Ali bin Hamza says:
Of the workers of
Bani Umaiya, a young man was my friend. One day he asked me to take him to Imam
al-Sadeq.
I obtained Imam's
permission and took the young man to him.
The young man said,
"May I lay down my life for you! I am a worker of Bani Umaiya and I have
gathered a lot of wealth."
Imam said, "If
not for people like you, Banu Umaiya would not have had the courage to seize
from us our right. If people had not helped them and had left them alone, they would
not have got anything."
The young man said,
"May I lay down my life for you! Is there any salvation for me?"
Imam said, "If
I tell you, will you act on it?"
"Assuredly, I
will."
"Give back to
its rightful owners all the wealth that you amassed through your work for Bani
Umaiya. Anything that you cannot return to the owners, give it in charity. If
you do this, I guarantee you paradise."
The young man bowed
his head. After a while, he lifted his head and said, "May I lay down my
life for you! I will assuredly do this."
The young man
returned with us to Kufa and made good his word. Everything that could be
returned, he returned to the rightful owners, and gave the rest in charity. As
a result, he became so poor and destitute that we had to help him in his
livelihood. A few months passed and the young man took ill. We used to visit
him in his illness. One day, when we visited him, he was near his death. He
opened his eyes and said, "By God! Imam al-Sadiq has kept his promise."
Saying these words he died and we buried him.
After a time, I came
to Imam al-Sadiq. As soon as Imam saw me, he said, "I kept my promise I
had made to the young man."
I said, "May I
lay down my life for you! You speak the truth. By God! This was exactly what
the young man had said at the time of his death." (Bihar al-Anwar)
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