خالد بن زيد

I heard Amirul Mu’mineen, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, say to his companions, after having urged them for days on end to march forth for Jihad but in vain: "O people! I have ordered you to march forth, but you did not, and I have admonished you, but you did not acquiesce. So, you are like the absentees in spite of your presence and the deaf in spite of your hearing! I recite unto you words of wisdom and preach to you beautiful preaching and exhort you to fight your despotic adversaries; but when I come to the close of my speech, I find you as disunited as the hands of Saba’ (i.e. ten children of a Yamani chief who were each separated from the other). And the moment I turn away from you, you return to your meetings, forming group circles. (There) you set up similitudes, chant poems and ask each other the news. You have forgotten the art of preparedness for war, and have occupied your minds with unavailing things. Your hands are weakened! Rise to fight the enemy before they overwhelm you! By Allah! Never was a community attacked in its own houses, except that it was humiliated and vanquished. And I swear in the name of Allah, I do not see you do it, till they have done! And I would love to confront them (alone) with my (firm) determination and vision, (and get killed in the way of Allah) so that I am relieved of enduring you. For, you are like a hoard of camels, which has lost its herdsman; no sooner are they herded on one side, than they fall apart from each other on the other side. By Allah, I can visualize about you that if the war were to rage on, and the hostilities were to flame up, you would separate yourselves from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as easily as the heads are cut off and) the way a woman shirks as she delivers (her child)." At that time, al-Ash’ath ibn Qais al-Kindi stood up and said: "O Amirul Mu’mineen, why didn’t you do what Uthman ibn Affan did?" (i.e. granting favours for the sake of compromising). He, peace upon him, said: "O, pusher to the hellfire! Woe unto you! The act of Ibn Affan was a disgraceful one, even for the one who has no religion, nor any authority with him; so, how can I, who stands on a manifest proof from my Sustainer and the rightful authority is in my hand, do that? By Allah, that man is indeed weak, who himself makes it possible for his enemy to carve his flesh, crush his bones, tear down his skin and spill his blood! Such a man is not blessed with a brave heart. If you so desire, be like him! As far as I am concerned, the least I can give that enemy is a hit of my sword, which will send the bones of the skull flying, palm falling together with the arms. Then Allah shall do what He intends." Then Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Khalid ibn Zaid, the host of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, rose, and said: "O people, surely Amirul Mu’mineen has conveyed to those who have heeding ears and remembering hearts. Allah has indeed blessed you with an honour, which you do not accept in the way you should! He has left with you your Prophet’s cousin, master of all the Muslims after him (i.e. the Prophet). He (i.e. ‘Ali) makes you learned in Religion and calls you to fight against those who have descended upon you to afflict you. It seems as if you have gone deaf, hearing nothing. Or that your hearts are impermeably wrapped, so that you do not understand! Are you not ashamed? O servants of Allah! Did you not have an era of injustice and hostility yesterday? (i.e. in the days gone by). An era in which affliction was common, spread all over the country? When the rightfuls were deprived, their faces smacked, their bellies trampled upon, hurled down on an open ground, and borne by the sandstorms. There was nothing to protect them from heat or cold, from being scorched by the sun and its glare, except the tattered clothes on their bodies, or the shaggy old huts. Till Allah brought unto you Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, who declared the truth and spread justice, and acted according to the Book (i.e. the Qur’an). So, O people, be thankful to Allah for the bounty with which He has blessed you, and do not turn away on your backs. And be not of those who say "we hear", but they hear not. Sharpen your swords and prepare to fight your enemies. Respond when you are summoned and listen and obey when commanded. Let that what you say happen; and prove yourselves among the truthful by following what you have been ordered to do."