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

Translation

Should ‘Alī eat whatever he has and fall asleep like the cattle who fill their stomachs from the pasture land and lie down, or as the goats (who) graze, eat the green grass and go into their pen! His eyes may die if he, after long years, follows loose cattle and pasturing animals.

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