Ahl
al-Bayt's (A.S.) Altruism
And they feed, for the
love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive - (saying), we
feed you for the sake of Allah alone: No reward do we desire from you,
nor thanks (76:8.9)
But give them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their
(own lot) - they are the ones that achieve prosperity. (59:9)
Ibn Abbas: Al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husayn (A.S.) fell sick and the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.) accompanied by several others went to visit them.
Addressing Ali (A.S.) they said: O Abul-Hasan You had better make a vow
for your sons.
Ali (A.S.), Fatima (A.S.). and Fidda - their woman retainer - had vowed
to fast for three days if al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husayn (A.S.) would
have recovered. They did recover, whereas the family was out of
sustenance. Ali (A.S.) borrowed three Sa [Each Sa weighs about 1.6kg.]
of barley from the Jewish Sham'un al-Khaybari, and Fatima (A.S.) ground
one third of it and baked five loaves of bread to the number of the
family. They placed the bread before them to break their fast. At this
moment a beggar came to the door and said: Greetings to you Ahl al-Bayt
of the Prophet, I am a Muslim needy; give me some food so that Allah
gives you of the foods in Paradise. They gave him preference over
themselves, [gave him their own food] and spent the night only drinking
water and kept fasting through the next day. Then as the evening call to
prayer was heard, they placed the bread before them to break their fast,
at this time an orphan appeared at the door, and they gave him
preference over themselves; the third day too a captive came to them and
made the same demand they gave their bread to him.
In the following morning, Ali (A.S.) took the hands of a-Hasan (A.S.)
and al-Husayn (A.S.) and went to the Messenger of Allah (A.S.). When the
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) saw them shivering with hunger like little birds,
the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: How distressful is to me what I see in you!
His Holiness (S.A.W.) set out with them back to Fatima (A.S.) whom he
found in her prayer niche emaciated of hunger, with her eyes being
sunken. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) became distressed to see this. At this
time Jibra'il descended and said: O Muhammad! Take the surah of Insan
(man), Allah felicitates you for such a household. Then he read the
surah of Insan to him.
Abu Hurayra: A man came to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and complained of
hunger. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) sent someone to his spouses [for
food], and they all said nothing but water was found in the house. The
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) called out: Who will host this man tonight? Ali
ibn Abi Talib (A.S.) replied I, O Rasul Allah! Then he went to Fatima
(A.S.) and asked: O daughter of Rasul Allah! What is there in the house?
She replied: Nothing except the children's food and we will give it to
our guest.
Ali (A.S.) said: O daughter of Muhammad (S.A.W.) put the children to
sleep and put out the lamp. When the morning came, Ali (A.S.) went to
the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and informed him of the event, shortly after
which the following verse was revealed.
But gave them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their
(own lot) they are the ones that achieve prosperity (59:9).
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha'labi the interpreter: I read in a
book that when the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) decided to emigrate, he
appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.) as his successor in Makkah to pay
back his Holiness' (S.A.W.) debts and return the deposits trusted with
him to their owners. The night when the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) went to
the cave-his house being besieged-he ordered Ali(A.S.) to lie in his bed
telling him: Cover yourself with my Hadrami Burd (striped cloth) so that
- if Allah wills-no harm befalls you. Ali (A.S.) did so. Allah revealed
to Jibra'il and Mika'il that He had established brotherhood between them
and made the life of one longer than the other, and then which one would
choose life for his brother? Both selected life. Allah Revealed to them:
Are you not like Ali ibn Abi Taib?! I established brotherhood between
him and My Messenger, Muhammad (S.A.W.), and Ali (A.S.) lay in
Muhammad's bed and sacrificed himself for him and gave preference over
his life. Now descend to the earth and protect him from his enemies;
they obeyed, coming down with Jibra'il standing by his head of his
Holiness Ali (A.S.) and Mikai'l at his feet. Jibra'il called out:
Blessed are you! O Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.)! Who is like you in whom
Allah, the Almighty, takes a pride over His angels?! When the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.) was on his way to Madinah, Allah, The Almighty revealed
the following verse to him concerning Ali (A.S.): And there is the type
of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah; And Allah is
full of kindness to (His) devotees (2:207)
Source:
Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith
By Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri
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