ فَتْلُهُ، وَأَجْهَزَ عَلَيْهِ عَمَلُهُ، وَكَبَتْ بِهِ بِطْنَتُهُ.

But I remained low when they were low and flew high when they flew high. One of them turned against me because of his hatred and the other got inclined the other way due to his in-law relationship and this thing and that thing, till the third man of these people stood up with heaving breasts between his dung and fodder. With him his children of his grand-father, (Umayyah) also stood up swallowing up Allah’s wealth [5] like a camel devouring the foliage of spring, till his rope broke down, his actions finished him and his gluttony brought him down prostrate.

مبايعة علي (عليه السلام)

فَمَا رَاعَنِي إلاَّ وَالنَّاسُ إليَّ كَعُرْفِ الضَّبُعِ، يَنْثَالُونَ عَلَيَّ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِب، حَتَّى لَقَدْ وُطِىءَ الحَسَنَانِ، وَشُقَّ عِطْفَايَ، مُجْتَمِعِينَ حَوْلي كَرَبِيضَةِ الغَنَمِ. فَلَمَّا نَهَضْتُ بِالاْمرِ نَكَثَتْ طَائِفَةٌ، وَمَرَقَتْ أُخْرَى، وَفَسَقَ [وقسط] آخَرُونَ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَسْمَعُوا اللهَ سُبْحَانَهُ يَقُولُ: ﴿تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا ۚ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾،

At that moment, nothing took me by surprise, but the crowd of people rushing to me. It advanced towards me from every side like the mane of the hyena so much so that Ḥasan and Ḥusayn were getting crushed and both the ends of my shoulder garment were torn. They collected around me like the herd of sheep and goats. When I took up the reins of government one party broke away and another turned disobedient while the rest began acting wrongfully as if they had not heard the word of Allāh saying : “That abode in the hereafter, We assign it for those who intend not to exult themselves in the earth, nor (to make) mischief (therein) ; and the end is (best) for the pious ones.” (Qur’ān, 28:83)

بَلَى! وَاللهِ لَقَدْ سَمِعُوهَا وَوَعَوْهَا، وَلكِنَّهُمْ حَلِيَتَ الدُّنْيَا في أَعْيُنِهمْ، وَرَاقَهُمْ زِبْرِجُهَا! أَمَا وَالَّذِي فَلَقَ الْحَبَّةَ، وَبَرَأَ النَّسَمَةَ، لَوْلاَ حُضُورُ الْحَاضِرِ، وَقِيَامُ الْحُجَّةِ بِوُجُودِ النَّاصِرِ، وَمَا أَخَذَ اللهُ عَلَى العُلَمَاءِ أَلاَّ يُقَارُّوا عَلَى كِظَّةِ ظَالِم، وَلا سَغَبِ مَظْلُوم، لاَلقَيْتُ حَبْلَهَا عَلَى غَارِبِهَا، وَلَسَقَيْتُ آخِرَهَا بِكَأْسِ أَوَّلِها، وَلاَلفَيْتُمْ دُنْيَاكُمْ هذِهِ أَزْهَدَ عِنْدِي مِنْ عَفْطَةِ عَنْز!

Yes, by Allāh, they had heard it and understood it but the world appeared glittering in their eyes and its embellishments seduced them. Behold, by Him who split the grain (to grow) and created living beings, if people had not come to me and supporters had not exhausted the argument and if there had been no pledge of Allāh with the learned to the effect that they should not acquiesce in the gluttony of the oppressor and the hunger of the oppressed I would have cast the rope of Caliphate on its own shoulders, and would have given the last one the same treatment as to the first one. Then you would have seen that in my view this world of yours is no better than the sneezing of a goat.

قالوا: وقام إِليه رجل من أهل السوادعند بلوغه إلى هذا الموضع من خطبته، فناوله كتاباً، فأقبل ينظر فيه، فلمّا فرغ من قراءته قال له ابن عباس: يا أميرالمؤمنين، لو اطَّرَدت مَقالتكَ من حيث أَفضيتَ! فَقَالَ(عليه السلام): هَيْهَاتَ يَابْنَ عَبَّاس! تِلْكَ شِقْشِقَةٌ هَدَرَتْ ثُمَّ قَرَّتْ! قال ابن عباس: فوالله ما أَسفت على كلام قطّ كأَسفي على ذلك الكلام أَلاَّ يكون أميرالمؤمنين (عليه السلام) بلغ منه حيث أراد.

(It is said that when Amīr al-mu’minīn reached here in his sermon a man of Iraq stood up and handed him over a writing. Amīr al-mu’minīn began looking at it, when Ibn ‘Abbās said, “O Amīr al-mu’minīn, I wish you resumed your Sermon from where you broke it.” Thereupon he replied, “O Ibn ‘Abbās it was like the foam of a Camel which gushed out but subsided.” Ibn ‘Abbās says that he never grieved over any utterance as he did over this one because Amīr al-mu’minīn could not finish it as he wished to.)

قال الشريف الرضي: قوله (عليه السلام) في هذه الخطبة: «كراكب الصعبة إن أشنق لها خرم، وإن أسلس لها تقحم» يريد: أنه إذا شدد عليها في جذب الزمام وهي تنازعه رأسها خرم أنفها، وإن أرخى لها شيئاً مع صعوبتها تقحمت به فلم يملكها، يقال: أشنق الناقة، إذا جذب رأسها بالزمام فرفعه، وشنقها أيضاً: ذكر ذلك ابن السكيت في «إصلاح المنطق». وإنما قال (عليه السلام): «أشنق لها» ولم يقل: «أشنقها»، لانه جعله في مقابلة قوله: «أسلس لها»، فكأنه (عليه السلام) قال: إن رفع لها رأسها يعني أمسكه عليها بالزمام.

ash-Sharif ar-Raḍi says: The words in this sermon “like the rider of a camel” mean to convey that when a camel rider is stiff in drawing up the rein then in this scuffle the nostril gets bruised, but if he lets it loose in spite of camel’s unruliness, it would throw him somewhere and would get out of control. “ashnaq an-nãqah” is used when the rider holds up the rein and raises the camel’s head upwards. In the same sense the word “shanaqaha aydhwan” is used. Ibn as-Sikkit has mentioned this in Islãh al-mantiq. Amīr al-mu’minīn has said “ashnaqa lahã” instead of “ashnaqaha,” this is because he has used this word in harmony with “aslasa lahã” and harmony could be retained only by using both in the same form. Thus, Amīr al-mu’minīn has used “ashnaqa lahã” as though in place of “in rafa‘a lahã ra'sahã,” that is, “if he stops it by holding up the reins.”

Extrait de son discours dénommé “Shakshikié”. Il contient sa plainte de n’être pas élu Calife, puis sa patience et enfin la proclamation du peuple en sa faveur comme Calife

Par Dieu! Le fils d'Abî Quhâfah (Abou Bakr) a porté le califat comme sa chemise tout en sachant que le gouvernement ne sied qu’à moi qui suis Taxe du moulin, la pente sur laquelle coule le courant et le lieu élevé que les oiseaux n’arrivent pas à atteindre. Alors, j’ai décidé de laisser faire et laisser passer, tiraillé que j’étais entre la riposte qui fait vieillir le grand et blanchir la tête du petit, et qui fait boiter le croyant jusqu’à ce qu’il rencontre le visage de son Seigneur.

J’ai vu que la patience est plus recommandée, alors j’ai patienté, une paille dans mon œil et une arête dans mon œsophage à la vue de mon héritage ravi, jusqu’à ce que le premier [calife] soit allé vers son destin tout en léguant le califat à un tel après lui (ibn al-Khattâb)...

Par Dieu! Tandis que le premier calife demande, durant sa vie, de présenter sa démission du Califat, le voici qu’il le lègue à un autre après son décès, tant ils avaient, tous les deux, partagés ses mamelles [ses ressources]. Le califat est détenu alors dans une enceinte grossière aux aspérités blessantes et au toucher âpre, où il est facile de succomber et dont on s’éloigne. Car son détenant ressemble à celui qui monte une chamelle difficile à manier; s’il tire fort sa bride il passera, et s’il la laisse débridée il périra. Alors, Dieu en est témoin, les gens se trouvèrent éprouvés, allant à la dérive sur une monture qui refuse d’être montée, se colorant de mille couleurs tout en marchant en biais.

Et moi, j’ai patienté malgré la longueur des jours et l’intensité du malheur, jusqu’à ce qu’il [le second calife] ait rencontré son destin tout en remettant le califat entre les mains d’un groupe dont il prétendit que je faisais part. O Dieu et quelle consultation! [allusion aux six hommes que le calife Omar avait désignés pour qu’on choisisse l’un d’eux comme calife], Quand ai-je été sujet de doute chez l’un d’eux pour qu’on m’associe à ces pairs inférieurs à moi?!

Cependant, j’ai fait cause commune avec eux; j’ai volé au ras du sol et j'ai survolé dans les airs comme eux, mais l’un d’eux s’est penché à sa rancune, et un autre à son gendre, avec des intentions que je m’abstiens de citer. Alors, un troisième [‘Outhman] se présenta, gonflant ses plumes, et avec lui ses proches parents qui se mirent à avaler les biens de Dieu [l’argent public] comme font les dromadaires avec les plantes printanières. Ce qui l’amena à sa ruine, tué par ses propres œuvres, surtout par son indigestion.

Je fus effrayé lorsque les gens, semblables à la crinière d’une hyène, s’attroupèrent autour de moi de toute part, à tel point que mes deux fils -Hassan et Hussein- faillirent être piétinés et que mes deux côtés faillirent être érodés, car on se rassembla autour de moi comme font les brebis autour du berger. Mais lorsque j’ai accepté le califat, un groupe [les gens du chameau, et surtout Talhat et Zoubaïr] fit défection, un autre [les Kharigites] s’écarta de la religion, et d’autres furent injustes envers moi [ceux de Saffine]. C’était comme s’ils n’avaient pas entendu le Bon Dieu dire: «Cette demeure dernière, Nous la réservons à ceux qui ne recherchent, ni à s’élever sur terre, ni à y semer la corruption. Cependant, l’heureuse fin appartient aux pieux» (Le Récit, 83).

Oui! Je jure par Dieu qu’ils avaient entendu et compris le verset, mais ils avaient préféré suivre les plaisirs et les jouissances de ce monde! Par celui qui a fendu le grain et créé la brise, si ce n’était la présence de ceux qui sont venus me proclamer calife et la volonté de l’armée d’établir la justice; si ce n’était aussi les savants qui ont promis à Dieu de ne pas accepter la main mise des injustes et la privation de celui qui subit l’injustice, j’aurais délaissé le califat aller à dérive, et vous auriez trouvé que votre monde ici-bas ne vaut à mes yeux l’éternuement d’une chèvre!

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #3