The fact is that the affection the Holy Imams (a.s) showed towards the people is such that its equal is not found anywhere. This affection was only for the sake of God(Allah) and neither any show-off nor any personal gain is present in it. Seeing the hardship of every Muslim they felt greatly hurt and tried their best to remove it. Most of the time they themselves had to suffer hardships in this regard but they bore it willingly.
During the course of his caliphate, Amir’ul-Mu’minin (a.s) saw an old and weak woman carrying a load of food grain on her back. She was out of breath due to her weakness. He moved forward at once and took the load on his shoulders and carried it to her house.
When Amir’ul-Mu’minin (a.s) took the control of Islamic government he ordered his sons to prepare a list of all the deprived people, the poor, the destitutes, widow and orphans of Kufa. He also told them to be accurate and not leave out anyone. Thus he dispatched one son to the east another to the west and so on. When the lists were prepared, during the whole tenure of his Caliphate, it was the habit of the Imam(a.s) that he used to carry loaves of bread and dates on his shoulder during the night and distribute them to the needy people.
Once the Imam was down with high temperature. Imam Hasan (a.s) and Imam Hussain (a.s) offered to fulfill his duty. The Imam said, “No, the Almighty Allah has entrusted me with the responsibility of this government. Let me perform my duty.” Thus he went out in the feverish condition also.
Reference:
Akhlaq al-A’imma, Morals & Manners of the Holy Imams , p94
