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Warning the people of Basrah
about what was to occur Whoever can at this time keep
himself clinging to Allah should do so. If you follow me
I shall certainly carry you, if Allah so wills, on the
path of Paradise, even though it may be full of severe
hardship and of bitter taste. As regards a certain woman
she is in the grip of womanly views, and malice is
boiling in her bosom like the furnace of the blacksmith.
If she were called upon to deal with others as she is
dealing with me she would not have done it. (As for me),
even hereafter she will be allowed her original respect,
while the reckoning (of her misdeeds) is an obligation
on Allah. A
part of the same sermon:
This path is the lightest
course and the brightest lamp. Guidance towards virtuous
actions is sought through faith while guidance towards
faith is achieved through virtuous actions. Knowledge is
made to prosper through faith, and death is feared
because of knowledge. This world come to an end with
death, while the next world is secured (by virtuous
actions) in this world. For people there is no escape
from resurrection. They are heading for this last end in
its appointed course. A
part of the same sermon:They
have got up from the resting places in their graves and
have set off for the final objectives. Every house has
its own people. They are not changed nor shifted from
there. Commanding for good and refraining from evil are
two characteristics of Allah, the Glorified. They can
neither bring death near nor lessen sustenance. You should adhere to the Book of
Allah because it is the strong rope, a clear light, a
benefiting cure, a quenching for thirst, protection for
the adherent and deliverance for the attached. It does
not curve so as to need straightening and does not
deflect so as to be corrected. Frequency of its
repetition and its falling on ears does not make it old.
Whoever speaks according to it, speaks truth and whoever
acts by it is forward (in action). A man
stood up and said: O Ameerul Momineen, tell us about
this disturbance and whether you enquired about it from
the Holy Prophet. Thereupon Ameerul Momineen said:
When Allah, the
Glorified sent down the verse: Alif lam mim. What! Do people
imagine that they will be let off on (their) saying: "We
believe!" and they will not be tried? (Quran,
29:1-2) I came to know that the
disturbance would not befall us so long as the Prophet
(pbuh) is among us. So I said, "O' Prophet of Allah,
what is this disturbance of which Allah, the Sublime,
has informed you?" and he replied, "O' Ali, my people
will create trouble after me." I said, "O' Prophet of
Allah, on the day of Uhud, when people had fallen
martyrs and I was not among them, and this had been very
annoying to me, did you not say to me, 'cheer up, as
martyrdom is for you hereafter?' "The Prophet replied,
"Yes it is so, but what about your enduring at present?"
I said, "O' Prophet of Allah, this is not an occasion
for endurance, but rather an occasion for cheering up
and gratefulness." Then he said: "O' `Ali, people will fall into
mischief through their wealth, will show obligation to
Allah on account of their faith, will expect His mercy,
will feel safe from His anger and regard His unlawful
matters as lawful by raising false doubts and by their
misguiding desires. They will then hold lawful (the use
of) wine by calling it barley water, a bribe by calling
it a gift, and taking of usurious interest by calling it
sale." I said, "O' Prophet of Allah, how should I deal
with them at the time, whether to hold them to have gone
back in heresy or just in revolt." He said, "in revolt."
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