10/3 – 5
Discharging Obligations
645. Imām Ali (a.s.): “Return the trust to the person who has trusted you, even though he would be the murderer of the children of the Prophets.”1
646. Imām Ali (a.s.): “Do not betray him who has regarded you as trustworthy, even though he has betrayed you; and do not disclose his secret, although he discloses it himself.”2
647. Imām Ali (a.s.) – from his letter to Ash`ath ibn Qays: “Certainly, your assignment is not a morsel for you to have but it is a trust on your neck and you are being overseen by your superiors.”3
648. Imām Ali (a.s.) – from his letter to one of his tax collectors: “He whose hidden position is not different from his open position and whose action is not different from his words, has discharged his obligation and his worship is pure. I also order him that he should not harass them (subjects), should not be harsh towards them and should not turn away from them because of superiority of an official position over them, for they are brothers in faith and helpers in the recovery of levies.
Certainly you have a fixed share and a known right in this levy, and there are other sharers who are poor, weak and starving. We shall discharge your rights. So you should pay off their rights. If you do not do so, you will have the largest number of enemies on the Day of Judgment. How wretched is the man whose enemies in the presence of God are the needy, the destitute, the beggars, the turned away, and the indebted and (penniless) travelers.
He who treats the trust lightly, indulges in treachery and does not keep himself and his faith untarnished by it has certainly secured humiliation in this world and his humiliation
and disgrace in the next world will be greater. Surely the greatest treachery is the treachery against the Muslim community and the ugliest deceit is the deceit towards the Muslim leaders. Wassalām!”4
1.. al-Khisāl, p. ۶۱۴ h. ۱۰, Bihār al-Anwār, vol. ۷۵, p. ۱۱۵, h. ۸.
2.. Tuhaf al-`Uqul, p. ۸۱, `Uyun al-Hikam wa al-Mawā`iz, p. ۵۱۹, h. ۹۴۲۶, Bihār al-Anwār, vol. ۷۷, p. ۲۰۸, h. ۱.
3.. Nahj al-Balāghah, Letter ۵, Jawāhir al-Matālib, vol. ۲, p. ۲۶.
4.. Nahj al-Balāghah, Letter ۲۶, Bihār al-Anwār, vol. ۳۳, p. ۵۲۸, h. ۷۱۹.
