Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

51 0 Financial and judiciaiy institutions at the time of 'Ali
on his part, then he is not to be held responsible for it according to
'Ali (&). He (&) said: "The borrower or person to whom
something is entrusted is not to be held responsible."z09
5. Selling booty to the disbelievers
If the Muslims capture the wealth of the disbelievers as war
booty, it is not permissible to sell it back to the same disbelievers,
according to 'Ali (&). It was narrated that Umm Moosa said: "A
vessel adorned with gold was brought to 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib; it was
one of the vessels of the Persians. He wanted to break it down and
divide it among the Muslims, hut some of the chieftains said: 'If yon
break it, it will lose its value. We will pay you a good price for it.'
'Ali (&) said: 'I will not return to yon wealth that Allah has taken
away from you.' Then he broke it down and divided it among the
people."21o Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) did that so that it would
not remind them of their past glory or bring any benefit back to them.
6. Holding workers responsible
Holding the workers accountable is necessary to protect
people's wealth from heing wasted. Al-Shiitibi said: "The Rightly
Guided Caliphs mled that workers should he held accountable. 'Ali
ibn Abi Taib (&) said: 'This is the only way to protect people's
interest^."'^" One of the aims of Sharia is to protect wealth from
heing wasted.212 In Mrgmnaf 'Abdur-RazzZq it says that 'Ali (&)
held tailors, dyers and workers in similar trades responsible, so as to
protect the people.z13
7. The covenant with dhimmi~,'~~ and not
being harsh when collecting the jizyah from them
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) said: "Nothing will be accepted
from the polytheists of the Arabs except Islam or the sword. As for
the polytheists of the non-Arabs, jizyah may be taken from them. As
for the People of the Book, both Arabs and non-Arabs, if they refuse