Nahj al-Balāgha

٢٦٦. وَسَأَلَهُ (عليه السلام) رَجُلٌ أَنْ يُعَرِّفَهُ الْإِيمَانَ. فَقَالَ (عليه السلام): إِذَا كَانَ الْغَدُ فَأْتِنِي حَتَّى أُخْبِرَكَ عَلَى أَسْمَاعِ النَّاسِ، فإِنْ نَسِيتَ مَقَالَتِي حَفِظَهَا عَلَيْكَ غَيْرُكَ، فَإِنَّ الْكَلاَمَ كَالشَّارِدَةِ، يَنْقُفُهَا هَذَا وَيُخْطِئُهَا هَذَا.

266. Someone asked Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, to define religion for him, so he said: Come to me tomorrow so that I enlighten you in the presence of all the people, so that if you forget what I say others might retain it, because an utterance is like a fluttering prey which may be grappled with by someone but missed by others.

وقد ذكرنا ما أجابه به عليه السلام فيما تقدم من هذا الباب، وهو قوله: الاِيمان على أربع شعب.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: We have already stated in the earlier chapter what Amīr al-mu’minīn replied to this man, namely his saying (no. 31) “Faith stands on four supports.”