Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
It is reported that once, a beggar came to Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asked for something. Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) turned to one of his two sons, either Hazrat Hasan or Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), and said to him, “Go to your mother and tell her that I said, ‘I had kept six dirhams by you, so give me one dirham from the six (so that I may give it to the beggar).’”
The son went to his mother, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), and thereafter returned with the following message. He said to his father, “My mother mentioned that you had kept the six dirhams by her for purchasing flour.” Hearing this, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “A servant’s imaan will not be true and perfect until he has more reliance on that which is in the hand of Allah Ta‘ala compared to what a servant possesses (i.e. a servant should place his reliance upon Allah Ta‘ala and His promises that by spending in charity, he will be blessed with barakah for the good deed and he should not hold back his wealth out of fear of poverty).”
Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then said to his son, “Go to your mother, and tell her to give me all the six dirhams (so that I may give it to the beggar).” He thus went to his mother and then returned with the six dirhams which Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) handed over to the beggar.
Not long thereafter, a man passed by Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) with a camel which he was selling. Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked him, “How much are you selling the camel for?” The man replied, “I am selling it for one hundred and forty dirhams.” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then purchased the camel from him. After purchasing the camel, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “Tie the camel here, and we will pay you later.” The man thus tied the camel and departed.
Thereafter, another man passed by, and on seeing the camel, he asked, “Who does this camel belong to?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “It belongs to me.” The man asked, “Are you selling it?” When Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied that he was selling it, the man asked, “How much are you selling it for?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) responded, “I am selling it for two hundred dirhams.” The man was satisfied with the price and thus accepted the offer and concluded the sale saying, “I have bought it from you.” He then handed the two hundred dirhams to Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), took his camel and departed.
Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then went to the man who had sold him the camel and paid him the one hundred and forty dirhams which he owed him. Thereafter, he returned home to his respected wife, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), with the sixty dirhams that he had made as profit (and gave it to her).
When Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) saw the sixty dirhams, she asked him, “What is this? Where did this money come from?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “This is what Allah Ta‘ala has promised us, through the following words revealed upon the blessed tongue of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).”
Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then recited the following verse of the Qur’aan Majeed:
مَنۡ جَآءَ بِالۡحَسَنَۃِ فَلَہٗ عَشۡرُ اَمۡثَالِہَا
The one who brings a good deed, he will receive ten times the reward (for the deed he had done) (Surah An’aam v. 160)
In other words, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) explained to Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) that when he spent six dirhams in sadaqah, Allah Ta‘ala blessed him with a reward ten times more then what he had spent, and hence he now had sixty dirhams in place of the six dirhams which he gave to the beggar.
(Hayaat-us-Sahaabah 2/191)
