ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) لمّا هرب مَصْقَلة بنُ هُبيرة الشيباني إلى معاوية، وكان قد ابتاع سَبْيَ بني ناجية من عامل أميرالمؤمنين (عليه السلام) وأعتقهم، فلمّا طالبه (عليه السلام) بالمال خاس به وهرب إلى الشام،
When Maṣqalah [1] ibn Hubayrah ash-Shaybāni fled to Mu‘āwiyah because he had purchased some prisoners of Banū Nājiyah from an executive of Amīr al-mu’minīn, but when he demanded the price latter avoided and ran to Syria, Amīr al-mu’minīn said:
قَبَّحَ اللهُ مَصْقَلَةَ! فَعَلَ فِعْلَ السَّادَةِ، وَفَرَّ فِرَارَ الْعَبِيدِ! فَمَا أَنْطَقَ مَادِحَهُ حَتَّى أَسْكَتَهُ، وَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَاصِفَهُ حَتَّى بَكَّتَهُ، وَلَو أَقَامَ لاَخَذْنَا مَيْسُورَهُ، وَانْتَظَرْنا بِمَالِهِ وُفُورَهُ.
Allah may be bad to Maṣqalah. He acted like the noble but fled away like a slave. Before his admirer could speak (about him) he silenced him and before his eulogist could testify to his good deeds he closed his mouth. If he had stayed behind we would have taken from him what he could easily pay and waited for the balance till his money increased.
Footnote :
[1] When after Arbitration the Khārijites rose, a man of Bani Nājiyah from them named al-Khirrīt ibn Rāshid an-Nāji stood up for instigating people and set off towards al-Madā‘in with a group killing and marauding. Amīr al-mu’minīn sent Ziyād ibn Khaṣafah with three hundred men to check him. When the two forces met at al-Madā‘in they attacked each other with swords. Only one encounter or so had taken place when the gloom of evening prevailed and the battle had to be stopped. When morning appeared Ziyād’s men noticed that five dead bodies of the Khārijites were lying and they themselves had cleared off the battlefield. Seeing this Ziyād set off for Baṣrah along with his men. There he came to know that the Khārijites had gone to Ahwāz. Ziyād did not move onwards for paucity of force and informed Amīr al-mu’minīn of it. Amīr al-mu’minīn called back Ziyād and sent Ma‘qil ibn Qays ar-Riyāḥi with two thousand experienced combatants towards Ahwāz and wrote to the governor of Baṣrah ‘Abdullāh ibn al-‘Abbās to send two thousand swordsmen of Baṣrah for the help of Ma‘qil. Consequently, the contingent from Baṣrah also joined them at Ahwāz and after proper organization they got ready for attacking the enemy. But al-Khirrīt marched on along with his men to the hills of Rāmhurmuz. These people also followed him and overtook him near these hills. Both arrayed their forces and started attacking each other. The result of this encounter was also that three hundred and seventy Khārijites were killed in the battlefield while the rest ran away. Ma‘qil informed Amīr al-mu’minīn of his performance and of the enemy’s running away when Amīr al-mu’minīn directed him to chase them and so to shatter their power that they should not be able to raise heads again. On receipt of this order he moved on and overtook him on the coast of the Persian Gulf, where al-Khirrīt had by persuasion secured the cooperation of the people and enlisting men from here and there, had collected a considerable force. When Ma‘qil reached there, he raised the flag of peace and announced that those who had collected from here and there should get away. They would not be molested. The effect of this announcement was that save for his own community all others deserted him. He organized those very men and commenced the battle but valourous combatants of Baṣrah and Kūfah displayed such excellent use of swords that in a short time one hundred and seventy men of the insurgents were killed while an-Nu‘mān ibn Ṣuhbān ar-Rasibi encountered al-Khirrīt (ibn Rashid an-Naji) and eventually felled him and killed him. Soon upon his fall the enemy lost ground and they fled away from the battlefield. Thereafter Ma‘qil collected all the men, women and children from their camps at one place. From among them those who were Muslims were released after swearing of allegiance. Those who had turned heretics were called upon to resume Islam. Consequently except one old Christian all others secured release by accepting Islam and this old man was killed. Then he took with him those Christians of Bani Nājiyah who had taken part in this revolt together with their families. When Ma‘qil reached Ardashir Khurrah (a city in Iran) these prisoners wailed and cried before its governor Maṣqalah ibn Hubayrah ash-Shaybani and beseeched humiliatively to do something for their release. Maṣqalah sent word to Ma‘qil through Dhuhl ibn al-Harith to sell these prisoners to him. Ma‘qil agreed and sold those prisoners to him for five hundred thousand Dirhams and told him to dispatch the price immediately to Amīr al-mu’minīn. He said that he was sending the first instalment at once and the remaining instalments would also be sent soon. When Ma‘qil met Amīr al-mu’minīn he related the whole event before him. Amīr al-mu’minīn ratified this action and waited for the price for some time, but Maṣqalah observed such deep silence as if nothing was due from him. At last Amīr al-mu’minīn sent a messenger to him and sent him word to either send the price or to come himself. On Amīr al-mu’minīn’s order he came to Kūfah and on demand of the price paid two hundred thousand Dirhams but to evade the balance went away to Mu‘āwiyah, who made him the governor of Tabarastan. When Amīr al-mu’minīn came to know all this he spoke these words (as in this sermon). Its sum total is that, “If he had stayed we would have been considerate to him in demanding the price and would have waited for improvement of his financial condition, but he fled away like slaves after displaying a showy act. Talk about his high perseverance had just started when people began to discuss his baseless and lowliness.”
[1] When after Arbitration the Khārijites rose, a man of Bani Nājiyah from them named al-Khirrīt ibn Rāshid an-Nāji stood up for instigating people and set off towards al-Madā‘in with a group killing and marauding. Amīr al-mu’minīn sent Ziyād ibn Khaṣafah with three hundred men to check him. When the two forces met at al-Madā‘in they attacked each other with swords. Only one encounter or so had taken place when the gloom of evening prevailed and the battle had to be stopped. When morning appeared Ziyād’s men noticed that five dead bodies of the Khārijites were lying and they themselves had cleared off the battlefield. Seeing this Ziyād set off for Baṣrah along with his men. There he came to know that the Khārijites had gone to Ahwāz. Ziyād did not move onwards for paucity of force and informed Amīr al-mu’minīn of it. Amīr al-mu’minīn called back Ziyād and sent Ma‘qil ibn Qays ar-Riyāḥi with two thousand experienced combatants towards Ahwāz and wrote to the governor of Baṣrah ‘Abdullāh ibn al-‘Abbās to send two thousand swordsmen of Baṣrah for the help of Ma‘qil. Consequently, the contingent from Baṣrah also joined them at Ahwāz and after proper organization they got ready for attacking the enemy. But al-Khirrīt marched on along with his men to the hills of Rāmhurmuz. These people also followed him and overtook him near these hills. Both arrayed their forces and started attacking each other. The result of this encounter was also that three hundred and seventy Khārijites were killed in the battlefield while the rest ran away. Ma‘qil informed Amīr al-mu’minīn of his performance and of the enemy’s running away when Amīr al-mu’minīn directed him to chase them and so to shatter their power that they should not be able to raise heads again. On receipt of this order he moved on and overtook him on the coast of the Persian Gulf, where al-Khirrīt had by persuasion secured the cooperation of the people and enlisting men from here and there, had collected a considerable force. When Ma‘qil reached there, he raised the flag of peace and announced that those who had collected from here and there should get away. They would not be molested. The effect of this announcement was that save for his own community all others deserted him. He organized those very men and commenced the battle but valourous combatants of Baṣrah and Kūfah displayed such excellent use of swords that in a short time one hundred and seventy men of the insurgents were killed while an-Nu‘mān ibn Ṣuhbān ar-Rasibi encountered al-Khirrīt (ibn Rashid an-Naji) and eventually felled him and killed him. Soon upon his fall the enemy lost ground and they fled away from the battlefield. Thereafter Ma‘qil collected all the men, women and children from their camps at one place. From among them those who were Muslims were released after swearing of allegiance. Those who had turned heretics were called upon to resume Islam. Consequently except one old Christian all others secured release by accepting Islam and this old man was killed. Then he took with him those Christians of Bani Nājiyah who had taken part in this revolt together with their families. When Ma‘qil reached Ardashir Khurrah (a city in Iran) these prisoners wailed and cried before its governor Maṣqalah ibn Hubayrah ash-Shaybani and beseeched humiliatively to do something for their release. Maṣqalah sent word to Ma‘qil through Dhuhl ibn al-Harith to sell these prisoners to him. Ma‘qil agreed and sold those prisoners to him for five hundred thousand Dirhams and told him to dispatch the price immediately to Amīr al-mu’minīn. He said that he was sending the first instalment at once and the remaining instalments would also be sent soon. When Ma‘qil met Amīr al-mu’minīn he related the whole event before him. Amīr al-mu’minīn ratified this action and waited for the price for some time, but Maṣqalah observed such deep silence as if nothing was due from him. At last Amīr al-mu’minīn sent a messenger to him and sent him word to either send the price or to come himself. On Amīr al-mu’minīn’s order he came to Kūfah and on demand of the price paid two hundred thousand Dirhams but to evade the balance went away to Mu‘āwiyah, who made him the governor of Tabarastan. When Amīr al-mu’minīn came to know all this he spoke these words (as in this sermon). Its sum total is that, “If he had stayed we would have been considerate to him in demanding the price and would have waited for improvement of his financial condition, but he fled away like slaves after displaying a showy act. Talk about his high perseverance had just started when people began to discuss his baseless and lowliness.”
