The Sermon which the Imam has written to al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mu`n asked Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, to write him a sermon in order to recite it to the people when he led them in prayer, so he, peace be on him, wrote him the following great sermon:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"Praise belongs to Allah, Who from nothing was, nor from making a thing He sought help, nor from a thing He created (the creatures), nor from it He formed the things; rather He said to it, "Be," and it is.
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"And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Who is unique and without partners, far above resisting rivals, vying with opposites, taking consorts and children. I also bear witness that Mohammed is His chosen servant and his distinguished, trusted one. He sent him with the detailed Qur'a`n, His connected revelation, and His pure Distinguisher (
Furqan), so he gave good news of His reward and warned against His punishment, may Allah bless him and his family.
"I recommend you, O servants of Allah, to fear Allah, Who knows your secret and open (deeds), and knows what you hide, so surely Allah will not leave you wandering without an aim; nor did He create you in vain; nor will He enable you to guidance. Beware! Beware, servants of Allah! For Allah has made you cautious of (retribution from) Himself, so do not subject (yourselves) to regret, calling for wrath, and arriving at the torture of the Hellfire,
surely the torture thereof is a lasting evil, surely it is an evil abode and (evil) place to stay; it does not go out; eyes do not sleep; souls neither die nor live; (they are) in chains and shackles, (subjected to) punishments and exemplary punishments,
so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise; a fire, the smoke of which shall encompass them about, so their call shall not be heard, their supplication shall not be responded, and there shall be no mercy upon their weeping. So flee, O servants of Allah, to Allah through these perishing souls, in the successive outcry, in the bygone days, before death befalls you, usurps your souls from you, distresses you in your hearts and be between you and the return. How far! So there will be no way to the return and no arrival to the residence. May Allah protect you and me through what He has protected His righteous friends, guide you and me to what He has guided His good servants.
1"
This sermon summons men to do good, to refrain from the unlawful, and to renounce the world; it warns them against Allah's punishment and chastisement.
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Al-Durr al-Nazim, p. 215.
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Al-Ma'mun asks the Ima`m for good Poetry
Al-Ma'mu`n asked the Ima`m, peace be on him, to recite to him the best poetry lines which he had narrated on clemency. So he, peace be on him, said: "These are the best lines which I have narrated:
"'If I am tried by the ignorance of those inferior to me,
"'then I prevent myself from returning in kind through ignorance.
"'If those like me are similar to me in intellect,
"'then I escape due to my clemency, that I may be far
"'above the like.
"'If I am inferior to him in excellence and intellect,
"'then I recognize his right of superiority and excellence.'"
Al-Ma'mu`n admired these poetry lines and asked: "Who composed them?"
"One of our boys," replied the Ima`m.
"Recite to me the best poetry you have narrated regarding silence toward the ignorant," demanded al-Ma'mu`n.
So he, peace be on him, recited these lines:
"'The friend may abandon me and turn aside (from me),
"'so I make him see that there are reasons for his
"'abandonment.
"'I see that if I admonish him, I will urge him, so I see
"'that leaving admonition is an admonition toward him.
"'If I am tried by an ignorant one showing clemency and
"'finding impossible things as correct, then I keep silent.
"'Perhaps silence is an answer to the answer.'"
Al-Ma'mu`n was astonished and asked: "How good this (poetry) is ! Who composed it?"
"One of our youths," answered the Ima`m.
Then al-Ma'mu`n said: "Recite to me the best (poetry) you have narrated concerning attracting enemy, that he may be a friend."
So the Ima`m recited to him these lines:
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"'I make peace with the possessor of malice, so I
"'overcome and deafen him because of the favor of
"'endurance from me.
"'He who does not repel the evil deeds of his enemy
"'through his kindness (to him) does not take graciousness
"'from a lofty place.
"'I see that nothing destroys old malice quicker than immediate friendliness.'"
So al-Ma'mu`n said: "How good this (poetry) is! Who composed it?"
"One of our young men," replied the Ima`m
"Recite to me the best (poetry) you have narrated regarding keeping things secret," demanded al-Ma'mu`n.
So the Ima`m recited to him the following:
"'Surely I forget secret lest I should announce it. O he "'who wants secret to be kept, I forget it lest it should "'come to my mind and my heart reveals it to him who "'has colic in his bowels.
"'So he who does not reveal secret and it comes to his mind is about to be unable to keep it.'"
As a result al-Ma'mu`n admired the marvelous poems which the Ima`m had memorized.
The Imam's Letter to his Son al-Jawad
Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, sent from Khurasa`n a letter to his son al-Jawa`d mentioning in it:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"May my soul be sacrificed for you, I have heard that when you ride, the retainers make you go out of the small door of the garden; this is a sign of miserliness in them lest anyone should attain good from you. So I ask you though my right against you that you should go out and come in through the big door, and if you ride, Allah willing, let gold and siliver be with you. When someone asks you for something, you give him. When one of your uncles asks you to give him, then do not give him less than fifty dinars; as for more than this amount, that is up to you. When one of your aunts asks you to give her, then do not give her less than fifty dinars; as for more than this
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amount, that is up to you. And when one of Quraysh asks you (to give him), then do not give him less than twenty-five dinars; as for more than this amount, that is up to you. Surely I want Allah to give you success, so fear Allah. Give and do not fear miserliness from the Possessor of the Throne.
1"
Have you ever seen such an angelic soul clinging to kindness to men in general? Generosity was one of the qualities of the Ima`m, so he urged his son to tighten the bonds of kin and to show kindness to the miserable.
This letter gives an account of a kind of exalted education practiced by the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, who brought up their children to cleave to honor and virtue, planted in their own souls high noble moral traits and good qualities, that they might be an example of good and a good model of the community.
The letter of Praise and Condition
This letter has been ascribed to Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him; it flows with praising al-Fadl b. Sahl and lauding his great efforts in establishing the kingdom of al-Ma'mu`n, defeating his opponents such as his brother al-Amïn, Abu al-Saraya`, and others. He spared no effort to suppress those violent revolts. So al-Ma'mu`n rewarded him for that through giving him great wealth and enormous properties; likewise, he gave the like of that to his brother al-Husayn b. Sahl as a prize to them for their loyalty to him. The letter says:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"Now then, praise belongs to Allah, the Originator, the Exalter, the Powerful, the Dominator, the Watcher over His servants, the Feeder over His creatures, toward whose dominion all things are humble, before whose might all things are lowly, through whose power all things are submissive, before whose force and
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1. Ibid., pp. 215-216.
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tremendousness all things are humble, whose knowledge encompasses all things and counts their number, so no great thing makes Him tired, no small thing is distant from Him; beholders' eyes attain Him not; describers' description encompasses Him not; His are creation, command, the loftiest attribute in the heavens and the earth; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.
"And praise belongs to Allah, Who has legislated Islam as religion, preferred it, magnified it, honored it, ennobled it, made it the valuable religion other than which is no (religion) accepted, the straight path to which he who clings does not go astray, from which he who turns away is not rightly guided, placed therein the light and the proof, cure and explanation, sent with it him whom He chose from among His angels to him whom He distinguished from among His messengers in the bygone communities, and the past centuries until His message reached Mohammed, the chosen one, may Allah bless him and his family, so He sealed through Him the prophets, made him follow the tracks of the messengers, sent him as mercy for people, bringer of good news to those believers who believed (in his message) and warner to those unbelievers who denied (it),
that His is the conclusive argument, and that he who would perish might perish by clear proof; and most surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing.
"And praise belongs to Allah, Who has made his Household inherit the legacies of the prophethood, deposited in them knowledge and wisdom, made them the source of the Ima`mate and the caliphate, made their authority (over Muslims) obligatory, and ennobled their rank, so He ordered His Messenger to ask his community to show love for them, for He says:
Say I demand not, of you any reward for it ( the toil of preaching) except the love of my relations1. And that through
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1. Qur'an, 42, 20. Al-'Allama has said: [ The consensus (of scientists) in the two authentic books, Ahmed b. Hanbal in his Musnad, al-Tha'labi in his Tafsir have narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbass, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:] "When Say I demand not, of you any reward for it (the toil of preaching) except the love of my relation was revealed, they asked: O' Apostle of Allah, who are your relations whose you have made obligatory on us? ' "They are 'Ali, Fatima, and their two sons', he replied."
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which He has described them such as keeping off from them every kind of uncleanness and His purifying them in these words of Him:
Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness and to purify you, people of the House, with a thorough purification.1
"Then surely al-Ma'mu`n has been kind to Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, with respect to his family, and tightened the bonds of his Household. So he has returned friendliness to them, brought them together, reconciled them, put an end to the division among them; and Allah through him has driven away enmities and spites from them. So through his felicity, his protection, his blessing, his devotion, and his gifts their hands have become one, their word is inclusive, and their desires are harmonious. He has kept the rights for their owners, put the legacies in their places, rewarded with the kindness of the good doers, safeguarded those who have been stricken by tribulation, brought near (those far) and sent far (those close) because of the religion. Then he has singled out him whose efforts have given priority to him (over others) with preference, giving precedence (over others), and honoring. Such (a person) is Dhu` al-Riya`satayn al-Fadl b. Sahl, for he (al-Ma'mu`n) has seen that he (al-Fadl) supports him, undertakes his right, speaks of his argument, heads his chiefs, leads his horses, directs his wars, governs his subjects, summons (them) to him, rewards him who responds to obedience to him, opposes him who opposes him, helps him only, cures the malady of hearts and intentions. Neither paucity of wealth nor lack of men prevents him from that; greediness does not make him partial; and no fear turns him aside from his intention and his insight. Rather, when the terrified terrify (him), and when threateners, menacers, many dissenters and opponents from among the
mujahidïn and the deceivers threaten him, he is the most resolute of them, the most steadfast of them, the most powerful of them in scheming, the
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1. Ibid., 33, 33. Al-'Allama has said: " The intereters (of the Quran) have unanimously agreed that this verse was revealed regarding 'Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be upon them. Similarly, the consensus (of scientists) such Ahmed b. Hanbal and the like, has narrated that it was revealed concerning them.
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best of them in direction, the strongest (of them) in establishing the right of al-Ma'mu`n and in summoning (men) to him, to the extent that he has broken the teeth of the errant, blunted the edge (of their sword), clipped their finer-nails (lit. wings), reaped their thorn (i.e. killed them), struck them down (just as he struck down) those unbelievers who broke his covenant, flagged in his command, made little of his right, felt safe from his influence and his courage; in addition to the (other) works of Dhu` al-Riya`satayn toward all kinds of the communities from among the polytheists; (for example) through him Allah has increased the boundaries of the country of the Muslims; you have heard of their news, regarding which the letters have been read on your pulpits, which the people have transmitted to you (and) to other than you. As Dhu` al-Riya`satayn strove earnestly for the Commander of the faithful, undertook his right, sacrificed for him his own soul and the soul of his brother Abu` Mohammed al-Hasan b. Sahl, whose nature is blessed and whose policy is praiseworthy, he (the Commander of the faithful) thanked him to the extent that he surpassed the first and triumphed over the successful.
"The Commander of the faithful has rewarded him to the extent that he has attained properties, country estates and jewels, though this reward does not equal one of his days and attitudes. Yet, he (al-Fadl) has left this reward out of renouncing it, disdaining it, securing it for the Muslims, casting away the world, making little of it, preferring the hereafter (to it), and competing (with others) for it (the hereafter).
"And he has asked the Commander of the faithful about abdicating and renouncing (the office of ministry). So he and we have regarded that as great because of our knowledge of what Allah, the Great and Almighty, has put in his place in which he is of might for the religion and authority, strength for setting the Muslims right, waging jiha`d against the polytheists, and what Allah has shown through him of his truthful intention, his blessed soul, his correct direction, his strong view point, his successful request, his helping (him) with the truth and guidance, kindness and reverential fear. So when the Commander of the faithful has become confident of him, we have (also) become confident of him according to the view of the
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religion and that in which is his righteousness; we have given him his demand, which is equal to his rank; we have written to him a letter of
haba' and shart (praise and condition), which has been copied at the bottom of this letter of mine; we called to witness to it Allah, those who were present with us from among our household, the (military) commanders, the companions, the judges, the jurists, the personal entourage, and the populace.
"The Commander of the faithful has ordered the letter to be announced in the regions, spread among their inhabitants, read on their pulpits, established with their governors and their judges. So he has asked me to write about that and to explain its meanings, which are in three parts:
"The First Part: Explaining all his (al-Fadl's) works through which Allah has made his right incumbent upon us and the Muslims.
"The Second Part: Explaining his rank in removing his reason concerning all that which he has directed, in which he has entered, and there is no objection against him concerning that which he has left and hated. That is because the creatures should not pledge allegiance to anyone except to him and his brother. Part of removing the reason (for his abdicating the office) is hiding it from all those who have wronged them (al-Fadl and his brother), strive through corruption against us, them, and our friends, lest one should crave after a difference against them or after an act of disobedience to them or after a trickery concerning an entry between us and them.
"The Third Part: Explaining our gifts to him if he has to choose between abdicating and renouncing (the office), and the proof of accomplishing (that) because of the reward of the hereafter regarding which he has striven through that which (must) be established in the heart of him who has doubt about him regarding that, and that which obligates us such as dignity, might, the haba`' (praise) which we have given to him and his brother regarding protecting them both from that from which we protect ourselves. And that encompasses all that through which the cautious takes precautions with respect to the affairs of religion and the world."
This statement has terminated; it lauds the great efforts which al-
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Fadl b. Sahl made for strengthening the government of al-Ma'mu`n and establishing his state. It also praises his honesty, his refusing to accept many prizes and gifts, and his asking for abdicating the office of ministry. Moreover it shows that this request of him was refused. This statement is a preface to the letter of
al-Haba' wa al-Shart (the Praise and Condition), which says:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is a letter on
al-Haba' wa al-Shart (the Praise and Condition) from the servant of Allah al-Ma'mu`n, the Commander of the faithful, and his heir apparent 'Ali b. Mu`sa` al-Rida`, to Dhu` al-Riya`satayn al-Fadl b. Sahl; (the letter was written) on Monday, the seventh of the month of Ramada`n, in the year 201 A. H. This is the day on which Allah has completed the state of the Commander of the faithful, appointed his heir apparent, made the people wear green uniform, (made the Commander of the faithful) achieve his hope of setting right his friend and overcoming his enemy. We have summoned you to that in which is some of rewarding you, for you have fulfilled the right of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, the right of Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, the right of the Commander of the faithful and of his heir apparent, 'Ali b. Mu`sa`, the right of the Ha`shimtes through whom (we) hope to set right the religion and to settle the enmity among the Muslims, until he establishes his favor upon us and upon the populace through that; and through that with which has helped the Commander of the faithful such as establishing the religion and the Sunna, manifesting the second summons (to the religion) and preferring the first (summons to the religion to it), in addition to suppressing the polytheists, breaking the idols and killing the tyrants; in the cities are still standing the rest of his works in respect of the deposed one (i.e. al-Amïn) and Qa`bil, regarding the one called al-Asfar (the yellow one) and the one nicknamed Abu` al-Sara`ya`, concerning the one called al-Mahdi Mohammed b. Ja'far al-Talibïn and the Hawli Turks, regarding Tabrista`n and its kings to the Port (
Bandar) of Hurmuz b. Sharwïn, in respect of Daylam and its king Mahors, concerning Cabul and its king Harmos then its king Asfahïd, regarding Ibn al-Barm, the mountains of Bida`r Benda,
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'Arshista`n, al-Ghour, and the like, in regard with Khurasa`n, and Bloun the leader (
shahib) of the mountain of al-Tibtt, regarding Kayman and Tagharghar, concerning Armenia and al-Hijaz, the Leader of the Throne (
sahib al-Sarïr), and the Leader of al-Khazar (
sahib al-Khazar), regarding al-Maghrib (Morocco) and the wars wherein; the explanation of that is in the Divan of Biography (
sïra).
"These (works of yours) have summoned us to aid you with one million dirhams, a crop of ten million jewel dirhams, feudal estates had been given to you by the Commander of the faithful before that; in our viewpoint, you deserve more than one hundred million jewel dirhams. You had left the like of that when it was given to you by the deposed one (i.e. al-Amïn). You have preferred Allah and His religion (to that). You have thanked the Commander of the faithful and his heir apparent, secured all of that to the Muslims, and you have generously given it to them.
"You have asked us to respond to your request, for which you have yearned, and which is abdicating and renouncing (the office of the ministry), that you may set right him who has doubt about your striving for the next world apart from this world and your renouncing the world. (We) cannot manage without the like of you and cannot refuse the request of the like of you. If your demand took us out of the bliss (conferred) upon us, then how would we order? Through it you have raised provision and made argument obligatory on him who claims that your summoning (the people) to us is for the world, not for the hereafter. We have responded to what you have asked from us and given it to you, confirmed by Allah's promise and covenant which do not change; nor do they alter; we entrusted the matter to you in that time. If you intend to keep to (your office), then your are dear, the reason is removed from you, any kind of work you hate to practice is driven way from you, and we protect you from that from which we protect ourselves in all circumstances. If you intend to abdicate (the office), then you are honorable, (and only your) body is removed. Then the right of your body (against you) is that you give rest to it and honor it. Then we will give you of that which you take and of that which we have given to you in this letter, but you have left it today.
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"And we have given to al-Hasan b. Sahl the like of that which we have given to you, so the half of the gift we have given to him and his household is for you, and for that he sacrificed his own life for waging jihad against the tyrants, conquering Iraq twice, scattering the gatherings of Satan, and entering the fires of war, so the religion has become strong. Through his own soul, his household, those whom ruled from among the friends of the truth, he protected us from the torture of the simoom. We have called to witness Allah, His angels, His good creatures, and all those who had given their pledge of allegiance to us and the applause of their right hand regarding what is in this letter on this day and after it. We have made Allah as surety over us for it, made it incumbent upon us to fulfill the conditions without excluding anything which decreases them secretly or openly. The promise is a religious duty (about which we shall be) questioned; the best of the people in fulfilling (promise) is he who asks the people to fulfill (it). Allah, the Exalted, said:
And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have made a covenant, and do not break the oaths after making them fast, and you have indeed made Allah a surety for you; surely Allah knows what you do. 1"
This document called al-Haba`' wa al-Shart has terminated, and it has been signed by al-Ma'mu`n and Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him.
