Letter 41: To one of his officers

Now, I had made you a partner in my trust, and made you my chief man.

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أَشْرَكْتُكَ فِي أَمَانَتِي،

Now, I had made you a partner in my trust,

وَجَعَلْتُكَ شِعَارِي وَبِطَانَتِي،

and made you my chief man.

وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أَهْلِي رَجُلٌ أَوْثَقَ مِنْكَ فِي نَفَسِي،

And for me no other person from my kinsmen was more trustworthy than you in the matter of sympathizing with me,

لِمُوَاسَاتِي وَمُوَازَرَتِي وَأَدَاءِ الاْمَانَةِ إِلَيَّ.

assisting and respecting my trusts.

فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتَ الزَّمَانَ عَلَى ابْنِ عَمِّكَ قَدْ كَلِبَ،

But when you saw that time had attacked your cousin,

وَالْعَدُوَّ قَدْ حَرِبَ،

the enemy had waged war,

وَأَمَانَةَ النَّاسِ قَدْ خَزِيَتْ،

the trust of the people was being humiliated,

وَهذهِ الاْمَّةَ قَدْ فَتَنَتْ وَشَغَرَتْ،

and the whole community was trackless and disunited,

قَلَبْتَ لاِبْنِ عَمِّكَ ظَهْرَ الْمجَنِّ،

you turned your back against your cousin

فَفَارَقْتَهُ مَعَ الْمُفَارِقِينَ،

and forsook him when others forsook him,

وَخَذَلْتَهُ مَعَ الْخَاذِلِينَ،

you abandoned him when others abandoned him,

وَخُنْتَهُ مَعَ الْخَائِنِينَ،

and you betrayed him when others betrayed him.

فَلاَ ابْنَ عَمِّكَ آسَيْتَ،

Thus, you showed no sympathy to your cousin,

وَلاَ الاْمَانَةَ أَدَّيْتَ.

nor discharged the trust.

وَكَأَّنكَ لَمْ تَكُنِ اللهَ تُرِيدُ بِجِهَادِكَ،

It seems as if you do not want (to please) Allah by your jihad,

وَكَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَكُنْ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِنْ رَبِّكَ،

and as if you do not stand upon a clear sign from your Lord,

وَكَأَنَّكَ إِنَّمَا كُنْتَ تَكِيدُ هذِهِ الاْمَّةَ عَنْ دُنْيَاهُمْ،

and as if you have been playing tricks with this ummah (Muslim community) to earn (the pleasure of) this world

وَتَنْوِي غِرَّتَهُمْ عَنْ فَيْئِهِمْ!

and watching for the moment of their neglectfulness to usurp their share of the wealth.

فَلَمَّا أَمْكَنَتْكَ الشِّدَّةُ فِي خِيَانَةِ الاْمَّةِ،

As soon as it was possible for you to misappropriate the ummah's trust,

أَسْرَعْتَ الْكَرَّةَ،

you hastened to turn around and attack (them),

وَعَاجَلْتَ الْوَثْبَةَ،

and made a swift leap

وَاخْتَطَفْتَ مَا قَدَرْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمُ الْمَصُونَةِ لاِرَامِلِهِمْ وَأَيْتَامِهِمُ،

to snatch away whatever you could from their property meant for their widows and their orphans

اخْتِطَافَ الذِّئْبِ الاْزَلِّ دَامِيَةَ الْمِعْزَى الْكَسِيرَةَ،

as a wolf snatches a wounded and helpless goat.

فَحَمَلْتَهُ إِلَى الْحِجَازِ رَحيِبَ الصَّدْرِ بِحَمْلِهِ،

Then, you happily loaded it off to the Hijaz without feeling guilty for having appropriated it.

غَيْرَ مُتَأَثِّم مِنْ أَخْذِهِ،

Allah's woe be to your ill-wishers;

كَأَنَّكَ ـ لاَ أَبَا لِغَيْرِكَ ـ حَدَرْتَ إِلَى أَهْلِكَ تُرَاثَكَ مِنْ أَبِيكَ وَأُمِّكَ،.

it was as though you were sending to your family what you had inherited from your father and mother.

فَسُبْحَانَ اللهِ! أَمَا تُؤْمِنُ بِالْمَعَادِ؟

Glory be to Allah! Do you not believe in the Day of Judgement,

أَوَ مَا تَخَافُ نِقَاشَ الْحِسَابِ!

or do you not fear the exaction of account?

أَيُّهَا الْمَعْدُودُ ـ كَانَ ـ عِنْدَنَا مِنْ ذَوِي الاْلْبَابَ،

O you who were counted by us among the men possessed of mind,

كَيْفَ تُسِيغُ شَرَاباً وَطَعَاماً،

how can you enjoy food and drink

وَأَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَأْكُلُ حَرَاماً،

when you know that you are eating the unlawful

وَتَشْرَبُ حَرَاماً،

and drinking the unlawful.

وَتَبْتَاعُ الاْمَاءَ وَتَنْكِحُ النِّسَاءَ مِنْ مَالِ الْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْـمُجَاهِدِينَ،

You are purchasing slavemaids and wedding women with the money of the orphans, the poor, the believers and the participants in jihad

الَّذِينَ أَفَاءَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ هذِهِ الاْمْوَالَ،

to whom Allah had dedicated this money

وَأَحْرَزَ بِهِمْ هذِهِ الْبِلاَدَ؟!

and through whom He had strengthened these cities.

فَاتَّقِ اللهَ،

Fear Allah

وَارْدُدْ إِلَى هؤُلاَءِ الْقَوْمِ أمَوَالَهُمْ،

and return to these people their properties.

فإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ ثُمَّ أَمْكَنَنِي اللهُ مِنْكَ لاَعْذِرَنَّ إِلَى اللهِ فِيكَ،

If you do not do so and Allah grants me power over you I shall excuse myself before Allah about you

وَلاَضْرِبَنَّكَ بِسَيْفِي الَّذِي مَا ضَرَبْتُ بِهِ أَحَداً إِلاَّ دَخَلَ النَّارَ!

and strike you with my sword with which I did not strike anyone but that he went to hell.

وَ وَاللهِ لَوْ أَنَّ الْحَسَنَ وَالْحُسَيْنَ فعَلاَ مِثْلَ الَّذِي فَعَلْتَ،

By Allah, even if Hasan and Husayn had done what you did

مَا كَانَتْ لَهُمَا عِنْدِي هَوَادَةٌ،

there would have been no leniency with me for them

وَلاَ ظَفِرَا مِنِّي بَإِرَادَة،

and they could not have won their way with me

حَتَّى آخُذَ الْحَقَّ مِنْهُمَا،

till I had recovered from them the right

وَأُزِيحَ الْبَاطِلَ عَنْ مَظْلَمَتِهِمَا.

and destroyed the wrong produced by their unjust action.

وَأُقْسِمُ بِاللهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ مَا يَسُرُّنِي أَنَّ مَا أَخَذْتَهُ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَلاَلٌ لِي،

I swear by Allah, the Lord of all beings, that I would not be pleased to regard their money which you have appropriated as lawful for me

أَتْرُكُهُ مِيرَاثاً لِمَنْ بَعْدِي،

and to leave it to my successors by way of inheritance.

فَضَحِّ رُوَيْداً،

Mind yourself and consider for a while

فَكَأنَّكَ قَدْ بَلَغَتَ الْمَدَى،

as though you had reached the end of life

وَدُفِنْتَ تَحْتَ الثَّرَى،

and had been buried under the earth.

وَعُرِضَتْ عَلَيْكَ أَعْمَالُكَ بِالْـمَحَلِّ الَّذِي يُنَادِي الظَّالِمُ فِيهِ بِالْحَسْرَةِ،

Then your actions will be presented before you in the place where the oppressor cries "Alas"

وَيَتَمَنَّى الْمُضَيِّعُ الرَّجْعَةَ،

while he who wasted his life yearns for return (to the world),

(وَلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاص)!

but time was none to escape. (Qur'an, 38:3)

وَالسَّلامُ.

and that is an end to the matter.