1. We were told by Abu’l-Abbas, Muhammed bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq al-Talaqani, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: We were told by
Abdul-Aziz bin Yahya al-Jaloudi, that he said: We were told by Hisham bin Ali, and Muhammed bin Zakariya al-Jawhari, that they both said: We were told by Ibn Aisha, with a chain of narrators that he mentioned, that
Ali, peace be upon him, was informed that groups of horses (carrying mercenaries belonging) to Mu’awiya reached Anbar and killed a governor in it named Hassaan bin Hassaan. Then he went out, angrily, pulling his robe, until he reached Nakhila, and he was followed by the people. He then went up lofty ground, praised Allah, commended Him and sent blessings upon the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and then said
To proceed, striving is, indeed, a gate from the Gates of Paradise, whom Allah opened to the special ones among His Allies, and that is the garment of godfearness, the protective shield of Allah and His secure tool. Hence, the one who abandons it out of willingness (to something else) away from it, Allah will dress him with the garment of humiliation, the trait of degradation and the coward of the minors. I have, certainly, called you to war against these people, at night and day, in secret and public, and I have said to you: Assault them before they assault you, for by He in whose Hand is my inner self, no people have been assaulted within the core of their homes except that they were humiliated. Then, you did not commit, you drooped, and my saying became heavy upon you, and you took it behind your backs (in neglect), until harries were waged against you. Here is the brother of Ghamid; his horses reached Anbar and they killed Hassaan bin Hassaan, and many men from them, and women. By He in whose Hand is my inner self, it has, certainly, reached me that he would enter into a Muslim and allied (non-Muslim) woman and pull off their anklets and earrings, and then they would leave, having abundance, and none of them would be injured with an injury. If a Muslim individual would die from this out of sorrow, he will not be blameworthy according to me, but rather, he would be worthy of it! How strange, all strangeness, is it of these people to cooperate on their falsehood, and of your failure from (assisting) your truth! If I was to tell you: «Assault them during the winter» you would say: «This is a time of coolness and severe cold», and if I was to tell you: «Assault them during the summer» you would say: «This is (a time of) the severe heat of the summer, so wait for us that the heat might finish from us»! Thus, if you were to flee from heat and cold, then you are, by Allah, more worthy of fleeing from the sword! O you who resemble men, and you are not men, and O masses of boys during puberty, and O you with intellects like those who raise partridges, by Allah, you have, verily, distorted (the reputation of) my ability with your disobedience, and you have, verily, filled my inside with rage, to the extent that Quraish said: «Indeed, the son of Abu Talib is brave, but he has no ability in war». To Allah, how strange are they! And who there is more knowledgeable of it and more intense capability to it than me? For by Allah, I, verily, stood up in it whilst not having reached (the age of) twenty, and today I have become more than sixty. However, there is no opinion (to be executed) for the one who is not obeyed. He said it [1] thrice. Then a man stood up to him, and with him was his brother, and he said: O Commander of the Believers, me and this brother of mine are like what Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said, speaking of Musa: «My Lord, indeed, I do not have other than myself and my brother» (5:25). Hence, command us with your commandment, for by Allah, we shall, verily, adhere to it, even if there was between us and between it (burning) coal of saxaul and thorns of tragacanth. Then he prayed for him for goodness, and then he said: And where are you placed from what I want? Then he, peace be upon him, went down.