Generosity of A'bdullah Ibn Ja'far

A'bdullah Ibn Ja’far, the husband of Hadhrat Zainab (a.s.) was a person whose generosity was unparalleled. Once, as he happened to pass by a palm-plantation, he noticed a slave working there. At that very moment, the slave’s food was brought and handed over to him.  As he was about to start his meal, a hungry dog came before him, wagging its tail.

The slave placed a portion of his food before the dog and the animal immediately ate it up.  The slave put some more food in front of the dog and before long it was eaten too.  This continued till he had given his entire food to the dog.

 A'bdullah, who had been witnessing the incident, asked the slave, “What is your daily ration of food?”

“The amount which you have just witnessed,” the slave answered.

“If that is the case, why then did you give the dog preference over yourself?” enquired A’bdullah.

“This dog had come from afar and was hungry and I did not deem it appropriate to drive him away in that state of hunger.”

“With what will you satiate yourself today?”

“I shall overcome my hunger by patience and steadfastness,” the slave explained.

A'bdullah, observing the slave’s selflessness and altruism, thought to himself that the slave was more generous than himself. By way of commendation and compensation for his altruism, A’bdullah purchased the slave and the plantation from the owner, freed the slave and finally gifted the entire plantation to him.

Mua'wiyah Forcing to Abuse the Companion of the Holy Prophet (saw)

A’di, the son of the well-known Haatim Taai, was one of the sincere and loyal companions of Amirul Mu'mineen (a.s.).  From the year 10 A.H. when he accepted Islam, A’di had always remained in the service of the Imam (a.s.), and had fought alongside him in the battles of Jamal, Siffeen and Nahrawaan.  In the battle of Jamal he sustained an injury to one of his eyes as a result of which he lost his vision.

Once he came to Mua'wiyah for some purpose. Mua’wiyah asked him why he had not brought his sons with him.

“They were killed while fighting alongside Amirul Mu'mineen (a.s.),” he replied.

“Ali has not been just to you, for he sent your sons to be killed while he has kept his own sons alive!” said Mua’wiyah.

A’di retorted, “(On the contrary) I have not done justice to Ali for he has been killed, whereas I am still alive.  O’ Mua'wiyah! Our rage towards you still smoulders in our hearts.  Do know that (the pain of) having our throats slit or the agony of death is easier for us to bear than hearing bad comments about Ali (a.s.).”

Free Person or a Slave

Once, Imam Kadhim (a.s.) was passing by the house of Bishr Haafi, when he heard the sound of dance and music coming from inside.

At that very moment a slave-girl came out of the house to throw some garbage.

“Is the owner of this house a free person or a slave?” the Imam (a.s.) asked her.

The slave-girl replied, “He is a free man.”

Hearing this, the Imam (a.s.) remarked, “You speak the truth, for had he been a slave, he would have feared his Master.” 

When the slave-girl came back inside the house, Bishr, who had been consuming wine, asked her what took her so long. As soon as the slave-girl related what had happened, Bishr immediately got up and ran bare-footed after the Imam (a.s.).  Once he had caught up with the Imam, he expressed shame and repentance over his acts, sought forgiveness and amended his wrongful ways.

Buhlool Refuses to Accept the Seat of Justice

Haroon Al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph, wished to appoint a judge in Baghdad.  After conferring with his courtiers, it was unanimously agreed that none, except Buhlool, possessed the right qualities for the post.

Buhlool was summoned and the post was offered to him. But Haroon declined to accept, saying that he was neither worthy of the post nor capable of undertaking the task. 

Haroon said, “All the inhabitants of Baghdad are of the opinion that none except you, is worthy of the post and you deny it!”

Buhlool explained:

“I am more aware of myself than any of you. Whatever I have stated is either true or false. If the reason I have given is true, then it would be improper of me to assume the office of judge when I am not capable. On the other hand, if I have lied to you, then a liar does not deserve to take this post.”

But Haroon insisted that Buhlool took up the responsibility. Buhlool requested that he be granted one night to reflect over the offer.  The next morning, Buhlool feigned insanity and placing a staff between his legs ran through the streets and markets of Baghdad, screaming:

“Make room for my horse and keep away lest it kicks you.”

As soon as the people noticed his antics, they commented that Buhlool had gone insane. When Haroon Al-Rashid was informed of this, he said:

“Buhlool has not become insane; rather he has saved his religion and has escaped our clutches.  He has enacted this in order to prevent himself from interfering in the affairs and the rights of the people.”

I Cannot Pray for Them

Imam Mohammed Baqir (a.s.) narrates:
There was an old man from Bani Israel, who had two daughters. One of them was married to a farmer, while the other to a pottery-maker.  Once he decided to pay them a visit. 

He first visited the daughter who was the wife of the farmer and reaching her house, he inquired about her health.  

The daughter said: “Dear father, my husband has cultivated a large area of land and if it were to rain, we would be the most prosperous of the entire Bani Israel.”

Then, proceeding towards the house of the other daughter, whose husband was a potter, he inquired about her health.

The daughter said,  “Dear father, my husband has moulded pots in great quantity and if God were to withhold the rains till his pots dry up, we would be better off than the entire Bani Israel.”

As he departed from the house of his second daughter, he prayed:

“O’ God!  Act as You deem fit for, in this situation, I cannot pray for either of them.”

Lower Your Gaze

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.) says:

"A young man from the Ansar met a woman is Madina. At that time, women used to wear a veil, so he looked at her while she was coming toward him. Men she passed by he continued looking after her until he entered one of the alleys. He continued looking as he passed along the alley until a bone on a wall slashed his face and the woman passed out of sight. Then, unexpectedly, he saw blood flowing over his clothes and chest. He said, 'I must go and inform the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) about the incident.' When the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) saw him in this condition he said, 'What happened?' When he informed the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) about the event in details, the angel Gabriel (a.s.) came down with this verse:

'Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Truly Allah is Cognizan of what they do.' Holy Qur'an (24:30).[28]