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LETTER 4To one of the officer of his armyIf they (1) return to the umbrella of obedience then this is all that we want. But if the condition of these people points out towards disruption and disobedience then taking with you those who obey you rush upon those who disobey you and while you have those with you who follow you do not worry about those who hold back from you because the absence of a halfhearted man is better than his presence and his sitting down is better than his rising up.
(1). When `Uthman ibn Hunayf the Governor of Basrah
informed Amir al-mu 'minin of the arrival of Talhah and az-Zubayr in Basrah and
of their intentions Amir al-mu 'minin wrote this letter to him wherein he has
instructed him that in case the enemy was bent on fighting when facing him he
should not enlist on his side those who on the one hand showed consideration for
the personalities of `A'ishah Talhah and az-Zubayr and who on the other hand had
agreed to fight against them merely by persuasion because such people could not
be expected to fight steadfastly nor could they be depended upon. Rather such
people would try to dishearten others too. Therefore it was only good to leave
aside such people.
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