انَّ أَبْغَضَ الخَلائِقِ إِلَى اللهِ تعالى رَجُلانِ:
Among (1) all the people the most detested before Allah are two persons.
رَجُلٌ وَكَلَهُ اللهُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ
One is he who is devoted to his self.
فَهُوَ جَائِرٌ عَنْ قَصْدِ السَّبِيلِ مَشْغُوفٌ بِكَلاَمِ بِدْعَةٍ وَدُعَاءِ ضَلاَلَةٍ،
So he is deviated from the true path and loves speaking about (foul) innovations and inviting towards wrong path.
فَهُوَ فِتْنَةٌ لَمِنِ افْتَتَنَ بِهِ،
He is therefore a nuisance for those who are enamoured of him,
ضَالٌّ عَنْ هَدْي مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ،
is himself misled from the guidance of those preceding him,
مُضِلُّ لِمَنِ اقْتَدَى بِهِ في حَيَاتِهِ وَبَعْدَ وَفَاتِهِ،
misleads those who follow him in his life or after his death,
حَمَّالٌ خَطَايَا غَيْرِهِ، رَهْنٌ بِخَطِيئَتِهِ
carries the weight of others’ sins and is entangled in his own misdeeds.
وَرَجُلٌ قَمَشَ جَهْلاً
The other man is he who has picked up ignorance.
مُوضِعٌ في جُهَّالِ الاْمَّةِ
He moves among the ignorant,
غادرٍ في أَغْبَاشِ الفِتْنَةِ،
is senseless in the thick of mischief
عِمٍ بِمَا في عَقْدِ الهُدْنَةِ
and is blind to the advantages of peace.
قَدْ سَمَّاهُ أَشْبَاهُ النَّاسِ عَالمِاً وَلَيْسَ بِهِ ،
Those resembling like men have named him scholar but he is not so.
بَكَّرَ فَاسْتَكْثَرَ مِنْ جَمْعٍ،
He goes out early morning to collect things
مَا قَلَّ مِنْهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا كَثُرَ،
whose deficiency is better than plenty,
حَتَّى إِذَا ارْتَوَى مِنْ مَاءٍ آجِنٍك،
till when he has quenched his thirst from polluted water
وَأكْثَر مِن غَيْرِ طَائِلٍ
and acquired meaningless things,
جَلَسَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ قَاضِياً ضَامِناً لِتَخْلِيصِ مَا التَبَسَ عَلَى غيْرِهِ.
he sits among the people as a judge responsible for solving whatever is confusing to the others.
فَإِنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ إِحْدَى المُبْهَمَاتِ هَيَّأَ لَهَا حَشْواً رَثّاً مِنْ رَأْيِهِ،
If an ambiguous problem is presented before him he manages shabby argument about it of his own accord
ثُمَّ قَطَعَ بِهِ،
and passes judgement on its basis.
فَهُوَ مِنْ لَبْسِ الشُّبُهَاتِ في مِثْلِ نَسْجِ العَنْكَبُوتِ:
In this way he is entangled in the confusion of doubts as in the spider’s web,
لاَ يَدْرِي أَصَابَ أَمْ أَخْطَأَ.
not knowing whether he was right or wrong.
إنْ أَصَابَ خَافَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ أَخْطَأَ،
If he is right he fears lest he erred,
وَإِنْ أَخْطَأَ رَجَا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ أَصَابَ.
while if he is wrong he hopes he is right.
جَاهِلٌ خَبَّاطُ جَهلات،
He is ignorant, wandering astray in ignorance
عَاشٍ رَكَّابُ عَشَوَات لَمْ يَعَضَّ عَلَى العِلْمِ بِضِرْسٍ قَاطِعٍ،
and riding on carriages aimlessly moving in darkness. He did not try to find reality of knowledge.
يُذرِي الرِّوَايَاتِ إذْراءَ الرِّيحِ الهَشِيمَ .
He scatters the traditions as the wind scatters the dry leaves.
لاَ مَلِيٌ وَاللهِ ـ بِإِصْدَارِ مَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِ،
By Allah, he is not capable of solving the problems that come to him
وَلاَ هُوَ أَهْلٌ لِما فُوّضَ إليه،
nor is fit for the position assigned to him.
لاَ يَحْسَبُ العِلْمَ في شيْءٍ مِمَّا أَنْكَرَهُ،
Whatever he does not know he does not regard it worth knowing.
وَلاَ يَرَى أَنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ مَا بَلَغَ منه مَذْهَباً لِغَيْرهِ،
He does not realise that what is beyond his reach is within the reach of others.
وَإِنْ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرٌ اكْتَتَمَ بِهِ لِمَا يَعْلَمُ مِنْ جَهْلِ نَفْسِهِ ،
If anything is not clear to him he keeps quiet over it because he knows his own ignorance.
تَصْرُخُ مِنْ جَوْرِ قَضَائِهِ الدِّمَاءُ،
Lost lives are crying against his unjust verdicts,
وَتَعَجُّ مِنْهُ المَوَارِيثُ.
and properties (that have been wrongly disposed of) are grumbling against him.
إِلَى اللهِ أَشْكُو مِنْ مَعْشَرٍ يَعِيشُونَ جُهَّالاً،
I complain to Allah about persons who live ignorant
وَيَمُوتُونَ ضُلاَّلاً،
and die misguided.
لَيْسَ فِيهمْ سِلْعَةٌ أَبْوَرُ مِنَ الكِتَابِ إِذَا تُلِيَ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ،
For them nothing is more worthless than the Qur’an if it is recited as it should be recited,
وَلاَ سِلْعَةٌ أَنْفَقُ بَيْعاً وَلاَ أَغْلَى ثَمَناً مِنَ الكِتَابِ إِذَا حُرِّفَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ،
nor anything more valuable than the Qur’an if its verses are removed from their places,
وَلاَ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنْكَرُ مِنَ المَعْرُوفِ، وَلاَ أَعْرَفُ مِنَ المُنكَرِ.
nor anything more vicious than virtue nor more virtuous than vice.
Alternative Sources for Sermon 17: al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, I, 55; Abu Talib al-Makki, Qut, I, 290; al-Harawi, al-Jam’, see Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihayah (under kh-b-t); al-Qadi al-Nu’man, Usul al-madhahib, 135; al-Tusi, al-'Amali, I, 240; al-Tabarsi, al-'Ihtijaj, I, 390; al-Mufid, al-'Irshad, 109; Ibn Qutaybah, ‘Uyun, I, 61; Ibn Qutaybah, Gharib al-hadith, see Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh, I, 90.
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)
