innovations imposed on the sunna. He painfully unveiled what the former statesmen and authorities had bequeathed people, asserting that he could no longer do anything else because if he would not hold on to this cultural transformation and carry on the campaign against cultural deviations, the troops would disperse and he would be left alone. Here are the Imām’s painful words:
ولَو حَمَلتُ النّاسَ عَلی تَرکِها وحَوَّلتُها إلی مَواضِعِها وإلی ما کانَت في عَهدِ رَسولِ اللهِ صلی الله علیه وآله لَتَفَرَّقَ عَنّي جُندي حَتّی أبقی وَحدي أو قَلیلٌ مِن شیعَتي.If I force people to abandon their own customs (what they practice now) and restore the traditions to their original state and to the way they were during the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) era, my troops will scatter and I will be left alone or with only a few of my followers.
Expressing Grievances, an Ultimatum to all
During the last months of Imām Ali’s rule, his life was hard, painful and unbearable. The tribulations, rebellious, lootings and stubbornness of the enemies made his life difficult. In a lengthy and exciting speech that he delivered for relatives and closed ones, he reiterated what he had told earlier to Kumayl ibn Ziyād in the desert. By explaining the situation for them, he left no excuse for any one, the elites or the common people.
In this speech, known as the Sermon of Disparagement and Threatening (Khutbah al-Qāsi`a)1 which was delivered after the battle of Nahrawān, Imām stated very important and fundamental points as to how and why pre-Islamic religious revolutions ended in failure and he precisely predicted the future history of Islam.
With the Elite (al-Khawās)
In his eloquent words, Imām Ali (a.s.) described the destiny of Satan that he had worshipped God for six thousand years, and with references to his high status [before his rejection], he (a.s.) points to the elite who enjoyed good accounts in their services to Islam and warns them lest they end up in a destiny similar to that of Satan: