ابن عباس

(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.)

Imam Ali (AS) wrote to Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘Do not let your share as a result of your rule be wealth that you derive [personal] gain from, nor rage that you satisfy [by revenge], but [let it be] the killing of injustice and the revival of equity.

Imam Ali (AS) asked Ibn ‘Abbas [according to another account], ‘What is the value of this sandal? Ibn ‘Abbas said, ‘It is worthless. He (AS) said, ‘I swear by Allah, it has more value to me than ruling over you, except for being able to do right and prevent injustice.

The caliphate was mentioned in the presence of the Commander of the Believers, Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and he said: By Allah, it was put on by the brother of Taim, and indeed, he was knowing that my place from it is (like) the place of the axis in relation to the hand mill, from which the flood declines and to which birds to not ascend. Hence, I hanged before it a cloth, and I folded away from it, with my wast. I then came to have the choice between to assault with an amputated hand or to remain patient upon a blind severe darkness, in which the small develops grey hair, and in which the big becomes old, and in which a believer is drudged until he meets Allah, his Lord. Hence, I saw that to remain patient was wiser, and so I remained patient, although there was speck in the eye and suffocation in the throat. I saw my inheritance being plundered, and until the first one went his way, he assembled it to the brother of ‘Adi after him. How strange is it that he was attempting to cast it off, during his lifetime, and then the other assembled it after his demise. He then placed it, by Allah, in a tough enclosure, whose touch was rough, whose cause of injury was harsh, and whose mistakes were plenty and so the excuses to them. Thus, the one who possessed it was like the rider of an unruly camel; if he would deal with it fiercely, he stops, and if he would deal with it loosely, he falls into darkness. Consequently, the people got afflicted by unsteadiness, deviation and tribulation along with such-a-belittled and such-a-belittled. So, I remained patient for the long period and severe ordeal until he went his way, and he made it among a group which he claimed I am one of. But by Allah, what is there to do with them and the congregation? Since when did doubt arise about me along with (their following of) the first of them, to the extent that I was made akin to these likes? A man of them then inclined his desire (to another) and another listened to his son-in-law. Then the third (leader) from the people arose, heaving his chest, between his penis and fodder spot, and the sons of Umayyah arose with him, chewing on the property of Allah like the chewing of camels for the spring’s vegetation, until his own deed delivered him the deathblow. I was then not surprised except by that people came to me like the mane of the hyena. They advanced to me from every side, to the extent Hasan and Hussain were stepped upon and the edge of my shoulder garment was torn. When I then arose with the matter, one group violated (their oath), another gravely disobeyed and others became renegades, as if they had not heard the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: «That Home of the Hereafter, We make for those who do not seek elevation on earth, nor corruption. And the good outcome is for the godfearing.» (28:83) Sure, by Allah, they had certainly heard it. However, this world appeared as glittering in their eyes, and its ornament seduced them. By the One who split the seed and creation mankind, were it not for the attendance of the assistant, the establishment of the Proof and what Allah, Exalted is He, has taken upon the scholars that they do not acknowledge the gluttony of the oppressor, nor the famine of the oppressed, I would surely have cast its rope on its own shoulders, and I would have made its end drink by the cup of its beginning (by equal treatment). You would then have observed that this world of yours is of less value to me than the nose-fart of a goat. He said: A man from the mass handed him a book, and so he interrupted his speech and received the book. I then said: O Commander of the Believers, (it would be good) if you were to continue your saying until you are finished. He said: May such stay far, O Ibn Abbas. That is (like) a foam of a camel that gushed out, but then subsided. I have never grieved over any speech like my grievance over the speech of the Commander of the Believers, Allah’s blessings be upon him, as he did not reach what he intended.

"O Ibn Abbas, you people wish to restrict Imamat (to yourselves) the way you have been privileged with Prophethood? By Allah, these two will never go together. Your argument about the Caliphate has put people in doubt. You say: ’We are Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, then why should the succession to the Prophethood be outside us?’ This creates suspicion, for it has a semblance of truth, and a touch of justice. But things are not the way you imagine. The Caliphate has to rotate in various tribes of Quraish according to the general will of the public and the consultation of the selected ones. And we do not find people saying: ’We wish we were ruled by Banu Hashim, for if they did, we would have been better off here and hereinfter.’ And if you had stayed away from it yesterday the way you claim, you would have fought for it today. And By Allah, if you had acquired the rulership, O Banu Hashim, then the ill wind of A’d and the thunderbolt of Thamood would not have been worse killer of men than you." So Ibn Abbas replied (May Allah bless him with mercy): "O Mu’awiya, when you said that we base our argument on the Prophethood to prove our eligibility for Caliphate, then, by Allah, it is of course as you say. For if the Prophethood does not provide eligibility to the succession (Caliphate), what else does? And when you say that Caliphate and Prophethood do not combine for anyone, then what would say about the verse in which Allah, Most High, Says: ’Do they envy the people for the bounty that Allah has given them by His Grace. Yet We gave the family of Ibrahim the Book, and the Wisdom and We gave them a mighty sovereignty.’ (al-Nisa, 4:54) So, the Book is the Prophethood, the Wisdom is the Sunnah, the Traditions of the Prophet, and the sovereignty is the Caliphate. And we are the descendants of Ibrahim, and that is why the order remains applicable for us till the Day of Judgement. As for your claim that our arguments are dubious, then that is not true. Our arguments are brighter than the sun, and more luminous than the moon. The Book of Allah is with us, and the Traditions of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, are within us. And you know that very well, but pride makes you turn away; and you hold your head in haughtiness because we killed your brother, your grandfather, your maternal uncle and your father’s brother. Well, do not shed tears over the rotten bones, and upon the souls which are perished in hell-fire; and do not be vengeful for the blood spilled in the way of polytheism, made lawful by unbelief, and is debased by the religion (Islam). And as for the people who refused to give us preference and turned away from granting us their consensus, be it clear that what they have lost from us is greater than what we have lost from them! In every matter, the truth is established and the untruth is dispelled when the result is obtained. And as for your pride in this transitory kingdom to which you have ascended by trickery, (remember that even) Pharaoh had such kingdom before you, and Allah destroyed him. O Banu Umayya, what you hold under rule for a day, we may hold it for two days after you; and what you have for a month, we may have it for two months, and if for a year, then we may hold it for two years. And when you said that if we were the authority, our rule would have been a worse killer of men than the ill wind of A’d and the thunderbolt of Thamood, that statement has been belied by Allah, the Most High, in the Qur’an: ’And We did not send you but as a mercy to all beings.’ (al-Anbiya, 21:107) As we are the nearest inmates of the Prophet’s household, our mercy over the creatures of Allah is evident; and the torment of your kingdom over the people is there for everyone to see. And after you have gone, the kingdom will be in the hands of your son and your brothers - and that will be a worse killer of people than the fatal wind. Then Allah will avenge through His devotees, and the final success is for the pious."