أَمَّا بَعْدُ،
Now,
فَإِنَّ دَهَاقِينَ أهْلِ بَلَدِكَ شَكَوْا مِنْكَ غِلْظَةً
the cultivators (1) (dahaqin, plural of dihqan) of your city have complained of your strictness,
وَقَسْوَةً،
hard heartedness,
وَاحْتِقَاراً
humiliating treatment
وَجَفْوَةً،
and harshness.
وَنَظَرْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَهُمْ أَهْلاً لاَنْ يُدْنَوْا لِشِرْكِهِمْ،
I thought over it and found that since they are unbelievers they cannot be brought near
وَلاَ أَنْ يُقْصَواْ وَيُجْفَوْا لِعَهْدِهِمْ،
nor kept away or treated severely because of the pledge with them.
فَالْبَسْ لَهُمْ جِلْبَاباً مِنَ اللِّينِ تَشُوبُهُ بِطَرَف مِنَ الشِّدَّةِ، وَدَاوِلْ لَهُمْ بَيْنَ الْقَسْوَةِ وَالرَّأْفَةِ،
Behave with them in between strictness and softness
وَامْزُجْ لَهُمْ بَيْنَ التَّقْرِيبِ وَالاْدْنَاءِ،
and adopt for them a mingling or remoteness and aloofness
وَالاْبْعَادِ وَالاْقْصَاءِ،
with nearness and closeness
إِنْ شَاءَاللهُ.
if Allah so wills.
1. These people were Magians (majus). That is why the treatment of Amir al-mu'minin's officer with them was not the same as with Muslims. Disgusted with this they wrote a letter of complaint to Amir al-mu'minin and spoke of the Officer's harshness. In reply, Amir al-mu'minin wrote to his officer that he should meet out treatment to them in which there should be neither harshness nor such leniency which they may exploit to create mischief because if they are let loose they get involved in machinations against the government and disturb the country's administration by creating one mischief or the other, while a wholly repressive policy cannot be justified because they are counted among the subjects and their rights as such cannot be ignored.
