Imam Ali’s Letter to Malik Al Ashtar (4)
Story by Jessica Mbamah
Malik_al_Ashtar was one of the especial companions of Imam_Ali a.s and one of the powerful leaders of Iraq. He was one of the commanders of the army of Imam ‘Ali (a) who was forethoughtful in politics and strong in battle. He participated in the Battle of Jamal and the Battle of Siffin and eventually he was appointed by Imam ‘Ali (pbuh) as governor_general in Egypt. However, he was martyred before arriving to Egypt.
READ ALSO: Imam Ali’s letter to Malik Al Ashtar (1)
The famous treaty of Malik al-Ashtar is a letter that Imam ‘Ali wrote to him while he was in Egypt.
READ ALSO: Imam Ali’s letter to Malik al-Ashtar (2)
Part_4
The Counsellors
Never take counsel of a miser, for he will vitiate your magnanimity and frighten you of poverty.
Do not take the advice of a coward either, for he will weaken your resolve.
Do not take counsel of the greedy:
for he will instill greed in you and turn you into a tyrant. Miserliness, cowardice and greed deprive man of his trust in #God.
The worst of counsellors is he who has served as a counsellor to unjust rulers and shared in their crimes.
So, never let men who have been companions of tyrants or shared their crimes be your counsellors.
You can get better men than these, men gifted with intelligence and foresight, but unpolluted by sin, men who have never aided a tyrant in his tyranny or a criminal in his crime. Such men will never be a burden on you. On the other hand, they will be a source of help and strength to you at all times.
They will be friends to you and strangers to your enemies.
Choose such men alone for companionship both in privacy and in the public. Even among these, show preference to them who have a habitual regard for truth, however trying to you at times their truth may prove to be, and who offer you no encouragement in the display of tendencies which God does not like His friends to develop.
Keep close to you the upright, and the God fearing, and make clear to them that they are never to flatter you and never to give you credit for any good that you may not have done:
for, the tolerance of flattery and unhealthy praise stimulates pride in man and makes him arrogant.
READ ALSO: Imam Ali’s Letter to Malik Al Ashtar (3)
To be continued
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp:
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
