143. Tārikh al-Ya`qubi: “Ali (a.s.) wrote to `Amr ibn Muslama al-Arhabi: “After praising Allah, the farmers of your area have complained of your strictness and I looked into their affair and did not see any good. Your position must be moderate in being soft along with being strict and without doing injustice and diminution because they brought prosperity to us while being feeble, so take what you demand from them while they are subordinate. Do not take any guardian besides God. Certainly God the Exalted and Almighty has said: “…do not take your confidants from other than yourselves; they will spare nothing to ruin you.”¹, and He the Great, the Exalted has said about the People of the Book: “…do not take the Jews and the Christians for guardians…”², and He the Exalted and Almighty says: “Any of you who takes them as guardians is indeed one of them Keep them under control by taking land tax, be prepared against them and beware of [shedding] their blood. Wassalām!”³

144. Imām Ali (a.s.) –in his letter to one of his administrators: “You are surely one of those whose help I seek in the establishing of religion, breaking the haughtiness of the sinful and guarding critical boundaries. Therefore, seek God’s help in your difficulty and your anxiety. Have a little harshness with some leniency and remain lenient where leniency is more appropriate. Adopt harshness when you cannot do without it. Lower your wings (in humbleness) before the subjects. Meet them with a broad face and keep yourself lenient (in behavior) with them. Treat them equally in the way you look at them, in signaling and in greeting so that the big do not expect from you transgression (in their favor) and the weak do not lose hope in your justice (for them). Wassalām!”⁴

143. تاريخ اليعقوبي: كَتَبَ عَلِيٌّ إلىٰ عُمَرَ بنِ مَسلَمَةَ الأَرحَبِيِّ: أمّا بَعدُ، فَإِنَّ دَهاقينَ عَمَلِكَ شَكَوا غِلظَتَكَ، ونَظَرتُ في أمرِهِم فَما رَأَيتُ خَيراً، فَلتَكُن مَنزِلَتُكَ بَينَ مَنزِلَتَينِ: جِلبابِ لِينٍ، بِطَرَفٍ مِنَ الشِّدَّةِ، في غَيرِ ظُلمٍ ولا نَقصٍ؛ فَإِنَّهُم أحيَونا صاغِرينَ، فَخُذ ما لَكَ عِندَهُم وهُم صاغِرونَ، ولا تَتَّخِذ مِن دونَ اللهِ وَليّاً، فَقَد قالَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ بِطَانَةً مِّن دُونِكُمْ لاَ يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالاً) ¹ وقالَ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ في أهلِ الكِتابِ: (لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـٰـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ) وقالَ تَبارَكَ وتَعالى: (وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ) ² وقَرِّعهُم بِخَراجِهِم، وقابِل في وَرائِهِم، وإِيّاكَ ودِماءَهُم. وَالسَّلامُ.³

144. الإمام عليّ علیه السلام ـ في كِتابِهِ إلىٰ بَعضِ عُمّالِهِ ـ : أمّا بَعدُ، فَإِنَّكَ مِمَّن أستَظهِرُ بِهِ عَلىٰ إقامَةِ الدّينِ، وأقمَعُ بِهِ نَخوَةَ الأَثيمِ، وأسُدُّ بِهِ لَهاةَ الثَّغرِ المَخوفِ. فَاستَعِن بِاللهِ عَلىٰ ما أهَمَّكَ، وَاخلِطِ الشِّدَّةَ بِضِغثٍ مِنَ اللّينِ، وَارفُق ما كانَ الرِّفقُ أرفَقَ، وَاعتَزِم بِالشِّدَّةِ حينَ لا تُغني عَنكَ إلّا الشِّدَّةُ. وَاخفِض لِلرَّعِيَّةِ جَناحَكَ، وَابسُط لَهُم وَجهَكَ، وألِن لَهُم جانِبَكَ. وآسِ بَينَهُم فِي اللَّحظَةِ والنَّظرَةِ، وَالإِشارَةِ وَالتَّحِيَّةِ؛ حَتّى لا يَطمَعَ العُظَماءُ في حَيفِكَ، ولا يَيأَسَ الضُّعَفاءُ مِن عَدلِكَ. وَالسَّلامُ.⁴