Al-Kāfi - Volume 8


Book 1, Chapter 49

The tax collector harasses the imam
1 Ḥadīth

عَنْهُ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُرَازِمٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ خَرَجْنَا مَعَ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) حَيْثُ خَرَجَ مِنْ عِنْدِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الْمَنْصُورِ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ فَخَرَجَ سَاعَةَ أُذِنَ لَهُ وَ انْتَهَى إِلَى السَّالِحِينَ فِي أَوَّلِ اللَّيْلِ فَعَرَضَ لَهُ عَاشِرٌ كَانَ يَكُونُ فِي السَّالِحِينَ فِي أَوَّلِ اللَّيْلِ فَقَالَ لَهُ لَا أَدَعُكَ أَنْ تَجُوزَ فَأَلَحَّ عَلَيْهِ وَ طَلَبَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَبَى إِبَاءً وَ أَنَا وَ مُصَادِفٌ مَعَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ مُصَادِفٌ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ إِنَّمَا هَذَا كَلْبٌ قَدْ آذَاكَ وَ أَخَافُ أَنْ يَرُدَّكَ وَ مَا أَدْرِي مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ أَمْرِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ وَ أَنَا وَ مُرَازِمٌ أَ تَأْذَنُ لَنَا أَنْ نَضْرِبَ عُنُقَهُ ثُمَّ نَطْرَحَهُ فِي النَّهَرِ فَقَالَ كُفَّ يَا مُصَادِفُ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يَطْلُبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى ذَهَبَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ أَكْثَرُهُ فَأَذِنَ لَهُ فَمَضَى فَقَالَ يَا مُرَازِمُ هَذَا خَيْرٌ أَمِ الَّذِي قُلْتُمَاهُ قُلْتُ هَذَا جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ الذُّلِّ الصَّغِيرِ فَيُدْخِلُهُ ذَلِكَ فِي الذُّلِّ الْكَبِيرِ.


49. From him, from Ahmad Bin Muhammad, from Muhammad Bin Murazim, from his father who said: ‘We went out with Abu Abdullah (a.s) when he left from the presence of Abu Ja’far Al-Mansour from Al-Hira. So he left at the time permitted for him and ended up at Al-Saliheen in the beginning of the night. A tax collector presented himself to him who was in Al-Saliheen in the beginning of the night. He said to him, ‘I will not permit you to leave’. So he urged him and requested him, but he refused, rejecting it. And I and Musaddaf were with him. So Musaddaf said to him, ‘May I be sacrificed for you, but this one is a dog. He has troubled you, and I fear that he would make you return, and I do not know what would be the order of Abu Ja’far (Al-Mansour). If you permit us, I and Murazim can strike his neck, then throw him (his body) in the river’. He said: ‘Restrain yourself, O Musaddaf’. So he did not stop requesting him until most of the night had passed, and he permitted him to pass. He said: ‘O Murazim, is this better or that which you had said?’ I said, ‘May I be sacrificed for you, this (is better)’. So he said: ‘The man comes out of the smaller humiliation, but that pushes him enter into the greater humiliation’.