A Sermon of ‘Amir al Mu’minin, ‘Alayhi al-Salam — Hadith 1

22. Ahmad Bin Muhammad Al-Kufy, from Ja’far Bin Abdullah Al-Muhammady, from Abu Rawh Faraj Bin Qurrat, from Ja’far Bin Abdullah, from Mas’adat Bin Sadaqa who has narrated: Abu Abdullah (asws) having said: ‘Amir-ul-Momineen (asws) gave a sermon at Al-Medina. So he (asws) Praised Allah (azwj) and Extolled Him (azwj) and sent greetings of peace (Salam) upon the Prophet (saww). Then he (asws) said: ‘Having said that, Allah (azwj) Blessed and High does not Break the backs of the tyrants except after giving them respite and (Giving them) Ease, and does not mend the broken bones of the nations except after Removing the affliction from them. O you people! With every corruption that you come across, and setback endured from every mishap is a lesson for you, and not every heart is intelligence nor is every with an ear a listener, nor is every one with a looking eye has vision. Servants of Allah (azwj)! Do good deeds in what your eyes can see, then look at the Plains (Day of Judgement) to which Allah (azwj) will Drive those who in His (azwj) Knowledge were upon the Sunnah of the Children of the Pharaoh (la), the ones who possessed the gardens, and fountains, and plantations, and spacious places. Then look at what was the end Allah (azwj) had for them after the pleasure and enjoyment, and what they used to order for and prevent from. And for the one who is patient from among you will end up in the Gardens (of the Paradise), and Allah (azwj) will Make them live for all eternity, and to Allah (azwj) is the end of all affairs. Oh how astonishing! And why should I (asws) not be astonished at the mistakes of these sects over the different arguments in their Religion whilst not maintaining the effects of the Prophet (saww) and not following the successors (asws) in their actions, and not believing in the unseen, and not excusing the faults. Goodness among them is what they understand it to be and the evil within them is what they dislike. And each one of them is an imam to himself, taking from it what he sees with a firm and strong grip and decisive reasons. So they do not cease in these inequities and it does not increase them in anything except for errors (sins), not achieving nearness (to Allah (azwj)) and it does not increase them in anything except for the distance from Allah (azwj) Mighty and Majestic. They are well pleased with each other and ratify each other (to be correct). All that is the fear of the legacy