أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، الْمجْتَمِعَةُ أبْدَانُهُمْ، الُمخْتَلِفَةُ أهْوَاؤُهُمْ، كَلامُكُم يُوهِي الصُّمَّ الصِّلابَ، وَفِعْلُكُمْ يُطْمِعُ فِيكُمُ الاْعْدَاءَ! تَقُولُونَ فِي الَمجَالِسِ: كَيْتَ وَكَيْتَ، فَإذَا جَاءَ الْقِتَالُ قُلْتُمْ: حِيدِي حَيَادِ! مَا عَزَّتْ دَعْوَةُ مَنْ دَعَاكُمْ، وَلاَ اسْتَرَاحَ قَلْبُ مَنْ قَاسَاكُمْ، أَعَالِيلُ بِأَضَالِيلَ، دِفَاعَ ذِي الدَّيْنِ المَطُولِ، لاَ يَمنَعُ الضَّيْمَ الذَّلِيلُ! وَلاَ يُدْرَكُ الْحَقُّ إِلاَ بِالْجِدِّ! أَيَّ دَار بَعْدَ دَارِكُمْ تَمْنَعُونَ، وَمَعَ أَىِّ إِمَام بَعْدِي تُقَاتِلُونَ؟
O people, your bodies are together but your desires are divergent. Your talk softens the hard stones and your action attracts your enemy towards you. You claim in your sittings that you would do this and that, but when fighting approaches, you say (to war), ‘turn thou away’ (i.e. flee away). If one calls you (for help) the call receives no heed. And he who deals hardly with you his heart has no solace. The excuses are amiss like that of debtor unwilling to pay. The ignoble cannot ward off oppression. Right cannot be achieved without effort. Which is the house besides this one to protect? And with which leader (Imām) would you go for fighting after me?