so that he might direct you to the correct ruling on the issue, so that you might adopt it and act upon it accordingly, for he is the remnant of the Caliphs who were guided by God and the descendant of the Rightly Guided Imams, for God, exalted and sublime be His praise, has decreed that people consult them, draw from their knowledge, and refer matters of importance to them. God said: «Had they referred it to the Messenger and to the Ones in Authority among them, then those who derived it from them would have known it.»74 He, glorious be His name, said: «So ask the People of Knowledge if you do not know.»75 The eloquent Prophet and the truthful Messenger, Muḥammad, said, “I have left among you two weighty matters, the Book of God and my progeny, the People of my House. You will not go astray as long as you hold fast to them, for they will not separate until they approach the heavenly pool.”76 He who adopts as guides God’s Wards in His earth has been led to the correct path, has grasped the strongest link, and has earned the fullest share of the blessings of this world and the next.
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وافتح للخصوم بابك رافعًا عنهم حجابك باسطًا لهم وجهك مواصلاً لهم جلوسك صابرًا نفسك على تنازعهم وتدافعهم في الأمور عن غير تبرّم في الخصام ولا ضجر في الأحكام، مساويًا بين الرفيع والوضيع في حجابك وتقريبك وإبعادك ولحظك١ ولفظك وإصغائك واستفهامك وإفهامك، ليعمّهم إنصافك ويشملهم عدلك ويأمن الضعيف من حيفك ويبلغ قصده من إنصافك، ولا تنقطع٢ حجّته عندك، وييأس٣ القويّ من تفضيلك إيّاه فلا يطمع في تناول ما لا يجب له.
١ ز: ولحظاك. ٢ ل: وينقطع. ٣ خ، ل: يئس.
Open your door to litigants: remove obstacles between them and you, address them in a welcoming manner, extend your sessions for them, call yourself to patience with their disputes and conflicts, and avoid showing aversion for the opposing parties or vexation in your verdicts. Treat high and low alike with regard to access to your person, permission to approach you, and the obligation to maintain distance from you, and also with regard to your mien, your manner of speech, and the ways in which you listen, inquire, and explain. Do all this so that your impartiality and your justice might encompass and include them all. The powerless litigant should feel secure against injustice on your part, confident that you will treat him fairly, and reassured that his proof will not be blocked before you, while the powerful litigant should despair of your favoring him and so lose all hope of attaining what is not rightly his.
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وتثبّتْ في قولك وفعلك، وتأنَّ في أمرك ولا تعجل، وتمهّل ولا تغفل، وراعِ حال نفسك، وتصفّح عملك بما يعود عليك بإحكامه ويؤمن معه وقوع خلل في إبرامه. وليكن من نقضت الحكم بشهادتهم مشهورين بالأمانة والديانة، معروفين بالصدق والصيانة، ومن تنتخبهم للاستعانة١ بهم في أمورك والقيام بمهمّاتك موسومين بالورع والعفّة، مذكورين بالعدالة والفقه٢. وتفقّدْ أعمالهم وما تجري عليه أحوالهم في كلّ وقت، وافحصْ عن٣ أمورهم فحصًا تقف به على حقيقة ما عليه كلّ امرئ منهم من الاقتداء برأيك والعمل بمذهبك أو مخالفة لأمرك واعتداء لنهيك، فتجازيه بما يستحقّه فيما حمدته منه أو ذممته ليزداد ذو الثقة والأمانة بصيرةً في أمره، واغتباطًا بحاله، ويتّعظ بعقوبة غيره ممّن نقض دينه وخان أمانته وجهل حظّه وأضاع رشده. وأَحْسِن النظر في أمور المواريث التي يتحاكم إليك فيها وحفظ ما يرد عليك من أموال اليتامى ووضعه مواضعه الواجبة وحفظه وإحرازه من الاخترام والضياع مسترشدًا بالله عزّ وجلّ في جميع أسبابك مستعينًا به مراقبًا له مفوّضًا إليه أمرك في كلّ ما تصرّفت عليه أحوالك. وأمير المؤمنين يسأل الله لك جميل العون والإرشاد إنّه المنّان الجواد.
١ ل: لك استعانة. ٢ كذا في ز، خ، ل ولعلّ الصواب: الثقة. ٣ ز: من.
Be firm in your words and deeds. Advance slowly and surely in your affairs and eschew haste; proceed deliberately and avoid carelessness. Watch over the condition of your lower soul to keep your carnal instincts in check. Examine your performance in order to perfect it, to your credit, and in order to safeguard your verdicts from flaws that will prevent their being upheld. Let those by whose attestation you overturn earlier verdicts77 be renowned for their trustworthiness and devotion and noted for their veracity and continence, and let those whom you select to assist you in your affairs and to undertake your duties be distinguished by their piety and chastity and reputed for their probity and knowledge of the law.78 Scrutinize their actions and conditions at all times, and examine their affairs in such a way that you become apprised of the true state of each one: Does he follow your opinions and practice according to your doctrines, or does he contradict your commands and violate your prohibitions? Do this so that you might recompense him as he deserves for his praiseworthy or blameworthy conduct. Those who are trustworthy and honest will become more perspicacious concerning their affairs and content with their circumstances, while those who have violated their religion, betrayed their trust, ignored their good fortune, and cast away what was best for them will take heed from the punishment of others. Examine well matters of inheritance that are brought before you for judgment. Safeguard the property of orphans that is placed under your control, dispose of it as the law requires, and maintain and guard it against squander and loss. In doing this you should seek the guidance of God in all of your affairs, beseech His assistance, be ever heedful of His wrath, and entrust your affairs to Him in all the various situations that befall you. The Commander of the Faithful beseeches God to grant you the grace of His assistance and guidance, for He is the Munificent and Generous One.
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وكتب يوم الاثنين لليلتين بقيتا من شهر ربيع الأوّل سنة ثلاث وأربعين وثلاثمائة وصلّى الله على محمّد نبيّه وخيرته وصفوته وعلى أبرار عترته وسلّم تسليمًا.