SERMON 48
Delivered at the time of marching towards
Syria.
Praise is due to Allah when
night spreads and darkens, and praise be to Allah whenever the star shines
and sets. And praise be to Allah whose bounty never misses and whose
favours cannot be repaid.
Well, I have sent forward my
vanguard
(1) and have ordered them to remain
in camp on this bank of the River till my order reaches them. My intention
is that I should cross this water over to the small habitation of people
residing on the sides of the Tigris and rouse them to march with you
towards the enemy and keep them as auxiliary force for you.
as-Sayyid ar-Radi says: Here
by "mitat " Amir al-mu'minin has meant the direction where he had ordered
the men to camp and that was the bank of the Euphrates, and "mitat " is
used for the bank of a river although its literal meaning is level ground
whereas by "nutfah " he means the water of the Euphrates, and these are
amazing expressions.
(1).
Amir al-mu'minin delivered this sermon when he camped at the Valley of
an-Nukhaylah on Wednesday the 5th Shawwal 37 A.H. on his way to Siffin.
The Vanguard mentioned
herein means the twelve thousand persons whom he had sent towards Siffin
under the command of Ziyad ibn an-Nadr and Shurayh ibn Hani, while the
small force of al-Mada'in mentioned by him was a contingent of twelve
hundred men who had come up in response to Amir al-mu'minin's call.
|