To the governor of Medina about those who had defected to Syria

To Sahl ibn Ḥunayf al-Anṣārī, his Governor of Medina about certain persons in Medina who had gone over to Mu‘āwiyah.

Now, I have come to know that certain persons from your side are stealthily going over to Mu‘āwiyah. Do not feel sorry for their numbers so lost to you or for their help of which you are deprived. It is enough that they…

They are seekers of this world and are proceeding to it and are leaping towards it. They have known justice, seen it, heard it and appreciated it. They have realized that here, to us, all men are equal in the matter of…

By Allāh, surely they have not gone away from oppression and joined justice. In this matter, we only desire Allāh to resolve for us its hardships and to level for us its urneveness, if Allāh wills; and that is an end to…