Imam Ali (a.s) And The Candle
A candle burnt by his side, as he sat down meticulously recording all the revenue and the expenses of the treasury.
Just then Talha and Zubair appeared.
They aspired to some positions of authority in imam Ali's (A.S.) rule and had come to strike a deal. If imam Ali's (A.S.) gave them a place of distinction, they would in turn pledge their full support. imam Ali's (A.S.) knew of this.
Just as they sat down, imam Ali's (A.S.) puts out the candle and lit another one.
Talha and Zubair exchanged a glance of surprise and then one of them said:
"O Ali, we have come on some important business. But why did you extinguish the first candle?"
Imam Ali's (A.S.) replied: "That was a candle bought of Treasury funds. As long as I worked for the Treasury, I used it. Now you have come for some personal work, so I use the candle bought of my personal fund."
Talha and Zubair left him without saying another word.
The Five loaves
Zarr Bin Hobeish relates this story: Two travelers sat together on the way to their destination to have a meal. One had five loaves of bread. The other had three. A third traveler was passing by and at the request of the two joined in the meal.
The travelers cut each of the loaf of bread in three equal parts. Each of the travelers ate eight broken pieces of the loaf.
At the time of leaving the third traveler took out eight dirhams and gave to the first two men who had offered him the meal, and went away. On receiving the money the two travelers started quarrelling as to who should have how much of the money.
The five-loaf-man demanded five dirhams. The three-loaf-man insisted on dividing the money in two equal parts.
The dispute was brought to imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (the Caliph of the time in Arabia) to be decided.
Imam Ali (A.S.) requested the three-loaf-man to accept three dirhams. The man refused and said that he would take only four dirhams. At this imam Ali (A.S.) returned, "You can have only one dirham. You had eight loaves between yourselves. Each loaf was broken in three parts. Therefore, you had 24 equal parts. Your three loaves made nine parts out of which you have eaten eight portions, leaving just one to the third traveler. Your friend had five loaves which divided into three made fifteen pieces. He ate eight pieces and gave seven pieces to the guest. As such the guest shared one part from your loaves and seven from those of your friend. So you should get one dirham and your friend should receive seven dirhams.
In The Company Of The Caliph
When imam Ali (A.S.) was coming to Kufa, he entered the city of Anbar populated by Iranians. The Iranian farmers were very happy to see their beloved caliph passing through their town. They came to his visit. When it was time for imam Ali (A.S.) to leave, they started running in front of his horse. imam Ali (A.S.) inquired about this behavior.
"This is one way that we extend respect to our leaders and respectful individuals. This is our custom that has been practiced for years."
"This behavior puts you in discomfort in this world, and brings about humiliation in the next world. Always stay away from practices that humiliate you. After all what benefit is there in such a practice to the recipients?"
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