So let not thy self go (in vain) in grief for them...

Alternative Sources for Sermon 162 (1) Al-Saduq, al-'Amali, 368; (2) al-Saduq, `Ilal, bab 119; (3) al-Mufid, al-'Irshad, 172; (4) al-Tabari, al-Mustarshid, 64. [^1]: This is a couplet of the famous Arab poet Imriu'l-Qays al-Kindi. The incident behind this couplet is that when the father of Imriu'l-Qays namely Hujr ibn al-Harith was killed, he roamed about the various Arab tribes to avenge his father's life with their help.

In this connection he stayed with a man of Jadilah (tribe) but finding himself unsafe left that place, and stayed with Khalid ibn Sadus an-Nabhani. In the meantime a man of Jadilah named Ba`ith ibn Huways drove away some of his camels. Imriu'l-Qays complained of this matter to his host and he asked him to send with him his she-camels then he would get back his camels. Consequently, Khalid went to those people and asked them to return the camels of his guest which they had robbed.

They said that he was neither a guest nor under his protection. Thereupon Khalid swore that he was really his guest and showed them his she-camels that he had with him. They then agreed to return the camels. But actually instead of returning the camels they drove away the she-camels as well. One version is that they did return the camels to Khalid but instead of handing them over to Imriu'l-Qays he kept them for himself.

When Imriu'l-Qays came to know this he composed a few couplets out of which this is one. It means 'now you leave the story of these camels which were robbed but now let me know about the she-camels snatched from my hands.' Amir al-mu'minin's intention in quoting this verse as an illustration is that "Now that Mu`awiyah is at war, we should talk about it and should leave the discussion about the devastation engendered by those who had usurped my rights. That time has gone away.