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LETTER 22

To `Abdullah ibn al-`Abbas. `Abdullah ibn al-'Abbas used to say Apart from the Prophet's sayings I did not derive greater benefit from any saying than this one.

Let it be known to you that sometimes a man gets pleased at securing a thing which he was not going to miss at all and gets displeased at missing a thing which he would not in any case get. Your pleasure should be about what you secure in respect of your next life and your grief should be for what you miss in respect thereof. Do not be much pleased on what you secure from this world nor get extremely grieved over what you miss out of it. Your worry should be about what is to come after death.

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WILL 23

Made shortly before his martyrdom when he had been fatally wounded by a blow from the sword of (`Abd ar.Rahman) Ibn Muljam (the curse of Allah be upon him).

I enjoin upon you as my dying wish not to regard anything by way of partner with Allah not to disregard the sunnah of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and his descendants) establish these two pillars and light these two lamps. You will then be free from evil. Yesterday I was your companion and today I am (just) a lesson for you while tomorrow I shall be leaving you. If I survive I shall be the master of my blood (to avenge or not to avenge it) and if I die then death is a promised event. If I forgive it is for me a means of nearness (to Allah) and for you a good act. Therefore do forgive. What! Love you not that Allah should forgive you? (Qur'an 24:22)



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[ 22 ] ومن كتاب له عليه السلام

إلى عبدالله بن العباس رحمه الله تعالي ، وكان عبدالله يقول: (ما انتفعت بكلام بعد كلام رسول الله كانتفاعي بهذا الكلام!)

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ الْمَرْءَ قَدْ يَسُرُّهُ دَرَكُ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَفُوتَهُ (1) ، وَيَسُوؤُهُ فَوْتُ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُدْرِكَهُ (2) ، فَلْيَكُنْ سُرُورُكَ بِمَا نِلْتَ مِنْ آخِرَتِكَ، وَلْيَكُنْ أَسَفُكَ عَلَى مَا فَاتَكَ مِنْهَا، وَمَا نِلْتَ مِنْ دُنْيَاكَ فَلاَ تُكْثِرْ بِهِ فَرَحاً، وَمَا فَاتَكَ مِنْهَا فَلاَ تَأْسَ عَلَيْهِ جَزَعاً، وَلْيَكُنْ هَمُّكَ فِيَما بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ.

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[ 23 ] ومن كلام له عليه السلام

قاله قبل شهادته علي سبيل الوصية لمّا ضربه ابن ملجم لعنة الله عليه:

وَصِيَّتِي لَكُمْ: أَنْ لاَ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللهِ شَيْئاً، وَمُحَمَّدٌ - صَلَّى اللهٌ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ- فَلاَ تُضَيِّعُوا سُنَّتَهُ، أَقِيمُوا هذَيْنِ الْعَمُودَينِ، وأَوْقِدُوا هذَيْنِ الْمِصْبَاحَيْنِ وَخَلاَكُمْ ذَمَّ (1)

أَنَا بِالْأََمْسِ صَاحِبُكُمْ، وَالْيَوْمَ عِبْرَةٌ لَكُمْ، وَغَداً مُفَارِقُكُمْ، إِنْ أَبْقَ فَأَنَا وَلِيُّ دَمِي، وَإِنْ أَفْنَ فَالْفَنَاءُ مِيعَادِي، وَإِنْ أَعْفُ فَالْعَفْوُ لِي قُرْبَةٌ، وَهُوَ لَكُمْ حَسَنَةٌ، فَاعْفُوا (أَلاَ تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللهُ لَكُمْ)


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By Allah this sudden death is not an event that I dislike nor is it an accident that I hate. I am just like a night traveller who reaches the spring (in the morning) or like or seeker who secures (his aim): And whatever is with Allah is the best for the righteous ones. (Qur'an 3:198)

as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: A part of this utterance has already appeared in the sermons but it was found necessary to record it again because of some additional matter.

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WILL 24

Amir al-mu' minin's will as to how his property should be dealt with. He wrote it on return from Siffin.

This is what `Ali ibn Abi Talib the slave of Allah has laid down about his property in pursuance of seeking Allah's pleasure so that He may by virtue of it give him entry into Paradise and accord him peace.

A part of the same

It will be administered by Hasan ibn `Ali. He will take from it a suitable portion for his livelihood and spend it on charity. If something happens to Hasan and Husayn survives he will adminster it after Hasan and deal with it accordingly. In the charitable estate of the two sons of Fatimah they have the same rights as the all (other) sons of `Ali. I have laid down the (functions of) administration of the two sons of Fatimah in order to seek the pleasure of Allah and nearness to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his descendants) with due regard for his honour and consideration of his kinship.


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وَاللهِ مَا فَجَأَنِي مِنَ الْمَوْتِ وَارِدٌ كَرِهْتُهُ، وَلاَ طَالِعٌ أَنْكَرْتُهُ، وَمَا كُنْتُ إِلاَّ كَقَارِب (2) وَرَدَ، وَطَالِبٍ وَجَدَ، (وَمَا عِنْدَ اللهِ خَيْرٌ لِلْأََبْرَارِ).

قال السيد الشريف رضي اللهُ عنه: أقول: وقد مضى بعض هذا الكلام فيما تقدّم من الخطب، إلاّ أنّ فيه هاهنا زيادة أوجبت تكريره.

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[ 24 ] ومن وصية له عليه السلام

بما يُعمل في أمواله، كتبها بعد منصرفه من صفين:

هذَا مَا أَمَرَ بِهِ عَبْدُاللهِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ أمِيرُالْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي مَالِهِ، ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللهِ، لِيُولِجَهُ (1) بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ، وَيُعْطِيَهُ الْأََمَنَةَ (2) .

منها: فَإِنَّهُ يَقُومُ بِذلِكَ الْحَسنُ بْنُ علِيّ، يأْكُلُ مِنْهُ بِالْمعْروفِ، وَيُنْفِقُ مِنْهُ بِالمَعْروُفِ، فَإِنْ حَدَثَ بِحَسَنٍ حَدَثٌ (3) وَحُسَيْنٌ حَيٌّ، قَامَ بِالْأَمْرِ بَعْدَهُ، وَأَصْدَرَهُ (4) مَصْدَرَهُ.

وَإِنَّ لِإِبْنَيْ فَاطِمَةَ مِنْ صَدَقَةِ عَلِيٍّ مِثْلَ الَّذِي لِبَنِي عَلِيٍّ، وَإِنِّي إِنَّمَا جَعَلْتُ الْقِيَامَ بِذلِكَ إِلَى ابْنَيْ فَاطِمَةَ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللهِ، وَقُرْبَةً إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ، وَتَكْرِيماً لِحُرْمَتِهِ، وَتَشْرِيفاً لِوُصْلَتِهِ (5) .


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it is obligatory on him who administers it that he retains the estate as it is and spends the usufruct as he has been ordered and instructed. He should not sell the seedlings in the plantations of these villages till the land changes its face by turning them into plants. As for those of my slave girls who were under me if any one of them has a child or is pregnant she will be retained for the sake of the child and will form part of his share. If the child dies and she survives then she is free bondage is removed from her and liberty is given to her.(1)

as- Sayyid ar- Radi says: In this will in Amir al-mu' minin's phrase "alla yabi`a min nakhliha wadiyyatan" the word "wadiyyah" means seedling of date-palm and its plural is "wadiyy". And his words "hatta tushkila arduha ghirasan" is one of the most eloquent form of expression and it means that when a number of date plants grow on the land then he who had seen it before the growth would regard it as a different land.

(1). The life of Amir al-mu'minin was that of a labourer or a cultivator. He worked in fields of other persons cultivated barren and untilled lands providing means of irrigating them made them cultivable and planted orchards therein . Since these lands were cultivated by him they were his Property but he never paid heed to property and declaring them a trust gave up his proprietorship; but in consideration of the Prophet's kinship he assigned the management rights of this trust to Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn one after the other. Yet he did not tolerate any additional rights for them but like other children gave them merely the right to take from it only for their livelihood while the balance he ordered to be spent for the common good of the Muslims and for charitable purposes. Thus Ibn Abi'l-Hadid writes:

Everyone knows that in Medina Yanbu' and Suwayqah Amir al-mu'minin had dug several springs from under the land and brought under cultivation many barren and uncultivable lands. Thereafter he gave up rights over them and declared them as trusts for the Muslims. When he left the world nothing was owned by him. (Sharh Nahj al-balaghah vol.15 p.146)


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وَيَشْتَرِطُ عَلَى الَّذِي يَجْعَلُهُ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَتْرُكَ الْمَالَ عَلَى أُصُولِهِ (6) ، وَيُنْقفِقَ مِنْ ثَمَرِهِ حَيْثُ أُمِرَ بِهِ وَهُدِيَ لَهُ، أَلاَّ يَبِيعَ مِنْ أَوْلَادِ نَخِيلَ هذِهِ الْقُرَى وَدِيَّةً (7) حَتَّى تُشْكِلَ أَرْضُهَا غِرَاساً.

وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ إِمَائِي ـ اللاَّتِي أَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِنَّ (8) ـ لَهَا وَلَدٌ، أَوْهِيَ حَامِلٌ، فَتُمْسَكُ عَلَى وَلَدِهَا وَهِيَ مِنْ حَظِّهِ، فَإِنْ مَاتَ وَلَدُهَا وَهِيَ حَيَّةٌ فَهِيَ عَتِيقَةٌ، قَدْ أَفْرَجَ عَنْهَا الرِّقُّ، وَحَرَّرَهَا الْعِتْقُ.

قال الشريف: قوله عليه السلام في هذه الوصية: "وألا يبيع من نخلها وَدِيَّةً"، الوَدِيَّةُ: الفَسِيلَةُ، وجمعها وَدِيٌّ. وَقوله عليه السلام: "حتى تشكل أرضها غراساً" هو من أفصح الكلام، والمراد به: أن الأرض يكثر فيها غراس النخل حتّى يراها الناظر على غير تلك الصفة التي عرفها بها فيشكل عليه أمرها ويحسبها غيرها.