Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Sermon 215

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Delivered at the Battle of Siffin Mutual Rights of the Ruler and the Ruled

By placing me over your affairs, Allah, the Glorified One, has created my right over you and you, too, have a right over me like mine over you, a right is very vast in description but very narrow in equity. It does not accrue to any person unless it accrues against him also, and right does not accrue against a person unless it also accrues in his favor. If there is any right, which is only in favor of a person with no (corresponding) right accruing against him, it is solely for Allah, the Glorified One, not for His creatures by virtue of His might over His creatures, and by virtue of the justice permeating all His decrees. Of course, He, the Glorified One, has created His right over creatures to

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worship Him and has laid upon Himself (the obligation of) their reward equal to several times the recompense as a mark of His bounty and the generosity that He is capable of.

Then, from His rights, He, the Glorified One, created certain rights for certain people against others. He made them so in order to equate one with another. Some of these rights produce other rights. Some rights are such that they do not accrue except with others. The greatest of these rights is that Allah, the Glorified One, has made obligatory the right of the ruler over the ruled, and the right of the ruled over the ruler. This is an obligation which Allah, the Glorified One, has placed on each other. He has made it the basis of their (mutual) affection and an honor for their religion. Consequently, the ruled cannot prosper unless the rulers are sound, while the rulers cannot be sound unless the ruled are steadfast.

If the ruled fulfil the rights of the ruler and the ruler fulfills their rights, then right attains the status of honor among them, the ways of religion become established, the signs of justice become fixed and the Sunnah gains currency.

In this way, time would improve, the continuance of government would be expected and the aims of the enemies would be frustrated. But if the ruled gain sway over the ruler, or if the ruler oppresses the ruled, then differences crop up in every word, signs of oppression appear, mischief creeps into the creed and the ways of the Sunnah are forsaken. Then desires are acted upon, the commands (of religion) are discarded, diseases of the spirit become numerous and there is no hesitation in disregarding even great rights, nor in committing big wrongdoings. In such circumstances, the virtuous are humiliated while the vicious are honored, and in this there are serious chastisements from Allah, the Glorified One, on the people.

You should, therefore, counsel each other (for the fulfillment of your obligations) and cooperate with each other. However extremely eager a person may be to secure the pleasure of Allah, and however fully he strives for it, he cannot totally discharge (his obligation for) obedience to Allah, the Glorified One, as is really due to Him. It is an obligatory right of Allah over the people that they should advise each other to the best of their ability and cooperate with each other for the establishment of the truth among them. Nobody, however great his status in the matter of the truth, and however advanced his distinction in religion may be, is above cooperation with regard to the obligations placed on him by Allah. Again, no man, however small he may be regarded by others and however

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humble he may appear before their eyes, is too low to cooperate or to be afforded cooperation in this matter.

One of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib’s companions replied to him with a long speech of his own wherein he praised him much and referred to his listening to him and obeying him, whereas Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) said the following:

If a man in his mind regards Allah’s glory as being high and believes in his heart that Allah’s status is sublime, then it is his right that on account of the greatness of these things, he should regard all other things as minor. Among such persons he on whom Allah’s bounty is great and Allah’s favors are kind has a greater obligation because Allah’s bounty over any person does not increase without a corresponding increase in Allah’s right over him.

In the view of virtuous people, the worst status of rulers is that it may be thought about them that they love glory and their affairs may be taken to be based on pride. I would really hate that it may cross your mind