ومن كتاب له (عليه السلام) كتبه لشريح بن الحارث قاضيه

Written for Shurayḥ ibn al-Ḥārith (al-Kindī) Qāḍī (judge) (at Kūfah).

وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ شُرَيْحَ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ قَاضِيَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عليه السلام) اشْتَرَى عَلَى عَهْدِهِ دَاراً بِثَمَانِينَ دِينَاراً، فَبَلَغَهُ ذَلِكَ، فَاسْتَدْعَاهُ، وَقَالَ لَهُ :

It is related that Shurayḥ ibn al-Ḥārith (al-Kindī) who was Amīr al-mu’minīn’s Qāḍī (judge) at Kūfah during his tenure, purchased a house for eighty Dinars. When it became known to Amīr al-mu’minīn he sent for him and said to him:

بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ ابْتَعْتَ دَاراً بِثَمانِينَ دِينَاراً، وَكَتَبْتَ لَهَا كِتَاباً، وَأَشْهَدْتَ فِيهِ شُهُوداً؟

I have come to know that you have purchased a house for eighty Dinars, and that you have written a document for it and put witnessing on it?

فَقَالَ لَهُ شُرَيْحٌ : قَدْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، قَالَ: فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ نَظَرَ مُغْضَبٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ :

Shurayḥ replied: Yes, Amīr al-mu’minīn, it is so. Amīr al-mu’minīn cast an angry look at him and said to him:

يَا شُرَيْحُ، أَمَا إِنَّهُ سَيَأْتِيكَ مَنْ لَا يَنْظُرُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، وَلَا يَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ بَيِّنَتِكَ، حَتَّى يُخْرِجَكَ مِنْهَا شَاخِصاً، وَيُسْلِمَكَ إلَى قَبْرِكَ خَالِصاً.

O Shurayḥ, beware, shortly one body (the angel of death) will come to you who will not look at the document, nor question you about your evidence but take you out of it far away and deposit you in your grave quite alone.

فَانْظُرْ يَا شُرَيْحُ لَا تَكُونُ ابْتَعْتَ هذِهِ الدَّارَ مِنْ غَيْرِ مَالِكَ، أَوْ نَقَدْتَ الَّثمَنَ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَلاَلِكَ! فَإِذَا أَنْتَ قدْ خَسِرْتَ دَارَ الدُّنْيَا وَدَارَ الْآخِرَةِ! أَمَا إِنَّكَ لَوْ كُنْتَ أَتَيْتَنِي عِنْدَ شِرَائِكَ مَا اشْتَرَيْتَ لَكَتَبْتُ لَكَ كِتاباً عَلَى هذِهِ النُّسْخَةِ، فَلَمْ تَرْغَبْ فِي شِرَاءِ هذِهِ الدَّارِ بِدِرْهَم فَمَا فَوْقُ. وَالنُّسْخَةُ هَذِه :

Look! O Shurayḥ, if you have purchased this, house from money other than yours or paid the price from unlawful source, you have incurred loss of this world as well as of the next. If you had come to me at the time of purchase I would have written for you a document on this paper and then you would not have liked to purchase the house even for one Dirham, not to speak of more. That document is this:-

هذَا مَا اشْتَرَى عَبْدٌ ذَلِيلٌ، مِنْ مَيِّت قَدْ أُزْعِجَ لِلرحِيلِ، اشْتَرَى مِنْهُ دَاراً مِنْ دَارِ الْغُرُورِ، مِنْ جَانِبِ الْفَانِينَ، وَخِطَّةِ الْهَالِكِينَ، وَتَجْمَعُ هذِهِ الدَّارَ حُدُودٌ أَرْبَعَةٌ:

This is about a purchase made by a humble slave (of Allāh) from another slave ready to depart (for the next world). He has purchased a house out of houses of deceit in the area of mortals and the place of those liable to perish. This house has four boundaries as follows:

الْحَدُّ الْأَوَّلُ يَنْتَهِي إِلَى دَوَاعِي الْآفَاتِ، وَالْحَدُّ الثَّانِي يَنْتَهِي إِلَى دَوَاعِي الْمُصِيباتِ، وَالْحَدُّ الثَّالِثُ يَنْتَهِي إلَى الْهَوَى الْمُرْدِي، وَالْحَدُّ الرَّابِعُ يَنْتَهِي إِلَى الشَّيْطَانِ الْمُغْوِي، وَفِيهِ يُشْرَعُ بَابُ هذِهِ الدَّارِ.

The first boundary is contiguous to sources of calamities; the second boundary adjoins the sources of distress; the third boundary adjoins devastating desire; and the fourth boundary adjoins deceitful Satan and towards this opens the door of this house.

اشْتَرَى هذَا الْمُغْتَرُّ بِالْأَمَلِ، مِنْ هذَا الْمُزْعَجِ بِالْأَجَلِ، هذِهِ الدَّارَ بِالْخُرُوجِ مِنْ عِزِّ الْقَنَاعَةِ، وَالدُّخُولِ فِي ذُلِّ الطَّلَبِ وَالضَّرَاعَةِ، فَمَا أَدْرَكَ هذَا الْمُشْتَرِي فِيَما اشْتَرَى مِنْهُ مِنْ دَرَك، فَعَلَى مُبَلْبِلِ أَجْسَامِ الْمُلُوكِ، وسَالِبِ نُفُوسِ الْجَبَابِرَةِ، وَمُزِيلِ مُلْكِ الْفَراعِنَةِ، مِثْلِ كِسْرَى وَقَيْصَرَ، وَتُبَّع وَحِمْيَرَ، وَمَنْ جَمَعَ الْمَالَ عَلَى الْمَالِ فَأَكْثَرَ، وَمَنْ بَنَى وَشَيَّدَ، وَزَخْرَفَ وَنَجَّدَ، وَادَّخَرَ واعْتَقَدَ، وَنَظَرَ بِزَعْمِهِ لِلْوَلَدِ، إِشْخَاصُهُمْ جَمِيعاً إِلَى مَوْقِفِ الْعَرْضِ وَالْحِسَابِ، وَمَوْضِعِ الثَّوَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ، إذَا وَقَعَ الْأَمْرُ بِفَصْلِ الْقَضَاءِ، ﴿وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ﴾

This house has been purchased by one who has been waylaid by desires from one who is being driven by death at the price of leaving the honour of contentment and entering into the humility of want and submissiveness. If the purchaser encounters some (evil) consequences of this transaction then it is for him who dismantles the bodies of monarchs, snatches the lives of despots, destroys the domain of Pharaoh like Kisrās [1], Caesars [2], Tubba‘s [3] and Ḥimyars [4] and all those who amass wealth upon wealth and go on increasing it, build high houses and decorate them and collect treasures and preserve them, as they claimed according to their own thinking, for children to take them to the place of accounting and judgement and the position of reward and punishment. When the verdict will be passed those who stood on falsehood would then be the losers. (Qur’ān, 40:78)

شَهِدَ عَلَى ذلِكَ الْعَقْلُ إِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ أَسْرِ الْهَوَى، وَسَلِمَ مِنْ عَلاَئِقِ الدُّنْيَا.

This document is witnessed by intelligence when it is free from the shackles of desires and safe from the attachments to this world.

Extrait d’une lettre adressée au juge Shouraïh bin AI Hareth

On rapporte que Shouraïh bin Al Hareth, le juge du Prince des Croyants, acheta durant son califat une maison contre quatre-vingt dinars. Mis au courant de l’affaire, ‘Ali fît venir Shouraïh et lui dit:

Il m’est parvenu que tu as acheté une maison pour quatre-vingt dinars, que tu as rédigé un contrat signé par des témoins.

O Shouraïh, voici quelqu’un qui ne regarde pas ton contrat et ne te demande pas de lui montrer tes arguments, mais qui te fait sortir très loin de cette maison et te livre soumis à ta tombe.

Considère, ô Shouraïh, la conséquence d’avoir acheté cette maison pour de l’argent qui n’est pas le tien et d’avoir payé illicitement son prix! Tu as perdu dans cette affaire et la demeure terrestre et celle de l’Au-delà! Si, par contre, tu étais venu me voir et demander mon avis avant d’avoir acheté cette maison, je t’aurais écrit une copie de la lettre cidessous, et alors tu n’aurais pas désiré acheter cette demeure. Voici cette copie:

Voici ce qu’un vil esclave a acheté d’un mourant sur le point de quitter ce monde. H lui a acheté une maison sise dans la demeure des vanités, où les mortels voués à la mort font leurs plans, Cette maison a quatre limites:

la première aboutit aux causes des maladies, la seconde à celles des malheurs, la troisième à celles des passions traumatisantes et la quatrième à celles de Satan le séducteur qui ouvre les portes de cette maison...

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #3