By Allah who sent the prophet – Peace be upon him – with...

By Allah who sent the prophet – Peace be upon him – with faith and truth you will be severely sifted, bitterly shaken as in putting the food in a boiling cooking pot till your low becomes high and your high becomes low, some of those who had been left behind would precede and some of those who had preceded would become backward. By Allah, I have not concealed a single word or spoken any lie.

Beware that sins are like unruly horses on which their riders have been placed and their reins have been let loose so that they would break with them into Hell. Beware that piety is like trained horses on whom their riders have been placed with their reins in their hands, so that they would take the riders to Heaven. It is a right and a wrong and everyone of them has its followers. He who claims perishes, and he who slanders disappointed. He who opposes right frankly perishes.

It is enough ignorance for one that he doesn’t know his extent. Hide yourself in your houses and reform yourselves. Repentance is at your back. One should not praise but his creator and shouldn’t blame but himself. May Allah forgive your past sins Delivered after Uthman’s murder, and the beginins of his Caliphate O’ people surely this world deceives him who longs for it and who leans to it. It does not consider him who competes with others to obtain it and overpowers him who overpowers it.

By Allah, no people are deprived of the lively pleasures of life after enjoying them, except as a result of sins committed by them, because certainly Allah is not unjust to His slaves. If people, when calamities befall them and pleasures depart from them, they turn towards Allah with true intention and distracted hearts, He will return them every thing that has fled from them and reform all their corrupted concerns, I fear that you are in a period of examination.

In the past there had been matters in which you deflected, and in my view you were not worthy of admiration; but if you return to the right path you would be happy. I have only to strive; but if I want to say, I could say, may Allah forgive your past sins!

The Bribe Delivered to the army officers when he became the Caliph Now, what ruined those before you was that they deprived people their rights so people had to purchase it (by bribes), and they practiced wrong against them, then they patterned after them.