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‘Aqil
273. Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.): “When Imām ‘Ali (a.s.) took up government, he ascended the pulpit and after praising God he said: “By God, I would not take a dirham from your treasury as long as I have a palm tree in Madina. Return to yourselves (conscious) and be fair! Do you suppose that I deprive myself and bestow onto you (with no reason)?”
The [narrator] says: “[At this time] `Aqil stood up and said to him: “By God, will you equate between me and a black man in Madina?”
The Imām said: “Sit down! Was there no other person than you to speak? You have no precedence over him [the black man] except by precedence in religion or Godwariness.”1
1.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۸, p. ۱۸۲, h. ۲۰۴, Tanbih al-Khawātir, vol. ۲, p. ۱۵۱, al-Ikhtisās, p. ۱۵۱.