قال عبدالله بن عباس (رحمه الله):
Abdullah ibn Abbas says that
دخلت على أَميرالمؤمنين صلوات الله عليه بذي قار وهو يخصِف نعله،
when Amir al-Muminin set out for war with the people of Basrah he came to his audience at Dhi Qar and saw that he was stitching his shoe.
فقال لي: ما قيمة هذا النعل؟
Then Amir al-Muminin said to me, What is the price of this shoe?
فقلت: لا قيمةَ لها! قال: والله لَهِيَ أَحَبُّ إِليَّ من إِمرتكم، إِلاّ أَن أُقيم حقّاً، أَوأَدفع باطلاً،
I said: It has no value now. He then said, By Allah, it should have been dearer to me than ruling over you but for the fact that I may establish right and ward off wrong.
ثمّ خرج(عليه السلام) فخطب الناس فقال:
Then he came out and spoke:
إنَّ اللهَ سُبحانَه بَعَثَ مُحَمَّداً (صلى الله عليه وآله)، وَلَيْسَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْعَرَبِ يَقْرَأُ كِتَاباً، وَلاَ يَدَّعِي نُبُوَّةً،
Verily, Allah sent Muhammad (S) when none among the Arabs read a book or claimed prophethood.
فَسَاقَ النَّاسَ حَتَّى بَوَّأَهُمْ مَحَلَّتَهُم، وَبَلَّغَهُمْ مَنْجَاتَهُمْ،
He guided the people till he took them to their (correct) position and their salvation.
فَاسْتَقَامَتْ قَنَاتُهُمْ، وَاطْمَأَنَّتْ صِفَاتُهُمْ.
So their spears (i.e. officers) became straight and their conditions settled down.
أَمَا وَاللهِ إنْ كُنْتُ لَفِي سَاقَتِهَا حَتَّى تَوَلَّتْ بِحَذَافِيرِهَا، مَا عَجَزْتُ،وَلاَ جَبُنْتُ، وَإِنَّ مَسِيرِي هذَا لِمثْلِهَا، فَلاَنْقُبَنَّ الْبَاطِلَ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ جَنْبِهِ.
By Allah, surely I was in their lead till it took shape with its walls. I did not show weakness or cowardice. My existing march is also like that. I shall certainly pierce the wrong till right comes out of its side.
مَالي وَلِقُرَيْش!
What (cause of conflict) is there between me and the Quraysh?
وَاللهِ لَقَدْ قَاتَلْتُهُمْ كَافِرِينَ،
By Allah, I have fought them when they were unbelievers
وَلاَقَاتِلَنَّهُمْ مَفْتُونِينَ،
and I shall fight them when they have been misled.
وَإِنِّي لَصَاحِبُهُمْ بِالاْمْسِ، كَمَا أَنَا صَاحِبُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ!
I shall be the same for them today as I was for them yesterday.
وَاللّهِ ما تَنْقِمُ مِنّا قُرَيْشٌ اِلاّ اَنَّ اللّه اَخْتارَنا عَلَيْهِمْ،
By Allah, the Quraysh only take revenge against us because Allah has given us (i.e. the Holy Prophet and his progeny) preference over them.
فَاَدْخَلْناهُمْ فى حَيِّزِنا، فَكانُوا كَما قالَ الاْوَّلُ:
So, we have allowed them into our domain, whereupon they have become as the former poet says:
اَدَمْتَ لَعَمْرى شُرْبَكَ الْمَحْضَ صابِحاً ***
By my life, you continued drinking fresh milk every morning,
وَ اَكْلَكَ بِالزُّبْدِ الْمُقَشَّرَةَ الْبُجْرا
And (continued) eating fine stoned dates with butter;
وَ نَحْنُ وَهَبْناكَ الْعَلاءَ وَ لَمْ تَكُنْ ***
We have given you the nobility which you did not possess before;
عَلِيّاً، وَ حُطْنا حَوْلَكَ الْجُرْدَ وَالسُّمْرا
And surrounded (protected) you with thoroughbred horses and tawny-coloured spears (strong spears).1
Alternative Sources for Sermon 33: Al-Mufid, al-'Irshad, 154.
1. In fact, the aim of the poet here is to say that the condition of the addressee's life, from the moral and material point of view, had been worse in the past, and that the poet and his tribe have given him the best means of leading their lives. But as the result of this improved condition the addressee has completely lost himself and forgotten his past condition and thinks that he had had this kind of life previously. Now, Amir al-Mu'minin wants to convey the same idea here to the Quraysh as Fatimah (p.b.u.h.) the holy daughter of the Holy Prophet said in her speech on Fadak: (O' People) ... You were on the brink of the pit of Hell Fire (Qur'an, 3:103). You were as worthless as the mouthful of water. You were minority like the handful greedy and a spark of the hasty. You were as down-trodden as the dust under feet. You drank dirty water. You ate untanned skin. You were abased and condemned. But Allah has rescued you through my father Muhammad (S). . .
