وَ مِنْ خَبَرِ ضِرَارِ بْنِ حَمْزَةَ الضَّبَائِيِّ عِنْدَ دُخُولِهِ عَلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ وَ مَسْأَلَتِهِ لَهُ عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ قَالَ فَأَشْهَدُ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُهُ فِى بَعْضِ مَوَاقِفِهِ وَ قَدْ أَرْخَى اللَّيْلُ سُدُولَهُ وَ هُوَ قَائِمٌ فِى مِحْرَابِهِ قَابِضٌ عَلَى لِحْيَتِهِ يَتَمَلْمَلُ تَمَلْمُلَ السَّلِيمِ وَ يَبْكِى بُكَاءَ الْحَزِينِ وَ يَقُولُ
It is related that when Dirar ibn Hamzah (the correct: Damrah) ad-Dibabi (or as-Suda'i) (27) went to Mu'awiyah. and Mu`awiyah enquired from him about Amir al-mu'minin, peace he upon him, he said: I stand witness that I have seen him on several occasions when night had spread and he was standing in the niche (of the mosque) holding his heard, groaning like a man bitten by a snake and weeping as a grieved man, saying:
يَا دُنْيَا يَا دُنْيَا إِلَيْكِ عَنِّى،
O world, O world! Get away from me.
أَ بِى تَعَرَّضْتِ
Why do you present yourself to me?
أَمْ إِلَيَّ تَشَوَّقْتِ؟
Or are you eager for me?
لَا حَانَ حِينُكِ هَيْهَاتَ
You may not get that opportunity to impress me.
غُرِّى غَيْرِى
Deceive some other person.
لَا حَاجَةَ لِى فِيكِ
I have no concern with you.
قَدْ طَلَّقْتُكِ ثَلَاثاً لَا رَجْعَةَ فِيهَا
I have divorced you thrice whereafter there is no restitution.
فَعَيْشُكِ قَصِيرٌ
Your life is short,
وَ خَطَرُكِ يَسِيرٌ
your importance is little
وَ أَمَلُكِ حَقِيرٌ.
and your aspirations are base.
آهِ مِنْ قِلَّةِ الزَّادِ
Alas! The provision is little,
وَ طُولِ الطَّرِيقِ
the way is long,
وَ بُعْدِ السَّفَرِ
the journey is far
وَ عَظِيمِ الْمَوْرِدِ.
and the goal is hard to reach.
27. Dirar ibn Damrah was one of the companions of Amir al-mu'minin. After the death of Amir al-mu'minin, he went to Syria (ash-Sham) where he met Mu'awiyah. Mu'awiyah asked him, "Describe 'Ah to me." He replied, "Would you please excuse me from answering this?" But Mu'awiyah insisted, "You must describe him." Whereupon Dirar said: If there is no alternative, then you should know that 'Ali was a man whose personality knew no limits, terrible in power, his speech was decisive, his judgements based on justice, his knowledge spread out in all directions and wisdom was manifest in all his behaviour. Among the food he liked most was the coarse kind and among the clothes, the short (and humble) ones. By Allah, he was among us as one of us. He used to respond to our questions and fulfil all our requests. By Allah, although be used to let us get close to him and he himself was close to us, we did not dare address him due to our feeling of awe towards him nor did we dare to speak first due to his greatness in our hearts. His smile displayed a row of pearls. He used to honour the pious; to be kind to the needy, to feed the orphan, the near of kin or the needy man in misery on the day of huuger; to clothe the bare ones and to help the undefended person. He used to detest the world and its flowering. I stand witness that. . . (and so forth, as quoted above by as-Sayyid ar-Radi). When Mu'awiyah heard this from Dirar his eyes filled with tears and he said, "May Allah have mercy on Abu'l-Hasan. He really was so." Then, turning to Dirar he said, "How do you feel in his absence, O' Dirar!" Dirar replied, "My grief is like that of a woman whose only child is butchered in her arms." (al Isti'ib, vol.3, pp.1107-1108; Hilyah al-awlya', vol.2, p.84; Sifatu's-Safwah, Ibn al-Jawzi, vol.1, p.121; aI-Amali; Abu 'Ali al-Qali, vol.2. p.147: Zahr al-adab, al-Husri, vol.1, pp.40-41; Muruj adh-dhahab, vol.2, p.42l: ar-Riyad an-nadirah, al-Muhibb at-Tabari, vol.2, p.212; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.18, pp.225 -226)
