Ali (PBUH) is the first Imam of\nShiites and the first successor of the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad\n(PBUH&HP). According to the historians, he was a man who possessed all the\nIslamic and humane virtues, a man who, despite his tremendous courage and bravery,\nwas a support and a companion of the weak, and a man who, despite his utmost\nkind and merciful nature, remained firm in establishing justice and denouncing\noppression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An example of his virtues as a perfect\nhuman being can be seen in the following story, which presents his efforts and\nconcern in protecting the Bayt al-Maal (1) and dealing justly with the matter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One night Aqil, the brother of Imam\nAli (PBUH), visited the Imam. Imam Ali (PBUH) accepted his guest with respect\nand honor. Upon Imam Ali’s (PBUH) request, Imam Hassan (PBUH) offered a shirt\nand a cloak of his own to Aqil. The weather was warm; Imam Ali (PBUH) and Aqil\nwere sitting on the roof of Dar al-Imarah (palace of the governor). While Aqil\nhad been expecting to see a colorful table, on the contrary, he was only\npresented ordinary food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Aqil expressed his request and\nsaid: “I am highly in debt, and I have to return home soon. I want you to\norder that my debts be paid”. Imam Ali (PBUH) said: “How much do you\nowe?” Aqil replied: “One hundred thousand Dinars (silver\ncoins)”. Imam Ali (PBUH) said: “That’s too much!”, and then\ncontinued: “I regret that I cannot pay all your debts; however, at the\ntime of giving people’s shares, I will give you from my own share as much as\npossible”. Aqil said: “Your share is not much. How much do you want\nto take for yourself, and how much do you want to give me? Please order that\nthey pay me from Bayt al-Maal.” Imam Ali (PBUH) said: “Bayt al-Maal\nis not my own property; I am the trustee of people’s properties. I cannot offer\nyou from the Bayt al-Maal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Imam Ali (PBUH) saw Aqil’s\ninsistence, he pointed towards the cases of the merchants, which were visible\nfrom the roof since it overlooked the bazaar, and said: “I have got a\nsuggestion for you, which if you perform, you will be able to pay all your\ndebts. These people will gradually return to their homes, and this place will\nbecome empty of people; yet, their cases which are full will remain here. As\nsoon as people have left, go and empty their cases, and pay your debts”.\nAqil said: “O dear brother! Are you kidding? Are you offering me to steal?\nAm I a thief that steals people’s property, while they are resting in their\nhomes?” Imam Ali (PBUH) replied: “What difference does it make that\nyou take (money) from Bayt al-Maal unjustly or steal from these cases? They are\nboth instances of thievery”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, he continued: “I have got\nanother suggestion. The old city of Hirah, which is the center of merchants and\nwealthy people, is located near Kufa. Let us go there at night and steal from\none of them”. Aqil said: “O dear brother! I am asking you to give me\nfrom the Bayt al-Maal, and you reply me by saying these words?” Imam Ali\n(PBUH) said: “In fact, it is better to steal from one individual rather\nthan to steal from hundreds of thousands of people. How is it that stealing\nfrom one person is a theft, but stealing from the properties of the public is\nnot?”(2) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This story was just a small portion of\nthe righteous life of Imam Ali (PBUH). His life is a comprehensive and\nextensive scene of the manifest of high spiritual characteristics in a pure and\ndivine leader. It is incumbent on us to promote ethics and spirituality in\nourselves using such teachings, and to obey his clear path as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers its\ncondolences to all the seekers of right in the world upon the 21st of Ramadan,\nthe martyrdom of the commander of the faithful, the helper of the orphans, the\nsymbol of faith and salvation, Amir al-Mu’minin Imam Ali (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this great occasion, the Night of\nQadr, we invite our dear friends to read the article of Night of Qadr, located\nin the Beliefs section of the website. It presents a study of the various\naspects of this night and discusses the events which take place in it. Moreover,\nbased on a Quranic discussion, it presents a deep relationship between this\nnight and the divine living representative: Caliph of Allah at all ages.\nFinally, it suggests ways people may benefit more from these most valuable\nnights of the year. (To read the article click here!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- The property\nthat Muslims paid to the Islamic government to be shared amongst all Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2-Selection\ntaken from:” Imam Ali (PBUH) in Shahid Mutahhari’s Words”, by Abbas\nAzizi, quoted from the book of “Mottos and Advices” (pp. 154-156)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ali (PBUH) is the first Imam of Shiites and the first successor of the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP). According to the historians, he was a man who possessed all the Islamic and humane virtues, a man who, despite his tremendous courage and bravery, was a support and a companion of the weak, and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[18892,18004,18891,18102,18894,18893,17990,18418,18401],"class_list":["post-4016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2005-10-24","tag-ali","tag-ali-as-ever-just-and-trustworthy","tag-imam","tag-kind","tag-messenge","tag-muhammad","tag-occasion-letters","tag-the-great-prophet-of-islam"],"yoast_head":"\n