The People Are In Six Groups
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6-44 حدثنا جعفر بن محمد بن مسرور رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد بن جعفر ابن بطة قال: حدثنا أحمد بن أبي عبد الله البرقي، عن أبيه يرفعه إلى زرارة بن أوفى قال: دخلت على علي بن الحسين عليهم السلام فقال: يا زرارة الناس في زماننا على ست طبقات: أسد وذئب وثعلب وكلب وخنزير وشاة، فأما الاسد فملوك الدنيا يحب كل واحد منهم أن يغلب ولا يغلب. وأما الذئب فتجاركم يذمو [ن] إذا اشتروا، ويمدحو [ن] إذا باعوا، وأما الثعلب فهؤلاء الذين يأكلون بأديانهم، ولا يكون في قلوبهم ما يصفون بألسنتهم، وأما الكلب يهر على الناس بلسانه ويكرمه الناس من شر لسانه. وأما الخنزير فهؤلاء المخنثون وأشباههم لا يدعون إلى فاحشة إلا أجابوا، وأما الشاة فالمؤمنون الذين تجز شعورهم ويؤكل لحومهم ويكسر عظمهم فكيف تصنع الشاة بين أسد وذئب وثعلب وكلب وخنزير
6-44 Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Masroor - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ja’far ibn Bat’tat quoted on the authority of Ahmad ibn Aba Abdullah al-Barqy, on the authority of his father who linked it up to Zurarah ibn Oa’fi, “I went to Ali ibn al-Hussein (MGB) and he said, ‘O Zurarah! The people at these times are in six groups: lions, wolves, foxes, dogs, pigs and ewes. As for the lions, they are the Kings of the world whichever one loves to can conquer and not get defeated. As for the wolves - they are your businessmen. They find faults36 when they want to buy, and they praise when37 they want to sell. And as for the foxes, they are those who use their religion as a means to eat.38 What they describe by their tongues is not in their hearts. And as for the dogs, they are those who growl at the people with their tongues, and the people honor them due to fear of their tongues. And as for the pigs, they are the effeminate ones, and their look-alikes who never refuse to participate in acts of corruption when they are invited. And as for the ewes, they are the believers whose hair is shaved, whose meat is eaten, and whose bones are broken just as when ewes are caught in between lions, wolves, foxes, dogs and pigs.’”