وَأَيُّ امْرِىء مِنْكُمْ أَحَسَّ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ رَبَاطَةَ جَأْش عِنْدَ اللِّقَاءِ،
Whoever among you feels spiritedness of heart during the action
وَرَأَى مِنْ أَحَد مِنْ إِخْوَانِهِ فَشَلاً،
and finds any of his comrades feeling disheartened
فَلْيَذُبَّ عَنْ أَخِيهِ بِفَضْلِ نَجْدَتِهِ الَّتي فُضِّلَ بِهَا عَلَيْهِ كَمَا يَذُبُّ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ،
should ward off (the enemies) from him just as he would do from himself, because of the superiority he enjoys over the other,
فَلَوْ شَاءَ اللهُ لَجَعَلَهُ مِثْلَهُ.
for if Allah had willed He would have made the former also like him.
إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ طَالِبٌ
Certainly death is a quick seeker.
حَثِيثٌ لاَيَفُوتُهُ الْمُقِيمُ،
Neither does the steadfast escape it
وَلاَ يُعْجِزُهُ الْهَارِبُ.
nor can the runner-away defy it.
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَ الْمَوْتِ الْقَتْلُ!
The best death is to be killed.
وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ ابْنِ أَبِي طَالِب بِيَدِهِ،
By Allah in Whose hand (power) lies the life of the son of Abu Talib,
لاَلْفُ ضَرْبَة بِالسَّيْفِ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ مِيتَة عَلَى الْفِرَاشِ فِي غَيْرِ طَاعَةِ اللهِ!.
certainly a thousand strikings of the sword on me are easier to me than a death in bed which is not in obedience to Allah.
وَكَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْكُمْ تَكِشُّونَ
It is as if I see you uttering voices
كَشِيشَ الضِّبَابِ:
like the rustling sound of lizards!
لاَ تَأْخُذُونَ حَقّاً،
You do not seek your own claims
وَلاَ تَمْنَعُونَ ضَيْماً.
nor do you defend against oppression.
قَدْ خُلِّيتُمْ وَالطَّرِيقَ،
You have been let free on the path.
فَالنَّجَاةُ لَلْمُقْتَحِمِ،
He who rushes (into the battle) achieves salvation,
وَالْهَلَكَةُ لَلْمُتَلَوِّمِ
while he who lags behind, hesitating, gets destruction.
Alternative Sources for Sermon 123: Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih, al-’Iqd, IV, 338; al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, V, 53; al-Mufid, al-Jamal, 190, from al-Waqidi's al-Jamal; al-Mufid, al-'Irshad, 139, 159; Ibn Miskawayh, Tajarib al-'umam, see Ta'sis al-Shi’ah, 415; al-Tusi, al-'Amali, I, 220.
