Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik's sermon

A sermon of Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik from his reign, collected in the Jamhara from al-Aqd al-Farid, Ibn Qutayba's Uyun al-Akhbar and al-Jahiz's al-Bayan wa-l-Tabyin. ¹

After praising God, Sulayman said: "This world is an abode of delusion and a house of falsehood," describing how it turns upon its people — making them laugh and weep, impoverishing its rich and enriching its poor. ¹

He called the people to take God's Book as their leader and accept it, warned them of Satan's scheming which still works upon them as it worked on the wise before them, and among its phrases: "People, the light of dawn when it breathes — the darkness of night when it turns away." The compiler cites al-Aqd al-Farid, Uyun al-Akhbar and al-Bayan wa-l-Tabyin. ¹