mam Ali prohibited people from flattering and complementing him
Another characteristic of the political behavior of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) was that he genuinely - not insincerely - asked the people to avoid flattering and sweet-talking him. He asked them to avoid behaving in an insincere way towards him. In the middle of one of the sermons of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) - which was one of his very articulate and astonishing sermons - someone stood up and began to praise and compliment him. He gave the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) plenty of praise because of his sermon and the things which he was saying. When this person finished praising, Hazrat turned to him and advised him - almost as much as this person spoke - to avoid speaking to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) in this way. I am saying this on the basis of Nahjul Balaghah and the selected text of Sayyid Radhi. One of the sentences that he uttered in this sermon was: "Do not speak to me the way you speak to oppressive kings and rulers. Do not evade me as the people of passion are to be evaded". Some people avoid saying certain things to other people so that they do not make them annoyed and displeased. Imam Ali (a.s.) said that they should not show such considerations for him. "Do not meet me with flattery and do not think that I shall take it ill if a true thing is said to me" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 216]. He said that people should not think Ali would be annoyed if they say a true thing to him. It was not the case that he found it hard to accept the truth. This is another characteristic of the political behavior of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).
