The place they shall fall ...

When Amir al-Mu’minin showed his intention to fight the Kharijites he was told that they had crossed the bridge of Nahrawan and gone over to the other side. Amir al-Mu’minin said: Their falling place is on this side of the river. By Allah, not even ten of them will survive while from your side not even ten will be killed.1 As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: In this sermon"nutfah"implies the River Euphrates, and for water this is the nicest expression, even though water may be much. We have indicated that in an earlier sermon (48) where a similar expression was used.

وقال (عليه السلام) لمّا عزم على حرب الخوارج وقيل له: إن القوم قد عبروا جسر النهروان مَصَارِعُهُمْ دُونَ النُّطْفَةِ، وَاللهِ لاَ يُفْلِتُ مِنْهُمْ عَشَرَةٌ، وَلاَ يَهْلِكُ مِنْكُمْ عَشَرَةٌ. قال الشريف: يعني بالنطفة: ماء النهر، وهي أفصح كناية عن الماء وإن كان كثيراً جماً، وقد أشرنا إلى ذلك فيما تقدم عند مضيّ ما أشبهه.