أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، خُذُوهَا عَنْ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ (صلى الله عليه وآله): «إِنَّهُ يَمُوتُ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنَّا وَلَيْسَ بِمَيِّت، وَيَبْلَى مَنْ بَلِيَ مِنَّا وَلَيْسَ بِبَال»، فَلاَ تَقُولُوا بِمَا لاَتَعْرِفُونَ، فَإنَّ أَكْثَرَ الْحَقِّ فِيَما تُنْكِرُونَ، وَاعْذِرُوا مَنْ لاَ حُجَّةَ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِ ـ وَأَنَا هُوَ ـ أَلَمْ أَعْمَلْ فِيكُمْ بِالثَّقَلِ الاْكْبَرِ! وَأَتْرُكْ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَ الاْصْغَرَ! وَرَكَزْتُ فِيكُمْ رَايَةَ الاْيمَانِ، وَوَقَفْتُكُمْ عَلَى حُدُودِ الْحَلاَلِ وَالْحَرَامِ، وَأَلْبَسْتُكُمُ الْعَافِيَةَ مِنْ عَدْلِي، وَفَرَشْتُكُمُ المَعْرُوفَ مِنْ قَوْلي وَفِعْلي، وَأَرَيْتُكُمْ كَرَائِمَ الاْخْلاَقِ مِنْ نَفْسِي؟ فَلاَ تَسْتَعْمِلُوا الرَّأْيَ فِيَما لاَ يُدْرِكُ قَعْرَهُ الْبَصَرُ، وَلاَ تَتَغَلْغَلُ إِلَيْهِ الْفِكَرُ.
O people take this saying [1] of the last of the Prophet that he who dies from among us is not dead, and he who decays (after dying) from among us does not really decay. Do not say what you do not understand, because most of the Right is in what you deny. Accept the argument of one against whom you have no argument. It is I. Did I not act before you on the greater thaqal (ath-thaqal al-akbar, i.e. the Qur’ān) and did I not retain among you smaller thaqal (ath-thaqal al-aṣghar, i.e. the descendents of the Prophet). [2] I fixed among you the standard of faith, and I taught you the limits of lawful and unlawful. I clothed you with the garments of safety with my justice and spread for you (the carpet of) virtue by my word and deed. I showed you high manners through myself. Do not exercise your imagination about what the eye cannot see or the mind cannot conceive.