Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
On one occasion, a person came to Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asked him for help. Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to him, “By asking me a favour, you have now made it my duty to help you. It is now compulsory upon me to give you enough money that will fulfil your need.
“However, at this moment, my financial position does not allow me to give you as much as I should be giving you. Whatever amount a man spends for the cause of Allah Ta‘ala, it will still be regarded as less (compared to the favour of Allah Ta‘ala upon him), but what can I do? I do not possess enough wealth to give you as a sign of my gratitude to you for letting me know about your need. Now, if you are willing to accept as much as I can afford to give you, without burdening me with the responsibility to acquire more money to give you according to your position, then I will be glad to give you whatever I presently own. In this way, I will be able to fulfil your right which is binding upon me.”
The man replied, “O son of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! I will gladly accept whatever you give me. I will be grateful to you for it, and I will excuse you for not giving me more than the amount you can manage to give me.”
Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then said to his treasurer, “Bring whatever is left from the three hundred thousand dirhams (which were kept by you for safekeeping).” The treasurer brought fifty thousand dirhams (as the rest had already been spent in helping others).
Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then said, “Where are the five hundred dinaars (gold-pieces) which I had kept by you?” The servant said that he still had them, to which Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) instructed him to bring them to him as well. Once all the money had been gathered, Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to the man, “Bring some porters to take the wealth to your home.”
The man brought two porters, and Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) gave him all the money. Furthermore, as the man was leaving, Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) took off his shawl and gave it to him, saying, “It is also my duty to pay the wages of the porters for carrying the money to your house. Sell this shawl and give the money to them as wages.”
Thereafter, the slaves of Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to him, “There is not even one dirham left for us to buy our food. You have given away all your money.” Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) responded, “I have strong hope in Allah Ta‘ala, that out of His sheer grace, He will grant me a great reward for this act of kindness that I had shown the person.”
Just imagine! Hazrat Hasan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had given the person all the money which he possessed, to the extent that he had nothing left, and even though it was such a large amount – he still felt sadness and remorse in his heart, as he felt that he had not fulfilled the man’s right according to his position!
(Fazaa’il-e-Sadqaat [English] pg. 634-635, [Urdu] pg. 696-698)
