Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) once set off for a battle when he noticed that some of his armour was missing. After the battle was over, he returned to Kufah.
One day, he happened to see a Jew in possession of the same armour that he had lost! He immediately confronted the Jew saying, “The armour is mine! Neither did I sell it, nor did I give it away!” The Jew, however, denied this claim and said, “The armour belongs to me, and furthermore, it is in my possession.”
On hearing his denial, Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) suggested that they go to the qaadhi (judge). The Jew agreed and they were soon in the presence of Qaadhi Shuraih (rahimahullah).
Qaadhi Shuraih (rahimahullah) asked Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to present his case first to which he stated, “This armour, which is in the hands of the Jew, belongs to me. Neither did I sell it, nor did I give it away.”
Qaadhi Shuraih (rahimahullah) then turned to the Jew and asked him, “What do you have to say, O Jew?” The Jew again denied the claim saying, “The armour is mine, and furthermore, it is in my possession.”
Qaadi Shuraih (rahimahullah) thereafter turned to Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and enquired, “Do you have any proof, O Ameerul Mu-mineen?” Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “Yes! Qumbur (my slave) and Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) will testify that the armour is mine.”
Qaadhi Shuraih (rahimahullah) rejected this evidence saying, “The testimony of a son is not accepted when in favour of the father (referring to the testimony of Sayyiduna Hasan [radhiyallahu ‘anhu]).”
When the Jew heard the decision of Qaadhi Shuraih (rahimahullah) in his favour, he immediately exclaimed, “The Leader of the Muslims took me to his own judge and his own judge passed judgement against him in my favour? This, really, is truth!” The Jew then recited the shahaadah and accepted Islam.
(Taareekhul Khulafaa pg. 184)
Lessons:
1. The Jew was so impressed at the justice of Islam that he instantly renounced Judaism and accepted Islam. If we, once again, live our lives according to the principles of Islam, we will become beacons of guidance and attract disbelievers around the world to Islam through our sublime character.
2. We, as Muslims, are all representatives of Islam. Unfortunately, when our behaviour is incorrect, we not only give the world at large a negative impression of Islam but we also give them the opportunity to mock and ridicule Islam due to our wrong actions.
3. Justice and fair treatment need to be exercised in every aspect of our lives. If we have workers, justice demands that we don’t detain them for even a single minute overtime, that we are timeous in paying them, that we don’t accuse them of stealing, etc. without having proof to substantiate our accusation, and that we don’t extract work from them which is more than they can manage. Let us all ask ourselves, “Have I, through my conduct, attracted my workers to Islam or have I distanced them from Islam?”