Shaqshaqiya (literally, "roar of the camel"), in which Alī lays out his claim to the caliphate and his superiority over his predecessors

Known as the Sermon of ash-Shiqshiqiyyah [1]

Beware! By Allāh the son of Abu Quḥafah (Abu Bakr) [2] dressed himself with it (the caliphate) and he certainly knew that my position in relation to it was the same as the position of the axis in relation to the…

Proposes Patience in Absence of Supporters

I found that endurance thereon was wiser. So I adopted patience although there was pricking in the eye and suffocation (of mortification) in the throats. I watched the plundering of my inheritance till the first one went…

My days are now passed on the camel’s back (in difficulty) while there were days (of ease) when I enjoyed the company of Jābir’s brother Hayyan. [3]

It is strange that during his lifetime he wished to be released from the caliphate but he confirmed it for the other one after his death. No doubt these two shared its udders strictly among themselves. This one put the…

Nevertheless, I remained patient despite length of period and stiffness of trial, till when he went his way (of death) he put the matter (of Caliphate) in a group [4] and regarded me to be one of them. But good Heavens!…

But I remained low when they were low and flew high when they flew high. One of them turned against me because of his hatred and the other got inclined the other way due to his in-law relationship and this thing and that…

Allegiance paid to ‘Ali

At that moment, nothing took me by surprise, but the crowd of people rushing to me. It advanced towards me from every side like the mane of the hyena so much so that Ḥasan and Ḥusayn were getting crushed and both the…

Yes, by Allāh, they had heard it and understood it but the world appeared glittering in their eyes and its embellishments seduced them. Behold, by Him who split the grain (to grow) and created living beings, if people…

(It is said that when Amīr al-mu’minīn reached here in his sermon a man of Iraq stood up and handed him over a writing. Amīr al-mu’minīn began looking at it, when Ibn ‘Abbās said, “O Amīr al-mu’minīn, I wish you resumed…

ash-Sharif ar-Raḍi says: The words in this sermon “like the rider of a camel” mean to convey that when a camel rider is stiff in drawing up the rein then in this scuffle the nostril gets bruised, but if he lets it loose…