Masterpieces of Rhetoric Methood (nahj Al-balagha)

Limits of Tax

Written to whoever Imam has been sending to the collection of “Zakat” and Charities. It is full of the ruler’s kindness – the father – and is worthy to be stated in the law of the ideal state of which the distinguished people dream:

When you reach a Quarter reside at their watering place without going among their houses. Then proceed towards them with tranquility and dignity till you stand among them. Then salute them and do not be remiss in greeting them, then say to them:

“O, slaves of Allah, the “waali” of Allah and His caliph has sent mo to you to collect from you Allah’s share in your properties. Is there anything of His share in your properties? If so, give it to His vicegerent.”

If someone of them says “No”, then do not repeat the demand. If someone speaks to you in the affirmative, then go with him without frightening him, threatening him, pressuring him, or oppressing him. Take what he gives you, of gold or silver. If he has a cattle or camels do not enter upon them save with his permission, because their major part is his. Therefor, when you get there do not enter upon them like one who has full control over them or in a violent manner.

Do not scare any animal, do not tease anyone and do not let the owner feel grieved about anyone. Divide the property into two parts and let the owner choose one. When he has chosen do not object to it. Then divide the remaining into two parts and let him choose one and when he has chosen do not raise any objection. Continue to do so till remains only that whichis enough to satisfy Allah’s due. Then take Allah’s due from it. If he showed dissatisfaction repeat the operatoin, then mix the two parts and repeat what you had done before till you take Allah’s due from his properties.

The silly and Traders

From a letter of Imam sent to the people of Egypt sent with Malik Al-Ashtar when he was made Governor of that place:

By Allah, if I encounter them alone and they are numerous as to fill the earth to the full, I don’t worry or become perplexed. I have clear insight and certainty that I am in the right path and they are misguided. But I grieve that silly and wicked people come to power and control the affairs of this nation then they grib the funds of Allah as their own property and enslave His slaves, fight against virtuous, and ally with the sinful. If this had not been I would not have insisted on gathering you, reprehen-ding you, mobilising you and urging you.

The Bribed in Judgement

O’ (people of) discordant minds and scattered hearts, whose bodies are present but wits are absent. I lead you towards right, but you run away from it like goat’s running away form the howling of a lion. How hard it is for me to generate a light from you to eradicate darkness and uncover justice, or to straighten the curve of truthfulness.

O’ my Allah! Thou knowest that what we had done was not to seek power nor to acquire anything from the vanities of this world. We rather wanted to restore the real signs of Thy religion and to usher prosperity into Thy cities so that the oppressed among Thy slaves might feel safe.

You certainly know that leadership should not be given to a miser as his greed would aim at their wealth, nor be an ignorant as he would estrange them from him with his rudeness, not should be he who deals unjustly with wealth, thus he associates with some except another, nor should he who accepts bribe while taking decisions as he would waste rights.

Along with the Oppressed

I want you for Allah’s sake but you seek me for your own benefits. O’ people! Help me against yourself (desires). By Allah I will restore theright of the oppressed from the oppressor and will lead the oppressor from the string of his nose (like an ox) and drag him to the spring of right even though he is reluctant.

Money is for People

Abdullah ibn Zama’ah who was one of his followers came to Imam to ask for some mony, he said:

This money is not mine nor yours! The earning of their hands cannot be for other than their mouths.

A Trust To Al-Ash’ath ibn Qays: Imam’s Governor of Azarbayjan

Certainly, your assignment is not a gain for you, but it is a pledge round your neck. It is not for you to be oppressive to a subject; you have in your hands funds of Allah’s to whom belongs Might and Majesty, and you are one of His treasurer till you pass it on to me. Probably I will not be one of the bad rulers for you, wassalam.

I shall strike you with my Sword To one of his officers when he snatched some of the public funds and fled to Al-hijaz.

As soon as it was possible for you to misappropriate the Ummah’s trust, you hastened to turn around and attack them, and made a swift leap to snatch away whatever you could from their property meant for their widows and their orphans as the quick wolf snatches the wounded and helpless goat. Then you happily loaded it off to the Hijaz without feeling guilty for having appropriated it.

How can you enjoy food and drink when you know that you are eating and drinking an unlawful food and drink. Fear Allah and return to these people their properties. If you do not so and Allah grants me power over you I shall punish you to the limit that I am not blamed before Allah about you and strike you with my sword with which I hadn’t striken anyone but he enters Hell.

By Allah, even if Hasan and Husayn had done what you did there would have been no leniency with me for them and they could not have won their way with me till I had restored from them the right and eradicated the wrong produced by their unjust action.

The Ruler and Bribe

To Uthamn ibn Hunayf Al-Ansari, Imam’s Governor of Basrah, when he knew that the people of Basrah had invited Uthman to a banquet and he had attended:

O’ Ibn Hunayf, I have come to know that a man of Basrah invited you to a feast and you hastened towards it. Foods of different colours were being chosen for you and bowls were brought to you. I never thought that you would accept the feast of a people whose poor is neglegted and their rich is invited.

Realize that your Imam has contented himself with two shabby pieces of cloth out of the world, and two loaves for his food. Certainly, you cannot do so but at least support me with piety, striving, chastity and uprightness, because, by Allah, I have not treasured any gold out of your world nor amassed plentiful wealth nor prepared for my old clothe a substitute, nor possessed a tiny span of its land. If I wished I could have taken the way leading towards pure honey, fine wheat and silk clothes but it cannot be that my desire overcomes me and my greed takes me to choose good meals while in the Hijaz or in Yamamah there may be that who have no hope of getting a piece of bread or who does not remember his last satiety.

Shall I lie with a satiated belly while around me there are hungry bellies and thirsty livers? Shall I be content with being called ‘Amir Al-Mu’minin’ (the commander of the believers), without sharing with the people the hardships of life? I see as if one of you would say that if this is what the son of Abi Talib eats then weakness must have made him weak to fight his challengers and encounter the brave. Don’t they remember that the tree of desert is solider-trunked, while grean twigs have soft bark, and the wild bushes are very strong for burning and slow in dying off. By Allah if the Arabs join together to fight me I will not surrender.

The Ruler and Desires

To Al-Aswad ibn Qutbah, the Gover-nor of Halwan

Now, if the governor’s desires separated they prevent him from practicing many sorts of justice. All the people should be equal in right before you, because there is no compensation in injustice for justice. So avoid what you renounce its likes.

Know that nothing can make up for right at all. One of the rights on you is that you should protect yourself and to do your best in looking after the subjects.

Behave Humbly

Behave humbly with the people, meet them large-heartedly, keep yourself lenient, accord them equal treatment in glance and gesture and in greeting, so that the strong should not expect injustice from you in their favour and the weak should not be despondent of your justice to them.

Teach the Ignorant

TO Qutham ibn Al-Abbas, His Gover-nor of Mecca Teach the ignorant and discuss with the learned. There should be no intermediary between you and the people except your tongue, and a chambertain save your own face. Do not prevent any needy person from meeting you, because if it is chased away from your doors in its arrival then you wouldn’t be praised for meeting it.

See what has been collected with you of the funds of Allah and spend it over the persons with families, the distressed, the starved on your part. Then, send the remaining to us for distribution to those who are on our part. And ask the people of Mecca not to charge rent from lodgers…

The Treacherous Rulers

To AL-Mundhir ibn Jarud Al-Abdi who had misappropriated certain things given into his administrative charge:

If what has reached me about you is correct, then the camel of your family and the strap of your shoe is better than yourself. A man with qualities like yours is not fit to fortify a borderline city, nor for performing any deed, nor for increasing his position, nor for takeing him as a partner in any trust, nor for trusting him against misappropriation. Therefore, com to me as soon as this letter of mine reaches you if Allah so will.

Noble Morals

To Al-Harith Al-Hamdani

Avoid every such action which is performed in secret and from which shame is felt in the open. Also avoid any action about which if the doer is questioned he denies it or aspologized for it. Do not relate to the people all that you hear, for that would be enough to contain lie do not contest all that people relate to you for that would be enough to ignorance. Forgive when you have power (to punish), show forbearance in the state of rage, and pardon with authority.

Avoid the company of the wicked because vice adjoins vice. Keep off anger because it is one large army of Satan’s armies.