علل نابودی ملتها Now, what ruined those before you was that they denied people their rights and then they had to purchase them (by bribes), and they led the…
و من كتاب كتبه (عليه السلام) لما استخلف إلي أمراء الأجناد
أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ مَنَعُوا النَّاسَ الْحَقَّ فَاشْتَرَوْهُ وَ أَخَذُوهُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ فَاقْتَدَوْهُ
Now, what ruined those before you was that they denied people their rights and then they had to purchase them (by bribes), and they led the people to wrong and they followed it.
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