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Page 83 of 104Kosar ghadirestan Center Nabi (S) www.ghadirestan.comIMAM ALI (S) Sunshine of Civilized Islamhumanity and kindness to people. He pointed it out in his letters to his officers. The mostfamous of them was his epistle to the wali of Egypt. He said in his letter: “`Fill up yourheart with affection and kindness towards people. Do not treat them fiercely like thegreedy beasts, which feel satisfied by devouring each other. Be careful not to appropriatewhat belongs to the others. Remember that people are of two kinds; they are either yourbrothers in religion or your brothers in mankind. They are usually subject to mistakes butyou have to forgive their inadvertent slips, if you would like to be forgiven by God. You aretheir chief as I am your chief and God watches both of us. He wants you to manage theiraffairs...” He wrote to the tax collectors: “Deal with people justly and do your bestregarding their needs, because you are treasurers of the people, delegates of thecommunity and the envoys of the Imam. Do not prevent anyone from getting his needs.Try your best to secure the people’s requirements. Do not force them to sell their winteror summer clothes or their cattle in order to pay the taxes. Be careful not to whip anyonefor tax collecting. Do not touch any property of anyone, whether Muslim or non-Muslim,who are under the protection of Islam.” At any rate, he honored people without making adifference between familiars and strangers. Imam Ali (s) was grieved with al his heart forthe poor, because he thought that poverty and destitution would never give people achance to better themselves. He said: “God has not chastened his servants with harderthan poverty.” He, in order to compensate this deficiency, tried to do two things; first toimprove the production in large quantities and then to distribute it justly among thepeople all in all. On the other hand, he thought that a starving man was usually angry thathis income would not be enough to earn his livelihood and he had to struggle to feed hisfamily. Surely, such a man, who struggled against poverty, would not be able to withstanddifficulties and would not show any reaction when his rights were trodden upon.Therefore Imam Ali sent a decree to everywhere saying: “Try the best to develop andimprove the farms. Prepare the agricultural implements for the farmers and be carefulnot to ruin the countryside or the countrymen because development and consistency of astate is due to the unneedy farmers. This duty is to precede all the others.” Althoughownership was allowed for every one in Islam, but there was such a limit that it wouldnever lead to capitalism. It prevented the appearance and growth of capital andcapitalism by prohibiting usury, monopoly, extortion, overcharging prices and using goldand silver dishes. On the other hand it stopped the rising of poverty by taking zakat and.alms from the rich and giving them to the poor and spending them for the commonweal