Giving the best examples of steadfastness for the sake of God...

Giving the best examples of steadfastness for the sake of God, the (S) was facing bravely and overcoming the increasing hurricanes of disasters and powers of unbelief. In this regard, he (S) said: “If the sun is put in my right hand and the moon in the left so that I may leave this matter (i.e. the divine mission), I will not do it until Allah will give me victory or I will die in this cause.” Like the Prophet (S), Amirul-Mu'minin (a) was the ideal in the field of perseverance on principles.

When the leadership was given to him provided that he would follow the Book of God, the Prophet’s Sunna, and the way of the two Sheikhs[^1], he ejected because he adhered to his lofty opinion and genuine principle.

He said: “No, I rule on the bases of God’s Book, the Prophet’s Sunna, and my own elicitations.” As some of his retinue, on another occasion, suggested to him importunately to ‘give some of these treasures exclusively to the celebrities of the Arabs and the Koreishites as well as every person that you anticipate he will leave you and join the camp of Muawiya,’ Amirul- Mu’minin refused their suggestion out of his perseverance on the principles and said: “Do you command me that I should seek support by oppressing those over whom I have been placed?

By Allah, I will not do so as long as the world goes on, and as long as one star leads another in the sky.

Even if it were my property, I would have distributed it equally among them, then why not when the property is that of Allah[^2].” This unparalleled ideality crept into his choice friends to change them into nonesuch models of perseverance on principles in spite of suffering various sorts of terror and persecution: One day, al-Hajjaj Ibn Yousuf ath-Thaqafi[^3] said that he would like to arrest one of the companions of Abu Turab[^4] so that he would seek nearness to God through shedding his blood!

The attendants said, ‘As much as we know, Qanbar the servant had spent the longest period with Abu Turab.’ Hence, al-Hajjaj ordered to arrest Qanbar.