223. Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah – narrating from Sha`bi: “I was a young man when I entered a square in Kufa together with other young men. I saw Ali (a.s.) who was standing over a pile of gold and silver and holding a whip in his hand with which he was keeping people off and at the same time distributing the property among people until there was nothing left of it. Then, he returned home without taking anything with him, neither little nor much.
I went back to my father and said to him: “Today, I saw the best of the people or the most foolish one!’ He asked: O son, who he was.”
I said: “Ali ibn Abi Tālib (a.s.), the Commander of the Faithful. I saw him acting in such and such a way”, and I told him the story.
My father wept and said: “My son! You have seen the best of the people.”¹

224. Imām al-Bāqir: “Some money was brought to Ali (a.s.), and he seated the weighers and the exchangers next to him. He then made a pile of gold and a pile of silver and said: ‘O reds and O whites! Be whatever you want to be, red or white but deceive someone else!”
“This is my harvest and the best of it is in it;
Yet, every harvester puts it with his own hand in his own mouth.”²

225. Tārikh Dimashq – narrating from Abu Sālih al-Sammān: “I saw Ali (a.s.) enter the treasury and see something there, and he said: “I should not see it here, while people are in need of it.” Then he ordered it to be distributed, had the treasury swept and sprinkled with water, and he then performed prayers there or took an afternoon nap; or he slept there.”³

223. شرح نهج البلاغة لابن أبي الحدید عن الشَّعبي: دَخَلتُ الرَّحبَةَ بِالكوفَةِ ـ وأنَا غُلامٌ ـ في غِلمانٍ، فَإِذا أنَا بِعَلِيٍّ علیه السلام قائِماً عَلى صُبرَتَينِ¹ مِن ذَهَبٍ وفِضَّةٍ، ومَعَهُ مِخفَقَةٌ، وهوَ يطرُدُ النّاسَ بِمِخفَقَتِهِ، ثُمَّ يَرجِعُ إلَى المالِ فَيَقسِمُهُ بَينَ النّاسِ، حَتّى لَم يَبقَ مِنهُ شَيءٌ.
ثُمَّ انصَرَفَ ولَم يَحمِل إلى بَيتِهِ قَليلاً ولا كَثيراً، فَرَجَعتُ إلى أبي، فَقُلتُ لَهُ: لَقَد رَأَيتُ اليَومَ خَيرَ النّاسِ أو أحمَقَ النّاسِ! قالَ: مَن هوَ يا بُنَيَّ؟ قُلتُ: عَلِيُّ بنُ أبي طالِبٍ أميرُ المُؤمِنينَ، رَأَيتُهُ يَصنَعُ كَذا، فَقَصَصتُ عَلَيهِ، فَبَكى، وقالَ: يابُنَيَّ، بَل رَأَيتَ خَيرَ النّاسِ.²

224. الإمام الباقر علیه السلام: إنَّ عَلِيّاً اُتِيَ بِالمالِ فَأَقعَدَ بَينَ يَديهِ الوُزّانَ وَالنُقّادَ، فَكَوَّمَ كومَةً مِن ذَهَبٍ، وكومَةً مِن فِضَّةٍ، فَقالَ: يا حَمراءُ ويا بَيضاءُ، احمَرّي وابيَضّي وغُرّي غَيري.

هذا جَنايَ وخِيارُهُ فيهوكُلُّ جان يَدُهُ إلى فيه³

225. تاريخ دمشق عن أبي صالح السمّان: رَأيتُ عَلِيّاً دَخَلَ بَيتَ المالِ، فَرَأى فيهِ شَيئاً، فَقالَ: لا⁴ أرى هذا هاهُنا وبِالنّاسِ إلَيهِ حاجَةٌ!! فَأَمَرَ بِهِ فَقُسِمَ، وأمَرَ بِالبَيتِ فَكُنِسَ ونُضِحَ، فَصَلّى فيهِ، أو قالَ⁵ فيهِ؛ يَعني نامَ⁶.⁷