There was a friend of Amir al-Muminin, a good and believing man,
who unfortunately fell into error, and who had to be punished. Imam Ali
cut off the fingers of his right hand. The man took hold of his cut hand,
with the blood dripping from it, with his left hand and went away.
He was then instigated by a seditious Kharijite, who wanted to take advantage of the course of events for his own party and against Imam Ali, so he came up to the man with an utter of compassion and said:
Who cut your hands off?
The Chief of the Prophet’s successors, he said, the leader of the
untainted ones at the Resurrection, the most righteous among the
believers, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Imam of Right Guidance, cut of
the fingers of my right hand ….. the first to reach the Gardens
of Felicity, the hero of the brave, the avenger against the promoters
of ignorance, the giver of zakat …. the leader on the right and the
perfect path, the speaker of what is true and appropriate, the
Champion of Mecca, the steadfast exceller.
Poor you! said the man, he cutt of your hands, and You extol him thus!
Why should I not extol him, replied the companion, now that his
friendship is mixed with my flesh and blood? I swear by God that
he did not cut off my hand except with a right that God has
established.
Such was the love, attraction and the affection of the companion for Ali.
Behar al-Anwar, v40, pp 281-282