He sat and talked with him.

He sat and talked with him. Some people passed by them. They did not know the Imam. And some knew him. They were astonished to see the Imam sitting with a dates-seller. One day Imam Ali (A.S.) went to the market. He sat with Maitham. After a while, Maitham wanted to go to by something. He asked the Imam's permission and went away. The Imam stayed behind to sell dates. In the meantime, a man came to buy some dates for four dirhams. The man took the dates and went away. Maitham came back.

He was astonished to see the Dirhams because they were false. The Imam smiled and said: "The owner of the Dirhams will come back." Again Maitham became astonished. He wondered: The man bought the dates by false Dirhams! How will he come back? After an hour, the owner of the Dirhams came back. He said with annoy: "I do not want these dates! They are bitter! Why are they bitter"? The Imam said: "Because your Dirhams are false." The man was full of astonishment. He took the Dirhams and went away.

The Nation's Scholar Maitham was a brilliant. He learnt his knowledge from Imam Ali (A.S.). One day he said to Abdullah bin Abbas, the nation scholar: "Ask me whatever you want to know about the Koran explanation. I've learnt everything from Imam Ali (A.S.)." So, bin Abbas sat before Maitham to learn lessons about the Quran's explanation. **Amru bin Huraith ** Amru bin Huraith was a leader from Kufa. Maitham said to him: "I'll be your neighbour.

Treat me kindly." Amru said: "Do you want to buy bin Masoud's house or bin al-Hakim's"? Maitham kept silent. Amru bin Huraith was puzzled. He wondered: What does Maitham mean? Days and years passed. Unjust rulers succeeded each other over Kufa. They treated people rudely. **The Market ** Zyyad bin Abeeh became a ruler over Kufa. He began killing Imam Ali's companions. He carried out Mu'awiyah's orders. Mu'awiyah was full of spite. He ordered people to abuse Imam Ali (A.S.).

The ruler appointed a man to look after the market. The man was unjust. The people complained of his bad treatment. The people were afraid of the man. Thus, they went to Maitham. They asked Maitham to go with them to the Prince. They said to him: "Maitham, come with us to the prince." Maitham went with them. He met the Prince and told him about the rude treatment in the market. A policeman in the Palace was displeased with Maitham's words.

He said to the Prince: "Your Highness, the Prince, do you know this man?" The Prince said: "No" He's a liar! The supporter of the liar!