Instructions for Malik al-Ashtar upon his appointment as the governor of Egypt
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 53
Nahj al-Balāgha
Book 2, Chapter 53
Instructions for Malik al-Ashtar upon his appointment as the governor of Egypt
وَلَا عُذْرَ لَكَ عِنْدَ اللهِ وَلَا عِنْدِي فِي قَتْلِ الْعَمدِ، لِأَنَّ فِيهِ قَوَدَ الْبَدَنِ، وَإِنِ ابْتُلِيتَ بِخَطَإٍ وَأَفْرَطَ عَلَيْكَ سَوْطُكَ أَوْ سَيْفُكَ أَوْ يَدُكَ بِالْعُقُوبَةِ، فَإِنَّ فِي الْوَكْزَةِ فَمَا فَوْقَهَا مَقْتَلَةً، فَلَا تَطْمَحَنَّ بِكَ نَخْوَةُ سُلْطَانِكَ عَنْ أَنْ تُؤَدِّيَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَاءِ الْمَقْتُولِ حَقَّهُمْ.
You cannot offer any excuse before Allāh or before me for wilful killing because there must be the question of revenge in it. If you are involved in it by error and you exceed in the use of your whip or sword, or are hard in inflicting punishment, as sometimes even a blow by the fist or a smaller stroke causes death, then the haughtiness of your authority should not prevent you from paying the blood price to the successors of the killed person.