Shafaqna English- The book “Ali (AS): The Conscience of Humanity Through the Ages” is written by the late Mohammad Reza Hakimi in Persian. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) Shafaqna has selected some parts of the book and translated to the English.
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) considered the logic of the Holy Qur’an to be the logic of equality.
One day, a group of the Muhajirun and Ansar came to him and spoke of their services to Islam (such as donations, helping prisoners during the era of the tyrants, etc.) and requested key positions and financial privileges.
Ali (peace be upon him) said:
“This wealth belongs to God, and you are all servants of God. I have looked into the Book of God and have not seen that anyone was given preference over another.”
***
A man, in a gathering where Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Commander of the Faithful Ali (AS) were present, said to the Caliph, pointing at Ali (AS):“I have a complaint against this man.”
The Caliph turned to Ali (AS) and said: “O Abu al-Hasan, stand up and sit beside the complaining man!”
Ali (AS) stood up, sat next to the man, and the dispute was resolved. Afterwards, the man left, and Ali (AS) returned to his place.
***
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS) said:
“By God, Ali (AS) ate like a servant and sat on the ground like a servant. He would buy two garments, and whichever was better, he would give to Qanbar. He prepared good food—meat and wheat bread—for the people, while for himself at home, he would eat barley bread and vinegar.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“For judgment, choose the best and most virtuous judges—those who neither accept bribes nor have any opinion imposed upon them.”
***
At the time of distributing the Bayt al-Mal among the people, a man came forward and said:
“O Commander of the Faithful, I was given three dirhams, and my former slave—whom I freed yesterday—was also given three dirhams. Is this the way of distribution, giving everyone the same?”
Ali (AS) replied:
“I too am given three dirhams, and this worker who labors in the courtyard of the treasury will also receive three dirhams. The Qur’an gives no preference to anyone over another. We act according to the Qur’an!”
One day, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) saw a Christian laborer who had lost his job and was begging. He considered this situation contrary to the principles of a Qur’anic society and an Islamic government—that anyone should have to beg out of need. He said:
“Provide him with a fixed monthly stipend from the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal).”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“Only the implementation of justice—and the removal of social life from the influences of the privileged classes and elites—preserves religion and its laws.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“I humble and weaken the powerful so that I may extract the rights of the weak from them; I give strength to the weak members of society so that they may attain their due rights.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“Go at night and fulfill the needs of the poor—even those who are asleep.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“If the government is Islamic, no one should be oppressed, not even a non-Muslim; and no one’s life should suffer from deprivation or scarcity, not even a non-Muslim.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“Compromising individuals, corrupt people (weak-spirited and worldly-minded), and those who seek to benefit themselves and their relatives can never establish an Islamic government under the guidance of the Imams (peace be upon them) or administer society according to God’s pleasure.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) had divided the city of Kufa into seven districts and distributed the share of all the people from the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) equally. Once, goods arrived at the treasury, and he divided them into seven parts—for the seven districts of Kufa. One of the items was a large loaf of bread; he also divided it into seven pieces and placed one piece on the share of each district.
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“The worst provision a person can send for the Hereafter is oppression and violation of the rights of people”—whether in trade and the marketplace, in buying and selling, in judgment, in governance, in thought, or in culture.
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“Beware lest the Islamic government, in the name of administering justice, constantly turn toward the weaker classes, seize their property, and place them under pressure, so that they grow weary of the government and fall into despair.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said:
“Scholars and the leaders of society are accountable before God if they remain silent in the face of the deprivation of the poor, and in the face of the wealth and influence of the rich, which grants them every kind of advantage.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) would call individual sinners to repentance and did not insist that they be exposed at all costs. The implementation of ḥadd punishments in Islam—regarding certain sins—is meant, on the one hand, for the purification of the individual who has committed a grave sin, and on the other hand, for purifying the living environment and society from the harmful effects of sin and the destructive waves it spreads.
Despite this, one day a man came to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and said:
“I have committed adultery; therefore, apply the punishment for adultery to me.”
The Imam asked him a number of questions, hoping that he might give an answer by which the punishment would be lifted from him. Eventually, however, after repeated visits and confessions by the man himself, the execution of the punishment became unavoidable. The Imam became angered and said:
“Why did this man not repent in his own home, before his own God, and instead come to us and confess?”
Then he said:
“By God, his repentance between himself and God would have been better than my carrying out God’s prescribed punishment upon him.”
* * *
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) appointed one of the most prominent and well-known Shia figures of Basra, namely Abū Al-Aswad Al-Duʾalī, to the position of judge.
Shortly thereafter, despite the lack of sufficient human resources, he removed him from the judiciary. Abū Al-Aswad asked: “Why have you dismissed me? I have committed neither a crime nor an act of betrayal.”
Imam (AS) replied: “That is true; however, one day I observed that while speaking to a person who had come to the court, you raised your voice slightly above his.”
***
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) always worked hard. Through his own effort, he had created date-palms. Whenever the income from them was brought to him (and it was sometimes a large amount), he would give it all to the poor and the needy. Then he would go to the marketplace and offer his sword for sale, saying:
“If we had food for tonight, I would not sell my sword.”
In the end, he endowed all the palm groves that he had established with his own hands as charitable endowments which became known as “Ali’s Endowments” (Awqāf ʿAlī).
* * *
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “When I assumed authority over you, I possessed only a few dirhams, some simple household items, and a few worn garments that my family had made. If, at the end of my term, I were to possess more than this, then I would be a traitor and would have betrayed the society and the people.”
* * *
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “Even if Hassan and Hussain were to commit a wrongdoing, I would not grant them the slightest leniency.”
* * *
One day during the days of the Feast of Sacrifice (Aid-ul-Aḍḥa) the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) borrowed a necklace from the public treasury (Baytul-Maal) with a guarantee on loan to return it after three days.
When this reached the Commander of the Faithful (AS), he became angry with the official responsible for the public treasury and said: “If my daughter had not taken it with a guarantee, I would have cut off her hand on the charge of stealing from the public treasury.”
Then he changed the level of the matter, raising it beyond the questioning of a financial official to a plane as high as the sun itself and he addressed his daughter about the necessity of equality within the Islamic society; words that, like the sun have continued to illuminate and enrich the moments of human life. He said: “Do all the women who have come from Madinah to Kufa today possess such a necklace that you wish to have one as well? O’ daughter of Ali! Do not allow Satan to gain mastery over you.”
* * *
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) also said: “God has made it obligatory upon the Islamic ruler that his way of life be on the same level as the poorest members of society, so that if someone suffers from poverty or deprivation, he will not feel distressed and so that people may see the officials of society as equal to themselves.”
* * *
One day, a group of capital owners came to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS) and said: “We have served Islam and spent our wealth for it… Now show consideration for our side.”
Imam (AS) replied: “Here before us is the Quran and here is the conduct and practice of the Prophet (PBUH) which we have not forgotten. According to the Quran, no one has superiority over another except through piety and commitment to values. Are you reminding God and God’s Messenger (PBUH) of a favor because you have embraced Islam and served it? If you are truthful, then you should thank Allah (SWT) for having guided you to the religion of Islam.”