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LETTER 39
To 'Amr ibn al-'As
You have surely made your religion subservient to the worldly
seekings of a man whose misguidance is not a concealed affair and whose veil has
been torn away. He mars an honourable man with his company and befools those who
keep his society. You are following in his footsteps and seeking his favours
like the dog that follows the lion looking at his paws and waiting for whatever
remnants of his prey fall down to him. In this way you have ruined your world as
well as the next life although if you had stuck to the right you would have got
what you were after. If Allah grants me power over you and Ibn Abi Sufyan
(Mu'awiyah) I shall award you both recompense of what you have done but if you
escape and survive then hereafter there is only evil for you both; and that is
an end to the matter.
* * * * *
LETTER 40
To one of his officers
Now I have come to know such a thing about you that if you have
done so then you have displeased your Lord disobeyed your Imam and betrayed your
trust.
I have come to know that you have razed the ground and taken away
whatever was under your feet and devoured what ever was in your hands. Send me
your account and know that the accounting to Allah will be severer than that to
the people; and that is an end to the matter.
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