121. Nathr al-Durr: [Imām Ali (a.s.) said] to al-Ash`ath ibn Qays: “Pay back what has been entrusted to you, or I will strike you by the sword.” Thus he paid what was due on him [to pay]. The Imām then told him: “Who would have protected you if I had struck you by the sword?”
Al-Ash`ath replied: “You are among those who do what they say.”1
See: The Encyclopedia of Amir al-Mu'minin: (al-Ash`ath Ibn Qays).
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Ziyad ibn Abih
122. Imām Ali (a.s.) –in his letter to Ziyad ibn Abih: “I swear by God a truthful oath that if I come to know that you have betrayed the funds of the Muslims, in a small or large amount, I shall inflict upon you such punishment which will leave you
with an empty hand, a heavy back and humiliated. Wassalām!”2
123. Ansāb al-Ashrāf: “Ali (a.s.) dispatched an envoy to Ziyad to take back whatever of the taxes that had been collected by him. Ziyad sent what was with him along with the envoy and said: “The Kurds have ruined the taxes and I am trying to tolerate them. But do not tell this to the Commander of the Faithful lest he would think that it was the result of my negligence.”
The envoy returned and reported what Ziyad told him. Ali (a.s.) wrote to Ziyad: “My envoy reported what you said to him about the Kurds and that you asked him to conceal it from me. You well know that you did not tell him, but with the intention that he informs me about it. I truthfully swear by God that if I come to know that you have betrayed any of the funds of the Muslims, small amount or large, I shall inflict upon you such punishment that will leave you with an empty hand, a heavy back and humiliated. Wassalām!”3
1.. Nathr al-Durr, vol. ۱, p. ۲۹۲.
2.. Nahj al-Balāghah, Letter ۲۰, Bihār al-Anwār, vol. ۳۳, p. ۴۸۹, h. ۶۹۵.
3.. Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. ۲, p. ۳۹۰.
