Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

360 The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way of life
conscience and sensitive feelings that regard this world as an enemy
that is trying to cheat and deceive its opponent. Thus he announced
his victory over all the inclinations of self-interest and emotions. He
showed that he was using reason to make a proper evaluation of
worldly accumulation, because all times of pleasure or of hardship
are aansient, and to make a proper evaluation of the hereafter,
because it is eternal and has both great blessings and the terror of its
punishment in hellfire. He (&>) reached the pinnacle when he prayed
two raka'ahs in the public treasury so that they would be witnesses
for him on the Day of Resurrection, testifying that he was just in his
ruling and that he adhered to the straight path. Perhaps his taking the
treasury as a place of prayer symbolised the superiority of the
hereafter over this world and the perfect, sublime conduct he
followed when disposing of this wealth in legitimate ways.177
2.2.2. "By Allah, I do not take anything
from your wealth"
Another example of 'Ali's asceticism was narrated by Haroon
ibn 'Antarah from his father, who said: "1 entered upon 'Ali ibn Abi
T%b in Khoornaq (a place in Kufah) and found him shivering
beneath an old, worn out cloak. I said: '0 Amir al-Mu'mineen, Allah
has allocated to you and your family a share of this wealth, and you
are doing this to yourself!' He said: 'By Allah, I do not take anything
from your wealth; rather this is my old cloak that I came out with
from my house' - or he said: 'from adi in ah.""^^
We may wonder: what made Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&)
live the life of the poor and put up with the hitter cold when he was
able to buy the best and warmest of clothes on earth? This is an
example of true asceticism, as he shunned worldly conveniences
even though he was able to afford them. He was a student of the
prophetic school in which he was raised, with no interest in the