To the governor of Medina about those who had defected to Syria
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 70
إِنَّهُمْ وَاللَّهِ لَمْ يَنْفِرُوا مِنْ جَوْر، وَلَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِعَدْلٍ، وَإِنَّا لَنَطْمَعُ فِي هذَا الْأَمْرِ أَنْ يُذَلِّلَ اللهُ لَنَا صَعْبَهُ، وَيُسَهِّلَ لَنَا حَزْنَهُ، إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ، وَالسَّلاَمُ.
By Allāh, surely they have not gone away from oppression and joined justice. In this matter, we only desire Allāh to resolve for us its hardships and to level for us its urneveness, if Allāh wills; and that is an end to the matter.