Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

وزادنا حنقا قتلى تذكرهم
إذا ذكرنا جروزا والذين بها
تأتي عليهم حزازات النفوس فما
لتستفيق عيون كلما ذكروا
قتلى،‏ حاللهم حولن ما قبروا
نبقي عليهم،‏ ول يبقون أن قدروا
The remembering of the killed has increased us in exasperation. The eyes
do not recover whenever they are remembered.
When we remember Jarūz 1 and those who were killed there, leaders who
have not been buried for two years.
Upon them the rancour of the hearts is incited and thus we do not spare
them and they would not spare us if they were capable of doing so. 2
Hence, as a result of those battles many people had lost their fathers, sons,
brothers, and other dear ones. That naturally provoked hatred for whoever they
deemed the cause of their loss, for hatred toward the offender is ingrained in the
hearts of men. From all the people involved, ʿAlī I became the greatest victim
of hatred. This was because at first the Battle of Jamal took place between him
and the people of Baṣrah, subsequent to that was the Battle of Ṣiffīn 3 which broke
out between him and the people of Syria, and subsequent to that was the Battle
of Nahrawān which ensued between him and the Khawārij. Hence he was the
enduring opponent in all three conflicts.
Therefore when Abū Labīd 4 was asked, “Do you love ʿAlī?” He replied:
1 A place in ancient Persia where a battle had ensued between the Azāriqah and the people of Basrah.
Muʿjam al-Buldān 2/130.
2 Poem of Kaʿb al-Ashqarī. See: Muʿjam al-Buldān 2/130.
3 Ṣiffīn: A place near Raqqah on the western shores of the Euphrates river. It is situated between
Raqqah and Bālis. The famous battle took place there on Wednesday in 37 A.H. Muʿjam al-Buldān 3/414;
Tārīkh Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ p. 191.
4 Limāzah ibn Zabbār al-Azdī al-Jahḍamī, Abū Labīd al-Baṣrī. He saw ʿUmar, ʿAlī, and a group of
Ṣaḥābah M and narrated from them. He was a reliable and truthful narrator, but was a hater of ʿAlī
I due to the Battle of Jamal. He visited Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah and praised him. I did not come across
his date of death. His narrations appear in the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah. See:
Tārīkh Dimashq 50/299; Tahdhīb al-Kamāl 24/250; Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 5/507; Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 8/410.
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