فَيَا عَجَباً! عَجَباًـ وَاللهِ ـ يُمِيتُ القَلْبَ وَيَجْلِبُ الهَمَّ مِن اجْتِماعِ هؤُلاَءِ القَوْمِ عَلَى بَاطِلِهمْ، وَتَفَرُّقِكُمْ عَنْ حَقِّكُمْ! فَقُبْحاً لَكُمْ وَتَرَحاً حِينَ صِرْتُمْ غَرَضاً يُرمَى يُغَارُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلاَ تُغِيرُونَ، وَتُغْزَوْنَ وَلاَ تَغْرُونَ، وَيُعْصَى اللهُ وَتَرْضَوْن! فَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِالسَّيْرِ إِلَيْهِم فِي أَيَّامِ الحَرِّ قُلْتُمْ: هذِهِ حَمَارَّةُ القَيْظِ أَمْهِلْنَا يُسَبَّخُ عَنَّا الحَرُّ وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِالسَّيْرِ إِلَيْهِمْ فِي الشِّتَاءِ قُلْتُمْ: هذِهِ صَبَارَّةُ القُرِّ، أَمْهِلْنَا يَنْسَلِخْ عَنَّا البَرْدُ، كُلُّ هذا فِرَاراً مِنَ الحَرِّ وَالقُرِّ؛ فَإِذَا كُنْتُمْ مِنَ الحَرِّ وَالقُرِّ تَفِرُّونَ فَأَنْتُمْ وَاللهِ مِنَ السَّيْفِ أَفَرُّ!
How strange! how strange! By Allāh my heart sinks to see the unity of these people on their wrong and your dispersion from your right. Woe and grief befall you. You have become the target at which arrows are shot. You are being killed and you do not kill. You are being attacked but you do not attack. Allāh is being disobeyed and you remain agreeable to it. When I ask you to move against them in summer you say it is hot weather. Spare us till heat subsides from us. When I order you to march in winter you say it is severely cold; give us time till cold clears from us. These are just excuses for evading heat or cold because if you run away from heat and cold; you would be, by Allāh, running away (in a greater degree) from sword (war).