Sayyed Ibne Tawoos narrates : When the month of Ramazan would commence, Imam Ali Zainul Aabedeen (a.s.) would stop punishing his male and female servants for their faults. But He would note down their names and their faults (which they committed) in a book, instead of punishing them at that very moment. On the last night of the month of Ramazan he (a.s.) would gather all of them. He would then bring the book and tell each of them,
“Do you remember that on such and such day you committed such and such crime, and I had not punished you for it?”
They would accept their mistakes and say, “O son of the Prophet! Verily we have committed these crimes.” Thereby He would make everyone accept their faults. Then he (a.s.) would stand in their midst and tell them all to callout in a loud voice:
“O Ali bin Husain! Your Lord has also noted down your deeds as you have noted down ours. Surely Allah has with Him a book that speaks and in which are recorded all deeds whether big or small. And just as you desire that Allah may forgive your sins, in the same manner you too forgive and overlook ours. O Ali bin Husain! Ponder upon your state in Qiyamat when you will be standing in front of the Almighty, for Allah is just and will not do injustice nor oppress anyone even equal to the size of a mustard seed. Then you too overlook our faults and forgive us so that Allah may forgive you on the day of Qiyamat. For Verily Allah says in the Qur’an:
And they should pardon and turn away. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you.
(Surah-an-Noor: 22).
Thus Imam Abid (a.s.) requested his male and female servants to repeat these words again and again, and they did so. He stood in their midst and wept and asked for Allah’s forgiveness, and say,
“O Allah! You have ordered us to forgive. O Allah we have forgiven all their faults and mistakes, so You too forgive our sins, for You are the Best Forgiver.O Allah You have commanded us not to let go any beggar empty-handed from our doors, so You too do not turn us empty-handed from Your door. O Allah!We have also come to Your door like beggars, and crave for Your Mercy and
Blessings. O Allah! do not disappoint us.”
Imam Zainul Aabedeen (a.s.) uttered these words and then turning towards His servants and say,
“I have forgiven you all. Have you also forgiven my faults that I have committed? For I am an oppressive ruler and am a subject of a Just King.”
Then the servants would reply, “O our Master! We have forgiven you, but You have never ever wronged against us nor oppressed us.” But He (a.s.) would tell them to say,
“O Allah! You forgive Ali bin Husain as He has forgiven us. O Allah save Him from the fire as He has freed us from bondage slavery
Then when the day of Eidul Fitr would pass away, Imam (a.s.) would forgive all the things that His servants owed Him, and would make them independent of others. And every year on the last night of the month of Ramazan, he (a.s ) would free around twenty slaves in the way of Allah and say,
“Verily on each night of the month of Ramazan during the time of the breaking of fast (Iftaar), Allah grants amnesty to seven lac people from hell-fire, each one of whom is worthy of punishment. And on the last night of the month of Ramazan, He grants liberty to the amount of people He freed in the whole month. And I like this that Allah may witness that I have freed the slaves in this world with the hope that He too delivers me from the fire of hell.