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SERMON 17

About those who sit for dispensation of justice among people but are not fit for it.

Among (1) all the people the most detested before Allah are two persons. One is he who is devoted to his self. So he is deviated from the true path and loves speaking about (foul) innovations and inviting towards wrong path. He is therefore a nuisance for those who are enamoured of him is himself misled from the guidance of those preceding him misleads those who follow him in his life or after his death carries the weight of others' sins and is entangled in his own mis-deeds.

The other man is he who has picked up ignorance. He moves among the ignorant is senseless in the thick of mischief and is blind to the advantages of peace. Those resembling like men have named him scholar but he is not so. He goes out early morning to collect things whose deficiency is better than plenty till when he has quenched his thirst from polluted water and acquired meaningless things.

(1). Amir al-mu'minin has held two categories of persons as the most detestable by Allah and the worst among people. Firstly those who are misguided even in basic tenets and are busy in the spreading of evil. Secondly those who abandon the Qur'an and sunnah and pronounce injunctions through their imagination. They create a circle of their devotees and popularise the religious code of law concocted by themselves. The misguidance and wrongfulness of such persons does not remain confined to their own selves but the seed of misguidance sown by them bears fruit and growing into the form of a big tree provides asylum to the misguided and this misguidance goes on multiplying. And since these very people are the real originators the weight of other's sins is also on their shoulders as the Qur'an says:

And certainly they shall bear their own burdens and (other) burdens with their own burdens... (29:13)


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[ 17 ] ومن كلام له عليه السلام

في صفة من يتصدّى للحكم بين الْأُمة وليس لذلك بأَهل

وفيها: أبغض الخلائق إلي الله صنفان

الصنف الأول : إِنَّ أَبْغَضَ الْخَلائِقِ إِلَى اللهِ رَجُلانِ: رَجُلٌ وَكَلَهُ اللهُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ (1) ، فَهُوَ جَائِرٌ عَنْ قَصْدِ السَّبِيلِ (2) ، مَشْغُوفٌ (3) بِكَلاَمِ بِدْعَةٍ (4) ، وَدُعَاءِ ضَلاَلَةٍ، فَهُوَ فِتْنَةٌ لِمَنِ افْتَتَنَ بِهِ، ضَالٌّ عَنْ هَدْيِ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ، مُضِلُّ لِمَنِ اقْتَدَى بِهِ فِي حَيَاتِهِ وَبَعْدَ وَفَاتِهِ، حَمَّالٌ خَطَايَا غَيْرِهِ، رَهْنٌ بِخَطِيئَتِهِ (5) .

الصنف الثاني : وَرَجُلٌ قَمَشَ جَهْلاً (6) ، مُوضِعٌ في جُهَّالِ الْأُمَّةِ (7) ، عَادٍ (8) في أَغْبَاشِ (9) الْفِتْنَةِ، عِمٍ (10) بِمَا في عَقْدِ الْهُدْنَةِ (11) ، قَدْ سَمَّاهُ أَشْبَاهُ النَّاسِ عَالمِاً وَ لَيْسَ بِهِ، بَكَّرَ فَاسْتَكْثَرَ مِنْ جَمْعٍ، مَا قَلَّ مِنْهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا كَثُرَ، حَتَّى إِذَا ارْتَوَى مِنْ مَاءٍ آجِنٍ (12) ، وَاكْتَثَرَ (13) مِن غَيْرِ طَائِلٍ (14) ،

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He sits among the people as a judge responsible for solving whatever is confusing to the others. If an ambiguous problem is presented before him he manages shabby argument about it of his own accord and passes judgement on its basis. In this way he is entangled in the confusion of doubts as in the spider's web not knowing whether he was right or wrong. If he is right he fears lest he erred while if he is wrong he hopes he is right. He is ignorant wandering astray in ignorance and riding on carriages aimlessly moving in darkness. He did not try to find reality of knowledge. He scatters the traditions as the wind scatters the dry leaves.

By Allah he is not capable of solving the problems that come to him nor is fit for the position assigned to him. Whatever he does not know he does not regard it worth knowing. He does not realise that what is beyond his reach is within the reach of others. If anything is not clear to him he keeps quiet over it because he knows his own ignorance. Lost lives are crying against his unjust verdicts and properties (that have been wrongly disposed of) are grumbling against him.

I complain to Allah about persons who live ignorant and die misguided. For them nothing is more worthless than Qur'an if it is recited as it should be recited nor anything more valuable than the Qur'an if its verses are removed from their places nor anything more vicious than virtue nor more virtuous than vice.

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جَلَسَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ قَاضِياً ضَامِناً لِتَخْلِيصِ (15) مَا الْتَبَسَ عَلَى غيْرِهِ (16) ، فَإِنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ إِحْدَى المُبْهَمَاتِ هَيَّأَ لَهَا حَشْواً (17) رَثّاً (18) مِنْ رَأْيِهِ، ثُمَّ قَطَعَ بِهِ، فَهُوَ مِنْ لَبْسِ الشُّبُهَاتِ فِي مِثْلِ نَسْجِ العَنْكَبُوتِ: لاَ يَدْرِي أَصَابَ أَمْ أَخْطَأَ، فَإِنْ أَصَابَ خَافَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ أَخْطَأَ، وَإِنْ أَخْطَأَ رَجَا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ أَصَابَ. جَاهِلٌ خَبَّاطُ (19) جَهلات، عَاشٍ (20) رَكَّابُ عَشَوَاتٍ (21) ، لَمْ يَعَضَّ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ بِضِرْسٍ قَاطِعٍ. يُذْرِو (22) الرِّوَايَاتِ ذَرْوَ الرِّيحِ الهَشِيمَ (23) ، لاَ مَلِيٌّ (24) ـ وَاللهِ ـ بِإِصْدَارِ مَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ، وَلاَ أَهْلٌ لِمَا قُرْظَ بِهِ (25) ، لاَ يَحْسَبُ العِلْمَ في شيْءٍ مِمَّا أَنْكَرَهُ، وَلاَ يَرَى أَنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ مَا بَلَغَ مَذْهَباً لِغَيْرهِ، وَإِنْ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرٌ اكْتَتَمَ بِهِ (26) لِمَا يَعْلَمُ مِنْ جَهْلِ نَفْسِهِ، تَصْرُخُ مِنْ جَوْرِ قَضَائِهِ الدِّمَاءُ، وَتَعَجُّ مِنْهُ المَوَارِيثُ (27) . إِلَى اللهِ أَشْكُو مِنْ مَعْشَرٍ يَعِيشُونَ جُهَّالاً، وَيَمُوتُونَ ضُلاَّلاً، لَيْسَ فِيهِمْ سِلْعَةٌ أَبْوَرُ (28) مِنَ الْكِتَابِ إِذَا تُلِيَ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ، وَلاَ سِلْعَةٌ أَنْفَقُ (29) بَيْعاً وَلاَ أَغْلَى ثَمَناً مِنَ الْكِتَابِ إِذَا حُرِّفَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ، وَلاَ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنْكَرُ مِنَ المَعْرُوفِ، وَلاَ أَعْرَفُ مِنَ المُنكَرِ!

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