72. Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah –al-Kalbi has attributed this sermon in the form of a marfu`a tradition1 to Abu Sālih who has quoted it from Ibn `Abbās: “On the second day of his allegiance, Ali (a.s.) gave a lecture in Madina, saying:
“Verily, any land that `Uthmān has granted and any wealth from God’s property that he has given as gift will be taken back to the Public Treasury. Nothing nullifies the previous rights and if I find these properties, I will restore them to their rightful place, even if they were given as a marriage portion to women or distributed among cities because there is an expansiveness in justice and he who finds it hard to act justly should find it harder to deal with injustice.”
The interpretation of this statement is that: If it is hard for an administrator to manage affairs on the basis of justice, it would be harder for him to do it on the basis of injustice, for the unjust is always in a position that he might be prevented and averted from his injustice.
al-Kalbi said: “He [Ali] (a.s.) then ordered all the weapons stored in `Uthmān’s house which were used against the Muslims to be confiscated. He ordered that the camels that were at his house and were from the alms to be collected and they were seized. He (a.s.) also ordered that his sword and shield be confiscated, and he instructed that no action should be taken in regard to the weapons which were not used to fight against Muslims and also avoid taking hold of his properties whether in his house or in other places. He ordered that the assets given away by `Uthmān, wherever and with whomever they were, to be taken back.”
The news of this treatment reached `Amr ibn `As, who was in Ayla, in Shām, where he had fled to when people assaulted `Uthmān. He sent a letter [from there] to Muāwiya saying, “Do whatever you wish. The son of Abu Tālib separated you from your wealth, just like the bark cut off from a walking stick.”2
