274. Imām Ali (a.s.): “By God, I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on prickly thorns or be driven in chains as a prisoner than to meet God and His Messenger on the Day of Resurrection as an oppressor of some people and a usurper of some worldly wealth. How can I oppress any one for the sake of a life that is fast moving towards destruction and [a body which] is to remain under the earth for a long time? By God, I saw [my brother] `Aqil fallen in destitution and he asked me for a sā` ¹ out of your wheat. I also saw his children with messy hair and a dusty face due to starvation, as though their faces had been blackened by an indigo color. He came to me several times and repeated his request to me again and again. I heard him and he thought I would sell my faith to him and I would follow his path leaving my own way. Then I heated a piece of iron and took it near his body so that he might take a lesson from it, and he cried the way a person in protracted illness cries with pain and he was about to get burnt with its branding. Then I said to him: “May moaning women moan over you, O `Aqil! Do you cry on account of this iron which has been heated by a man for fun while you are dragging me towards the fire which Almighty God has prepared for [a manifestation of] His wrath? Should you cry from pain, but I should not cry from the (Divine) Furnace?”²

275. Al-Manāqib: “`Aqil went to him [Ali] (a.s.) and asked Hassan: “Clothe your uncle!” Hassan clothed him with a garment and a robe of his own and when dinner was prepared, there was only bread and salt.
`Aqil said: “Is there nothing else beside what I see?”
Ali (a.s.) said: “Is this not God’s blessings? All praise be to Him.”
`Aqil said; “Give me some money to discharge my debt and be quick to fulfill my request so that I may go away from you.”
He asked him: “O Abu Yazid! How much is your debt?” He said: “One hundred thousand dirhams.”
Ali (a.s.) said: “By God, there is not such an amount of money with me and I do not own this much; but wait until I receive my share [of the treasury] so that I help you with half of it and if it were not for the needs of my household, I would grant it all to you.”
`Aqil said: “The treasury is at your disposal and you put me off to [the time of receiving] your own share? Now, how much is your share? And if you give your entire share to me, how much would it be?”
He said: “You and I are [treated] like anyone of the Muslims in this wealth.”
They were talking together on top of dār al-hukuma (the seat of rule) overlooking the [safe] boxes of the marketers and Ali (a.s.) told him: “O Abu Yazid! If you do not accept my words, go down, break the boxes, and take what is in there!”
`Aqil said: “What is in these boxes?”
He replied: “The wealth of the traders.”
`Aqil said: “Do you command me to break the boxes of the people who have trusted God and placed their wealth in there?”
The Commander of the Faithful said: “Do you command me to break into the treasury of the Muslims and give their wealth to you while they have trusted God and locked it? If you like, take your sword and I will also take my sword and go to Hira,³ as wealthy merchants live there and we will ambush them and take their wealth!”
`Aqil said: “Did I come here as a thief?”
He said: “It is better that you steal from one person than to steal from all Muslims!”
`Aqil said: “Do you permit me to go to Mu`āwiya?”
He said: “I permit you.”
`Aqil said: “Then help me with this journey.”
He said: “O Hasan! Pay your uncle four hundred dirhams.”
`Aqil left the place saying:
“Soon he will make me needless (of you), He who made you needless of me;
And the Proximate Lord will soon discharge our debts.”⁴

274. الإمام عليّ علیه السلام: وَاللهِ لأَن أبيتَ عَلى حَسَكِ السَّعدانِ مُسَهَّداً،¹ أو اُجَرَّ فِي الأَغلالِ مُصَفَّداً، أحَبُّ إلَيَّ مِن أن ألقَى اللهَ ورَسولَهُ يَومَ القِيامَةِ ظالِماً لِبَعضِ العِبادِ، وغاصِباً لِشَيءٍ مِنَ الحُطامِ! وكَيفَ أظلِمُ أحَداً لِنَفسٍ يُسرِعُ إلَى البِلَى قُفولُها،² ويَطولُ فِي الثَّرى حُلَولُها؟!
وَاللهِ، لَقَد رَأَيتُ عَقيلاً وقَد أملَقَ حَتَّى استَماحَني مِن بُرِّكُم صاعاً، ورَأَيتُ صِبيانَهُ شُعثَ الشُّعورِ، غُبرَ الأَلوانِ مِن فَقرِهِم، كَأَنَّما سُوِّدَت وُجوهُهُم بِالعِظلِمِ،³ وعاوَدَني مُؤَكِّداً، وكَرَّرَ عَلَيَّ القَولَ مُرَدِّداً، فَأَصغَيتُ إلَيهِ سَمعي، فَظَنَّ أنّي أبيعُهُ ديني، وأتَّبِعُ قِيادَهُ مُفارِقاً طَريقَتي.
فَأَحمَيتُ لَهُ حَديدَةً، ثُمَّ أدنَيتُها مِن جِسمِهِ لِيَعتَبِرَ بِها، فَضَجَّ ضَجيجَ ذي دَنَفٍ⁴ مِن ألَمِها، وكادَ أن يَحتَرِقَ مِن ميسَمِها،⁵ فَقُلتُ لَهُ: ثَكَلَتكَ الثَّواكِلُ يا عَقيلُ! أتَئِنُّ مِن حَديدَةٍ أحماها إنسانُها لِلَعِبِهِ، وتَجُرُّني إلى نارٍ سَجَرَها جَبّارُها لِغَضَبِهِ؟! أتَئِنُّ مِنَ الأَذى ولا أئِنُّ مِن لَظىً؟!⁶

275. المناقب لابن شهر آشوب: قَدِمَ عَلَيهِ ] عَلِيٍّ علیه السلام [ عَقيلٌ فَقالَ لِلحَسَنِ: اُكسُ عَمَّكَ، فَكَساهُ قَميصاً مِن قُمُصِهِ⁷ ورِداءً مِن أردِيَتِهِ. فَلَمّا حَضَرَ العِشاءَ فَإِذا هُوَ خُبزٌ وملِحٌ، فَقالَ عَقيلٌ: لَيسَ ]إلّا[⁸ ما أرى؟
فَقالَ: أ وَلَيسَ هذا مِن نِعمَةِ اللهِ؟! فَلَهُ الحَمدُ كَثيراً.
فَقالَ: أعطِني ما أقضي بِهِ دَيني وعَجِّل سِراحي حَتّى أرحَلَ عَنكَ.
قالَ: فَكَم دَينُكَ يا أبا يَزيدَ؟
قالَ: مِئَةُ ألفِ دِرهَمٍ.
قالَ: وَاللهِ ما هِيَ عِندي ولا أملِكُها، ولكِنِ اصبرِ حَتّى يَخرُجَ عَطائي فَاُواسِيَكَهُ، ولَولا أنَّهُ لابُدَّ لِلعِيالِ مِن شَيءٍ لاََعطَيتُكَ كُلَّهُ.
فَقالَ عَقيلٌ: بَيتٌ المالِ في يَدِكَ وأنتَ تُسَوِّفُني إلى عَطائِكَ؟ وكَم عَطاؤُكَ وما عَسى يَكونُ ولَو أعطَيتَنيهِ كُلَّهُ!
فَقالَ: ما أنَا وأنتَ فيهِ إلّا بِمَنزِلَةِ رَجُلٍ مِنَ المُسلِمينَ ـ وكانا يَتَكَلَّمانِ فَوقَ قَصرِ الإِمارَةِ مُشرِفَينِ عَلى صَناديقِ أهلِ السّوقِ ـ فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ علیه السلام: إن أبَيتَ يا أبا يَزيدَ ما أقولُ فَانزِل إلى بَعضِ هذِهِ الصَّناديقِ فَاكسِر أقفالَهُ وخُذ ما فيهِ.
فَقالَ: وما في هذِهِ الصَّناديقِ؟
قالَ: فيها أموالُ التُّجّارِ.
قالَ: أ تَأمُرُني أن أكسِرَ صَناديقَ قَومٍ قَد تَوَكَّلوا عَلَى اللهِ وجَعَلوا فيها أموالَهُم؟!
فَقالَ أميرُ المُؤمِنينَ: أ تَأمُرُني أن أفتَحَ بَيتَ مالِ المُسلِمينَ فَاُعطِيَكَ أموالَهُم وقَد تَوَكَّلوا عَلَى اللهِ وأقفَلوا عَلَيها؟! وإن شِئتَ أخَذتَ سَيفَكَ وأخَذتُ سَيفي وخَرَجنا جَميعاً إلى الحيرَةِ؛⁹ فَإِنَّ بِها تُجّاراً مَياسِيرَ،¹⁰ فَدَخَلنا عَلى بَعضِهِم فَأَخَذنا مالَهُ!
فَقالَ: أ وَسارِقاً جِئتُ؟!
قالَ: تَسرِقُ مِن واحدٍ خَيرٌ من أن تَسرِقَ مِنَ المُسلِمينَ جَميعاً!
قالَ لَهُ: أ فَتَأذَنُ لي أن أخرُجَ إلى مُعاوِيَةَ؟
فَقالَ لَهُ: قَد أذِنتُ لَكَ.
قالَ: فَأَعِنّي على سَفَري هذا.
قالَ: يا حَسَنُ، أعطِ عَمَّكَ أربَعَمِئَةِ دِرهَمٍ.
فَخَرَجَ عَقيلٌ وهُوَ يَقولُ:

سَيُغْنينِي الَّذي أغناكَ عَنّيويَقضي دَينَنا رَبٌّ قَريبُ¹¹