فَاحذَرُوا عِبَادَ اللهِ عَدُوَّ اللهِ أن یُعدِیَکُم بِدَائِهِ وأَن یَستَفِزَّکُم بِنِدَائِهِ... .Therefore, O servants of God, beware of Satan infecting you with his disease or leading you astray through his call.1
He then explains that the only way to avoid this destiny is to give up groundless prejudices, factional tendencies, and vindictiveness rooted in the age of ignorance, and seeking undeserved superiority:
فَأَطفِئُوا مَا کَمَنَ في قُلوبِکُم مِن نیرانِ العَصَبِیَّةٍ وأَحقَادِ الجَاهِلِیَّةِ فَإنَّما تِلکَ الحَمِیَّةُ تَکونُ في المُسلِمِ مِن خَطَراتِ الشَّیطَانِ ونَخَواتِهِ ونَزَغاتِهِ ونَفَثاتِهِ، واعتَمِدوا وَضعَ التَّذَلُّلِ عَلی رُؤُوسِکُم وإلقاءِ التَّعَزُّزِ تَحتَ أقدامِکُم وخَلعَ التَـکَبُّرِ مِن أعنَاقِکُم... .Extinguish what is hidden in your hearts of the fires of prejudice and the grudges of the age of ignorance, as this vanity and self- conceit can only exist in a Muslim by the (astute) machinations of Satan, his haughtiness, mischief and whisperings. Practice humbleness, to trample self-pride under your feet and to cast off vanity from your necks.2
Warning the Masses
When eminent figures of the community, the political and cultural manipulators, and those of ethnic, and ideological reputation get involved in prejudiced clashes, they make use of means such as enflaming disturbances within the people and the communities and thus lead the society into the fire of disunity.
As well, in his sermon, Imām Ali (a.s.) insistently enjoins the people to refuse obeying their dignitaries and elite, in case they would not give up their arrogance and persist on their haughtiness arrogance and sedition. They should not follow their illegitimate objectives and should be heedful of the fact that all seditions, corruptions and abnormalities are rooted in their positions: