helps an oppressed person lessen the injustice inflicted upon him or pay an unjust exaction is acting as the agent of the oppressed, not of the oppressor. He is like someone who lends the oppressed person money or undertakes to carry his money to the oppressor on his behalf.

For example, if an oppressor demands money from the guardian of an orphan or the administrator of an endowment, and, after exhausting his efforts to resist the demand, he strives to avert it by paying a smaller sum to the oppressor or to someone else, then he is doing good:

“There is no blame upon those who do good.”

The same applies to an owner’s agent—whether an auctioneer, a scribe, or someone else—who acts on owners’ behalf in concluding contracts, receiving payments, and paying what is demanded of them, rather than acting for the oppressors in collecting it.

Likewise, if an unjust levy is imposed on the people of a village, street, marketplace, or city, and a well-meaning man from among them intervenes to ward it off as far as possible, apportioning it among them according to their means, without favoring himself or anyone else and without accepting bribes, but instead acting on their behalf in resisting the demand and making payment, then he is doing good.

Usually, however, someone who becomes involved in this acts as an agent of the oppressors, showing favoritism, accepting bribes, shielding whomever he wishes, and taking money from whomever he wishes. Such a person is among the worst oppressors, who will be gathered in coffins of fire, together with their helpers and others like them, and then hurled into the Fire.