عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شِمْرٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) يَقُولُ إِنِّي لَأَلْحَسُ أَصَابِعِي مِنَ الْأُدْمِ حَتَّى أَخَافَ أَنْ يَرَانِي خَادِمِي فَيَرَى أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنَ التَّجَشُّعِ وَ لَيْسَ ذَلِكَ كَذَلِكَإِنَّ قَوْماً أُفْرِغَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ النِّعْمَةُ وَ هُمْ أَهْلُ الثَّرْثَارِ فَعَمَدُوا إِلَى مُخِّ الْحِنْطَةِ فَجَعَلُوهَا خُبْزاً هَجَاءً وَ جَعَلُوا يُنْجُونَ بِهِ صِبْيَانَهُمْ حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ جَبَلٌ عَظِيمٌقَالَ فَمَرَّ بِهِمْ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ وَ إِذَا امْرَأَةٌ وَ هِيَ تَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ بِصَبِيٍّ لَهَا فَقَالَ لَهُمْ وَيْحَكُمْ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لَا تُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِكُمْ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَقَالَتْ لَهُ كَأَنَّكَ تُخَوِّفُنَا بِالْجُوعِ أَمَّا مَا دَامَ ثَرْثَارُنَا تَجْرِي فَإِنَّا لَا نَخَافُ الْجُوعَقَالَ فَأَسِفَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَأَضْعَفَ لَهُمُ الثَّرْثَارَ وَ حَبَسَ عَنْهُمْ قَطْرَ السَّمَاءِ وَ نَبَاتَ الْأَرْضِ قَالَ فَاحْتَاجُوا إِلَى ذَلِكَ الْجَبَلِ وَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُقْسَمُ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْمِيزَانِ .
1. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ‘ Abd Allah ibn al-Mughirah ‘Amr ibn Shamir who has said the following: “I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah , saying, ‘I lick food from my fingers but I fear my servants’ seeing me and their thinking that I am greedy. That is not true. A people upon whom bounties were poured owned a very large canal. They bleached the wheat for bread for food and used it to wipe their children with it until the dumpsite became like a huge mountain. A virtuous man passed by and saw a woman wipe her child with it. He said to them, ‘Fie upon you, have fear of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, and do not change the bounty you enjoy.’ She said, ‘Are you frightening us of hunger? As long as we have our great canal flowing we will not be afraid of hunger.’ It angered Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, and He made their canal to weaken, stopped the sky to rain on them and the earth to grow (anything ). He (the Imam) said, ‘They became needy of that dumpsite and divided it among them by means of balance.’” 