Once, after becoming the caliph, Imam ‘Ali (as) ascended the pulpit, praised Allah and said to the assembly: “By Allah, as long as I have in my possession (even) one branch of a date-palm, I shall not extend my hand towards your wealth. I am depriving myself of this wealth and am giving it to you.”
At this point ‘Aqil, the brother of Imam (as), stood up. “By Allah! You have placed me on par with that black person from Madinah,” he said.
“Sit down! There is none except you, who could have spoken out in this gathering. You do not possess any kind of superiority over that black person, save for precedence in Islam, piety and reward, and these are issues which bring about superiority in the Hereafter,” Imam ‘Ali (as) cautioned him.( Namunah-e-Ma’arif, Volume 3, Page 171; Al-Wafi, Volume 3, Page 60 )