Sayyiduna Ali's Eulogy at the Death of Abu Bakr

خطبۂ علی بر وفاتِ ابوبکر

When Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away, Sayyiduna Ali al-Murtada (may Allah ennoble his face) delivered the following eulogy at his grave. Its Arabic is preserved here, with a faithful rendering.

حِينَ تَفَرَّقَ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ وَهُوَ آخِرُهُمْ ۔ وَقَالَ كُنْتَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبًا رَحِيمًا إِذْ صَارُوا عَلَيْكَ عِيَالًا ۔ فَحَمَلْتَ أَثْقَالًا عَنْهَا ضَعُفُوا ۔ وَحَفِظْتَ مَا أَضَاعُوا ۔ وَرَعَيْتَ مَا أَهْمَلُوا ۔ وَشَمَّرْتَ إِذْ جَزِعُوا ۔ وَصَبَرْتَ إِذَا جَزِعُوا ۔ أَدْرَكْتَ أَوْطَارَ مَا طَلَبُوا ۔ وَنَالَوْا بِكَ مَا لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا ۔ كُنْتَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا صَبًّا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْثًا وَخِصْبًا

(He spoke) when the people had dispersed from him, and he was the last of them to remain. He said: 'You were to the believers a merciful father, when they had become as dependents in your charge. You bore burdens from which they had grown too weak; you preserved what they let slip; you watched over what they neglected; you girded yourself when they faltered; you were patient when they panicked. You attained the ends they sought, and through you they gained what they had not reckoned upon. To the unbelievers you were a pouring chastisement, and to the believers an abundant, life-giving rain.'

ذَهَبْتَ بِفَضَائِلِهَا وَأَحْرَزْتَ سَوَابِقَهَا ۔ لَمْ تَفُلَّ حُجَّتُكَ وَلَمْ تَضْعُفْ بَصِيرَتُكَ وَلَمْ تَجْبُنْ نَفْسُكَ وَلَمْ تَخُنْ ۔ كُنْتَ كَالْجَبَلِ لَا تُحَرِّكُهُ الْعَوَاصِفُ وَلَا تُزِيلُهُ الزَّوَاجِفُ ۔ كُنْتَ كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ ضَعِيفًا فِي بَدَنِكَ قَوِيًّا فِي أَمْرِ اللهِ ۔ مُتَوَاضِعًا فِي نَفْسِكَ عَظِيمًا عِنْدَ اللهِ ۔ كَبِيرًا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَلِيلًا عِنْدَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

'You carried off its (this world's) excellences and secured its precedences. Your proof was never blunted, your insight never weakened, your soul never turned coward nor betrayed. You were like the mountain that the storms cannot move, that the earthquakes cannot dislodge. You were as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: weak in your body but strong in the command of Allah; humble in yourself but great in the sight of Allah; mighty upon the earth, august among the believers.'

لَمْ يَكُنْ لِأَحَدٍ فِيكَ مَهْمَزٌ وَلَا لِقَائِلٍ فِيكَ مَغْمَزٌ وَلَا لِأَحَدٍ عِنْدَكَ هَوَادَةٌ ۔ الذَّلِيلُ عِنْدَكَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ حَتَّى تَأْخُذَ لَهُ الْحَقَّ وَالْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ عِنْدَكَ ضَعِيفٌ حَتَّى تَأْخُذَ مِنْهُ الْحَقَّ ۔ الْقَرِيبُ وَالْبَعِيدُ عِنْدَكَ فِي ذَلِكَ سَوَاءٌ ۔ شَأْنُكَ الْحَقُّ وَالصِّدْقُ وَقَوْلُكَ حُكْمٌ وَحَتْمٌ وَأَمْرُكَ غَنْمٌ

'No one could find in you a thing to slander, no speaker a fault to taunt; you showed no favouritism to anyone. The lowly was, in your eyes, strong and honoured until you secured his right; and the strong and mighty was, in your eyes, weak until you took the right (due) from him. The near and the far were, in this, alike before you. Your way was truth and sincerity; your word was judgment and decree, and your command was a gain (for all).'

وَعَزَمْتَ فَثَبَتَّ الْإِسْلَامَ وَسَبَقْتَ سَبْقًا بَعِيدًا وَأَتْعَبْتَ مَنْ بَعْدَكَ تَعَبًا شَدِيدًا ۔ وَفُزْتَ بِالْخَيْرِ فَوْزًا مُبِينًا ۔ فَجَلَّتْ عَنِ الْبُكَاءِ وَعَظُمَتْ رَزِيَّتُكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ ۔ وَهَدَّتْ مُصِيبَتُكَ الْأَنَامَ ۔ وَاللهُ لَا يُصَابُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ بِمِثْلِكَ

'You resolved, and so you made Islam firm; you went far ahead, and you wearied those who came after you with a heavy task; and you triumphed in goodness with a manifest triumph. Your loss is too great for (mere) weeping; your calamity is mighty even in the heavens; your affliction has shaken mankind. By Allah, the Muslims shall not be afflicted, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with the like of you.'

كُنْتَ لِلدِّينِ عِزًّا وَكَهْفًا وَلِلْمُسْلِمِينَ حِصْنًا وَأُنْسًا وَعَلَى الْمُنَافِقِينَ غِلْظَةً وَعُنْفًا ۔ فَأَلْحَقَكَ اللهُ بِنَبِيِّهِ ﷺ وَلَا حَرَمَنَا أَجْرَكَ وَلَا أَضَلَّنَا بَعْدَكَ ۔ وَإِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

'You were to the religion a glory and a shelter, to the Muslims a fortress and a comfort, and against the hypocrites a sternness and a force. So may Allah join you to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and not deprive us of your reward, nor lead us astray after you. Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return.'

After praising the virtues of Siddiq, Sayyiduna Ali al-Murtada (may Allah ennoble his face) then turned to address the people and the faithful, saying: 'O people who have dispersed and are departing — return! You were merciful to the Muslims; when you lifted what others were too weak to bear, you preserved what they would have wasted. You stood firm when others fled; you remained, while those who walked behind you scattered. You were ever a refuge and a fortress for the Muslims, harsh against the hypocrites — like an immovable mountain that no storm can shake, no tremor can move; just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. You were weak of body but strong in the cause of God, humble in yourself yet mighty before God, lowly upon the earth yet august among the believers. No one could find any flaw in you; the lowly were strong in your sight until you secured their rights, and the mighty were weak in your sight until you exacted from them what was due. The near and the far were equal before you; your way was truth and sincerity; your word was a binding decree; your command, a blessing. You resolved, and so you made Islam firm; you went so far ahead that you left the task hard for any who would come after you, and you triumphed with a clear triumph in goodness. Your loss is beyond all weeping; your calamity is grievous in the very heavens, and your affliction has broken the people. By God, the Muslims shall never be afflicted, after the Messenger of Allah, with one like you. You were a fortress and a comfort to the Muslims, and a sternness against the hypocrites. May God join you to your Prophet, and not deprive us of your reward, nor lead us astray after you.'