Letters · To the governor of Basra upon learning that he had accepted an invitation to a lavish banquet

Translation

I see as if one of you would say that if this is what the son of Abī Ṭālib eats then weakness must have made him unfit to fight his foes and encounter the brave. Remember that the tree of the forest is the best for timber, while green twigs have soft bark, and the wild bushes are very strong for burning and slow in dying off.

Verified published translation — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.