Aswad b. Qutba

Without priority, Quality: c
From wikishia
Letter 59: To al-Aswad ibn Qutba, the Governor of Hulwan:[1]

Now, if the actions of a governor follow the passions he will be greatly hampered in justice. All the people should be equal in right before you, because injustice cannot be a substitute for justice. Avoid that thing the like of which you would not like for yourself. Exert yourself in what Allah has made obligatory on you, hoping for His reward and fearing His chastisement. Know that this world is the place of trial. Whoever here wastes any hour of his time will repent it on the Day of Judgement, and nothing can ever make you free of need of what is right. One of the rights on you is that you should protect yourself (from sins) and look after the subjects to your best. The benefit that will come to you from this will be greater than that which will accrue (to people) through you; and that is an end to the matter.

Aswad b. Quṭba (Arabic: اَسْوَد بن قُطبَه), a companion of Imam Ali (a) who served as Imam's commander of army in the Hulwan region.[2] In Nahj al-Balagha, there is a letter written by the Imam (a) and addressed to Aswad,[3] which advises him to refrain from following al-Nafs al-Ammara, avoid oppression, treat people justly and take advantage of opportunities to serve them.[4]

A similar letter from the Imam (a) to Aswad b. Qutnah (with "n") is mentioned in the book Waq'at Siffin, which shares content similar to Letter 59 of Nahj al-Balagha.[5]

Ahmadi Miyanaji (d. 2000), in his book Makatib al-a'imma, mentions differing views among historians and commentators of Nahj al-Balagha about the name of his father. Some sources claim it is Qutba, while others believe it is Qatna or Qatayna.[6] Ibn Maytham al-Bahrani's commentary also mentions the term "Qatayna."[7] On the other hand, Ibn Abi l-Hadid, a 7th/15th-century commentator of Nahj al-Balagha, leans towards the perspective presented in al-Isti'ab, which identifies him as "Aswad b. Zaid b. Qutba b. Ghanam al-Ansari."[8] It is believed by some that Aswad participated in the Battle of Badr.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Letter 59: To al-Aswad ibn Qutbah, the Governor of Hulwan
  2. ↑ Amīn, Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, vol. 3, p. 442; Nahj al-balāgha, edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, p. 449.
  3. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, p. 449.
  4. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, p. 449.
  5. ↑ Minqarī, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, vol. 1, p. 106.
  6. ↑ Aḥmadī Mīyānajī, Makātīb al-aʾimma, vol. 1, p. 362.
  7. ↑ Baḥrānī, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 5, p. 196.
  8. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 17, p. 145.
  9. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 17, p. 145.

References

  • Aḥmadī Mīyānajī, ʿAlī. Makātīb al-aʾimma. Edited by Mujtabā Farajī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1426 AH.
  • Amīn, al-Sayyid Muḥsin al-. Aʿyān al-Shīʿa. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1403 AH.
  • Baḥrānī, Ibn Maytham al-. Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha. Tehran: Daftar-i Nashr-i al-Kitāb, 1404 AH.
  • Dashtī, Muḥammad. Tarjuma-yi nahj al-balāgha. Qom: Intishārāt-i Mashhūr, 1379 Sh.
  • Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Hibat Allāh. Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha. Edited by Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Qom: Maktabat Ayatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1404 AH.
  • Minqarī, Naṣr b. Muzāhim. Waqʿat Ṣiffīn. Qom: Manshūrāt Maktabat Āyatullāh Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1404 AH.
  • Sayyid Raḍī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Nahj al-balāgha. Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ. Qom: Dār al-Hijra, 1414 AH.
  • Al-Islam.org. Letter 59: To al-Aswad ibn Qutbah, the Governor of Hulwan
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