أَرْسَلَهُ دَاعِياً إِلَى الْحَقِّ،
Allah sent him (the Prophet) as a caller towards Truth
وَشَاهِداً عَلَى الْخَلْقِ،
and a witness over the creatures.
فَبَلَّغَ رَسَالاَتِ رَبِّهِ غَيْرَ وَان وَلاَ مُقَصِّر،
The Prophet conveyed the messages of Allah tirelessly and without any negligence,
وَجَاهَدَ فِي اللهِ أَعْدَاءَهُ غَيْرَ وَاهِن وَلاَ مُعَذِّر،
and he fought His enemies in the cause of Allah unflaggingly and without pleading excuses.
إِمَامُ مَنِ اتَّقَى،
He is the foremost of all who practise piety
وَبَصَرُ مَنِ اهْتَدَى.
and the power of perception of all those who achieve guidance.
A part of the same sermon, complaining about his men
وَلَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ مِمَّا طُوِيَ عَنْكُمْ غَيْبُهُ،
If you know what I know of the unknown that is kept wrapped up from you
إِذاً لَخَرَجْتُمْ إِلَى الصُّعُدَاتِ،
certainly you would have gone out into the open
تَبْكُونَ عَلَى أَعْمَالِكُمْ،
weeping over your deeds
وَتَلْتَدِمُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ،
and beating yourselves in grief
وَلَتَرَكْتُمْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ
and you would have abandoned your properties
لاَ حَارِسَ لها
without any guard for it
وَلاَ خَالِفَ عَلَيْهَا،
or any substitute over it.
وَلَهَمَّتْ كُلَّ امْرِىء مِنْكُمْ نَفْسُهُ،
Everyone would then have cared for his own self
لاَ يَلْتَفِتُ إِلَى غَيْرِهَا;
without paying attention to anyone else.
وَلَكِنَّكُمْ نَسِيتُمْ مَا ذُكِّرْتُمْ،
But you have forgotten what was recalled to you
وَأَمِنْتُمْ مَا حُذِّرْتُمْ،
and felt safe from what you had been warned.
فَتَاهَ عَنْكُمْ رَأْيُكُمْ،
Consequently, your ideas went astray
وَتَشَتَّتَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَمْرُكُمْ.
and your affairs were dispersed.
وَلَوَدِدْتُ أَنَّ اللهَ فَرَّقَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ،
I do long that Allah may cause separation between me
وَأَلْحَقَنِي بِمَنْ هُوَ أَحَقُّ بِي مِنْكُمْ،
and you and give me those who have a better right to be with me than you.
قَوْمٌ واللهِ مَيَامِينُ الرَّأْيِ،
By Allah, they are people of blissful ideas,
مَرَاجِيحُ الْحِلْمِ،
enduring wisdom
مَقَاوِيلُ بِالْحَقِّ،
and true speech.
مَتَارِيكُ لِلْبَغْيِ.
They keep aloof from revolt.
مَضَوْا قُدُماً عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ،
They trod forward on the path (of Allah)
وَأَوْجَفُوا عَلَى الْـمَحَجَّةِ،
and ran on the high road.
فَظَفِرُوا بَالْعُقْبَى الْدَّائِمَةِ،
Consequently, they achieved the everlasting next life
وَالْكَرَامَةِ الْبَارِدَةِ.
and easeful honours.
أَمَا وَاللهِ، لَيُسَلَّطَنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غُلاَمُ ثَقِيف الذَّيَّالُ الْمَيَّالُ،
Beware! by Allah, a tall lad of swinging gait from Banu Thaqif would be placed over you.
يَأْكُلُ خَضِرَتَكُمْ، وَيُذِيبُ شَحْمَتَكُمْ،
He would eat away your vegetation and melt your fat.
إِيه أَبَا وَذَحَةَ!
So, O Aba Wadhahah, is that all?
قال السيّد الشريف: : الْوَذَحَةُ: الخُنْفُسَاءُ. وهذا القول يومىءُ به إلى الحجاج، وله مع الوذحة حديث ليس هذا موضع ذكره.
as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: "al-Wadhahah" means "al-khunfusa' (dung-beetle)." In this sentence Amir al-mu'minin has referred to al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ath-Thaqafi and he had an incident with "al-Khunfusa '", which need not be related here.1
Alternative Sources for Sermon 116: Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, al-’Iqd, VI, 249; al-Mas’udi, Muruj, III, 150; al-'Azhari, Tahdhib, VII, 101 (kh.d.r); Ibn Faqih, al-Buldan, 181; al-Harawi, al-Jam’, see Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihayah, II, 41, V, 170; al-Muttaqi, Kanz, VI, 87; al-Daylami, al-'Irshad, I, 33.
1. The detail of this incident is that one day al-Hajjaj stood up for saying prayers when al-khunfusa' advanced towards him. al-Hajjaj held out his hand to stop him but he bit him whereby his hand got swollen and eventually he died of it. Ibn Abi'l-Hadid has written that "al-Wadhahah" means the dung that remains sticking to the tail of an animal, and this surname is intended to disgrace him.
