[التحذير من الكبر :] أَلاَ وَقدْ أَمْعَنْتُمْ فِي الْبَغْيِ، وَأَفْسَدْتُمْ فِي الاْرْضِ، مُصَارَحَةً لله بِالمُنَاصَبَةِ، وَمُبَارَزَةً لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِالُمحَارَبَةِ. فَاللهَ اللهَ في كِبْرِ الْحَمِيَّةِ، وَفَخْرِ الْجَاهلِيَّةِ! فَإِنَّهُ مَلاَقِحُ الشَّنَآنِ وَمَنَافِخُ الشَّيْطانِ، اللاِتي خَدَعَ بِهَا الاْمَمَ الْمَاضِيَةَ، والْقُرُونَ الْخَالِيَةَ، حَتّى أَعْنَقُوا فِي حَنَادِسِ جَهَالَتِهِ، وَمهَاوِي ضَلاَلَتِهِ، ذُلُلاً عَنْ سِيَاقِهِ، سُلُساً فِي قِيَادِهِ، أَمْراً تَشَابَهَتِ الْقُلُوبُ فِيهِ، وَتَتَابَعَتِ الْقُرونُ عَلَيْهِ، وَكِبْراً تَضَايَقَتِ الصُّدُورُ بِهِ.
[Caution against vanity and boasting about ignorance :] Beware! you strove hard in revolting and created mischief on the earth in open opposition to Allāh and in challenging the believers over fighting. (You should fear) Allāh! Allāh! in feeling proud of your vanity and boasting over ignorance, because this is the root of enmity and the design of Satan wherewith he has been deceiving past peoples and bygone ages, with the result that they fell into the gloom of his ignorance and the hollows of his misguidance, submitting to his driving and accepting his leadership. In this matter the hearts of all the people were similar, and centuries passed by, one after the other, in just the same way, and there was vanity with which chests were tightened.