Imam Ali as

The father of the orphans

When I was choosing some narrations to quote here, I came across a narration from a person by the name of Abu Tafil who said, “During his lifetime, Imam Ali (pbuh) attached great importance to orphans, and he used to caress them. He would say, ‘I am the father of the orphans. I must show compassion to them, so that I will have treated them like a father.’” Abu Tafil continues, “Imam Ali (pbuh) had put honey in the mouths of the orphans with his own hands so many times that one of the Muslims of that time said, “I had wished I was an orphan too, so that I would have received the same attention and kindness from the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh).” 
This is how Imam Ali (pbuh) treated the orphans. Therefore, the story, which is famous among the narrators and is perhaps written in some of the books, is not unlikely. The story says that when it was announced Imam Ali (pbuh) needed milk to heal his wound and the poisoning, they saw that many orphaned children had gathered around the house of Imam Ali (pbuh) holding bowls of milk. May Allah’s peace be upon you, O' Commander of the Faithful. Peace be upon you, your soul and your body.

Imam Khamenei, March 27, 1992