وما أجلبتم . والذي فلق الحبة وبرء النسمة لقد علمتم أني صاحبكم ، والذي به أمرتم وأني عالمكم ، والذي بعلمه نجاتكم ووصي نبيكم صلى الله عليه وآله وخيرة ربكم ولسان نوركم ، والعالم بما يصلحكم ، فعن قليل رويدا ينزل بكم ما وعدتم وما نزل بالأمم قبلكم ، وسيسئلكم الله عز وجل عن أئمتكم معهم تحشرون وإلى الله عز وجل غدا تصيرون .

and of what you have brought upon yourselves. By Him who split the seed and created the soul, you knew that I am your companion, and he whom you were commanded to obey; and that I am your learned one, by whose knowledge is your deliverance, and the legatee of your prophet, may God bless him and his Family, and the chosen of your Lord, and the tongue of your light, and the one who knows what sets you right. So in a little while, gently, there will come down upon you what you were promised, and what came down upon the nations before you. And God, mighty and exalted, will ask you concerning your Imams: with them you will be gathered, and to God, mighty and exalted, you will come tomorrow.

أما والله لو كان لي عدة أصحاب طالوت أو عدة أهل بدر وهم أعدادكم [ أعداؤكم خ م ] لضربتكم بالسيف حتى تؤولوا إلى الحق ، وتنيبوا للصدق ، فكان أرتق للفتق وآخذ الرفق ، اللهم فاحكم بيننا بالحق وأنت خير الحاكمين .

By God, had I the number of the companions of Talut, or the number of the people of Badr, and they your equals [a variant: your enemies], I would strike you with the sword until you returned to the truth and turned back to what is true. That would be the better mending of the rent and the surer taking of gentleness. O God, judge between us with the truth; and You are the best of judges.

قال : ثم خرج عليه السلام من المسجد فمر بصيرة 3 فيها نحو من ثلثين شاة ، فقال : والله لو أن لي رجالا ينصحون لله عز وجل ولرسوله صلى الله عليه وآله بعدد هذه الشياة لأزلت ابن أكلة الذبان 4 عن ملكه .

He said: Then he went out, peace be upon him, from the mosque and passed by a fold [3] in which were about thirty sheep, and he said: By God, had I men sincere to God, mighty and exalted, and to His Messenger, may God bless him and his Family, to the number of these sheep, I would remove the son of the eater of flies [4] from his rule.

قال : فلما أمسى بايعه ثلاثمأة وستون رجلا على الموت ، فقال لهم أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام اغدوا بنا إلى أحجار الزيت 5 محلقين ، وحلق أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فما وافى من القوم محلقا إلا أبو ذر ، والمقداد ، وحذيفة اليمان ، وعمار بن ياسر وجاء سلمان في آخر القوم .

He said: And when evening came, three hundred and sixty men pledged to him unto death. And the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said to them: Come with us in the morning to Ahjar al-Zayt [5], with heads shaven. And the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, shaved his head; and none of the people came with head shaven save Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Hudhayfa al-Yaman and 'Ammar b. Yasir; and Salman came at the end of the company.

فرفع عليه السلام يديه إلى السماء فقال : اللهم إن القوم استضعفوني كما استضعف بنو إسرائيل هارون ، اللهم فإنك تعلم ما نخفي وما نعلن ، وما يخفى عليك شئ في الأرض ولا في السماء توفني مسلما وألحقني بالصالحين ، أما والبيت والمفضي 6

So he raised his hands, peace be upon him, to the sky and said: O God, the people have held me weak as the Children of Israel held Harun weak. O God, You know what we hide and what we make public, and nothing is hidden from You in the earth or in the sky. Take me as a Muslim, and join me to the righteous. But by the House, and by him who goes