Abū ʿUthmān said: A group of people came to ʿAlī and declared, “You are He.” He replied, “Who am I?” They repeated, “You are He.” He said, “Woe to you—who am I?” They answered, “You are our Lord.” He told them, “Turn back,” but when they refused he struck off their heads, dug trenches for them in the ground, and then said, “O Qanbar, bring me bundles of firewood.” He burned them in the fire, reciting:

When I beheld the matter a loathsome wrong,
I kindled my fire and summoned Qanbar along.

Abū Ḥayyān al-Taymī said: Mujmaʿ related to me that ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, used to sweep the Bayt al-māl and then pray in it, hoping it would bear witness that he had not withheld any of its wealth from the Muslims.

Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ, on the authority of his father, reported that ʿAlī once addressed the people, saying, “O people, by Allah—there is no deity but He—I have not taken from your wealth, whether little or much, except for this vial.” He produced a small bottle of perfume and added, “A dehqān gave it to me as a gift.”

Ibn Luhayʿah narrated: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hubayrah told us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zurayr al-Ghāfiqī, who said: I visited ʿAlī on the Day of Sacrifice, and he served us khazīrah (a meat-broth). I remarked, “If only you had offered us some of this goose, for Allah has bestowed abundant good.” He replied, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, ‘It is not lawful for the khalīfah to take from the property of Allah except two bowls: one from which he and his family eat, and another he sets before the people.’”

Sufyān al-Thawrī said, “Whenever something reaches you from ʿAlī, act upon it. He never laid brick upon brick nor reed upon reed, and his provisions used to be brought to him in a small satchel.”