اطلاع یافتم که معاویه برای تو نامه ای نوشته تا عقل تو را بلغزد، و اراده تو را سست کند، از او بترس که شیطان است، و از پیش رو، و پشت سر، و از… I have learnt that Muawiyah has written to you to deceive your wit and blunt your sharpness. You should be on guard against him because he…
و من كتاب له (عليه السلام) إلي زياد ابن أبيه و قد بلغه أن معاوية كتب إليه يريد خديعته باستلحاقه
وَ قَدْ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ كَتَبَ إِلَيْكَ يَسْتَزِلُّ لُبَّكَ وَ يَسْتَفِلُّ غَرْبَكَ فَاحْذَرْهُ فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَأْتِي الْمَرْءَ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ وَ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ لِيَقْتَحِمَ غَفْلَتَهُ وَ يَسْتَلِبَ غِرَّتَهُ وَ قَدْ كَانَ مِنْ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ فِي زَمَنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ فَلْتَةٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ وَ نَزْغَةٌ مِنْ نَزَغَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ لَا يَثْبُتُ بِهَا نَسَبٌ وَ لَا يُسْتَحَقُّ بِهَا إِرْثٌ وَ الْمُتَعَلِّقُ بِهَا كَالْوَاغِلِ الْمُدَفَّعِ وَ النَّوْطِ الْمُذَبْذَبِ. فَلَمَّا قَرَأَ زِيَادٌ الْكِتَابَ قَالَ: شَهِدَ بِهَا وَ رَبِّ الْكَعْبَةِ، وَ لَمْ تَزَلْ فِي نَفْسِهِ حَتَّي ادَّعَاهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ.
قال الرضي: قوله (عليه السلام) الواغل هو الذي يهجم علي الشرب ليشرب معهم و ليس منهم فلا يزال مدفعا محاجزا و النوط المذبذب هو ما يناط برحل الراكب من قعب أو قدح أو ما أشبه ذلك فهو أبدا يتقلقل إذا حث ظهره و استعجل سيره.
I have learnt that Muawiyah has written to you to deceive your wit and blunt your sharpness. You should be on guard against him because he is the Satan who who approaches a believer from the front and from the back, from the right and from the left, to catch him suddenly in the hour of his carelessness and overcome his intelligence. In the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abu Sufyan happened to utter a thoughtless point which was an evil suggestion of Satan, from which neither kinship is established nor entitlement to succession occurs. He who relies on it is like the uninvited guest to a drink-party or like the dangling cup (tied to a saddle). Al-Sayyid al-Radi says: When Ziyad read this letter he said, (By Allah he has testified to it.) This point remained in his mind till Mu awiyah claimed him (as his brother by his father). Amir al-Mu'minin's word (al-waghil) means the man who joins the drinking group so as to drink with them, but he is not one of them. He is therefore constantly turned out and pushed off. As for the words (al-nawtu'l- mudhabdhab), it is a wooden cup or a bowl or the like attached to the saddle of the rider so that it dangles when the rider drives the beast or quickens its pace.
Source: Nahj al-Balagha, compiled by al-Sharif al-Radi. Persian: ترجمه محمد دشتی (Mohammad Dashti). English: Translation by Sayed Ali Reza (letters, sayings and sermons 1–16). Text from github.com/WWGTX/NahjulBalaghah. · Free for non-commercial religious use, with attribution