Nahjul Balagha Part 1, The Sermons

Sermon 31: Don't meet Talhah ...

Before the commencement of the Battle of Jamal Amir al-mu’minin sent `Abdullah ibn `Abbas to az-Zubayr ibn al- `Awwam with the purpose that he should advise him back to obedience, he said to him on that occasion:

Do not meet Talhah (ibn `Ubaydillah). If you meet him you will find him like an unruly bull whose horns are turned towards its ears. He rides a ferocious riding beast and says it has been tamed. But you meet az-Zubayr because he is soft-tempered. Tell him that your maternal cousin says that, “(It looks as if) in the Hijaz you knew me (accepted me), but (on coming here to) Iraq you do not know me (do not accept me). So, what has dissuaded (you) from what was shown (by you previously)?!”

As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: The last sentence of this sermon “fama `ada mimma bada” has been heard only from Amir al-mu’minin.

Alternative Sources for Sermon 31

(1) Al-Jahiz, al-Bayan, II, 115;

(2) Ibn Qutaybah, `Uyun, I, 115;

(3) Ibn `Abd Rabbih, al-`Iqd, IV, 314;

(4) al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, al-Muwaffaqiyyat, see Ibn Abi al-Hadid, I, 171;

(5) Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-'a`yan, biographical account of Ibn al-Mu`allim, see `Abd al-Zahra', I, 412.