Those blessed with the companionship of the Holy Prophet (s)...

Those blessed with the companionship of the Holy Prophet (s) and those who served Islam in the past, will get their reward from their Creator. They will not receive special treatment because of their past life and performance. We shall not distinguish them from the present citizens of the state. Any individual who supports our call for truth and pursues our direction, he will enjoy the same privileges enjoyed today by those who accepted the call of the Holy Prophet (s) .

All of you are the slaves of God and since all property belongs to Allah, its equal distribution amongst you is obligatory. No one among you has an edge over another. Tomorrow, all the money in the State treasury will be divided equally among you.” The next day, all the people gathered in the courtyard of the mosque. Imam Ali (‘a) divided the money equally among the people. Each individual received 3 dinars.

One person remarked, ‘Ya Ali, you gave me 3 dinars and 3 dinars to one, who, until yesterday, was my slave.’ Ali (‘a) replied, ‘I have just done what is right.’ Talha and Zubayr, Abdullah ibn e Umar, S’aeed ibn e ‘Aas, Marwan ibn e Hakam and their compatriots who had been enjoying special privileges and enhanced allowances from the state treasury, were extremely annoyed in being equated with everyone. They refused the equal share and left the mosque.

The next day, the people gathered in the mosque. This group also came, but sat in a separate corner, to maintain their distance from the others. They started sharing their views about the situation, and after a brief discussion sent Walid ibn e ‘Uqba as their spokesperson to Ali (‘a) . Walid came to Imam Ali (‘a) and presented his case thus; ‘Ya Abul Hasan! You are well aware that, due to the wars fought between Islam and polytheism, we are not happy with you.

You killed at least one or more of our dear ones. In the battle of Badr, you killed my own father. However, we are willing to forget the past and pledge allegiance to you, but under two conditions. First: Repeal your proclamation of yesterday. Do not delve into the affairs of the past, nor question the means by which people amassed wealth during the reign of the previous two caliphs. Your duty is only to ensure that nobody amasses wealth by unfair means during your caliphate.

Second: Capture the assassins of Usman and hand them over to us, so that we can avenge his murder.