وَ قَالَ عليه السلام لِابْنِهِ الْحَسَنِ ع:
Amir al-mu'minin said to his son al-Hasan, peace be upon them both:
لَا تَدْعُوَنَّ إِلَى مُبَارَزَةٍ
Do not call out for fighting,
وَ إِنْ دُعِيتَ إِلَيْهَا فَأَجِبْ
but if you are called to it do respond,
فَإِنَّ الدَّاعِيَ إِلَيْهَا بَاغٍ
because the caller to fighting is a rebel
وَ الْبَاغِيَ مَصْرُوعٌ.
and the rebel deserves destruction. 56
56. The meaning of this is that if the enemy aims at fighting and takes the initiative in it, then one should advance to face him, but one should not initiate the attack because this would be clear high-handedness and excess, and whoever commits high-handedness and excess will be disgracefully vanquished and thrown down. That is why Amir al-mu'minin always entered the battlefield on being challenged by the enemy. He never offered the challenge from his side. In this connection, Ibn Abil'l-Hadid writes: We have never heard that Amir al-mu'minin ever challenged anyone for confrontation. Rather, when either he was particularly challenged or the enemy flung a general challenge, then alone he would go out to meet the enemy and would kill him. (Sharh Nahjul Balaghah al-balaghah, vol.19, p.60)
