Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
The Generosity of an Abyssinian Slave
Once, Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) passed by an orchard in Madinah Munawwarah whose caretaker was an Abyssinian slave. Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) saw the slave eating some bread while a dog sat in front of him. Every time the slave put a morsel of bread into his mouth, he threw another morsel, as big as the one he was eating, towards the dog.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) stood watching for a while. When the slave had completed eating, he went to him and asked him, “Who is your master?” The slave replied that he belonged to the family of Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) said, “I saw you doing something very strange.” The slave asked him what it was and he replied, “After each morsel of food that you took, you gave another to your dog.”
The slave said, “This dog has been my companion for many years, and I feel it necessary for me to share my food with it.” Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) said, “A dog can be fed something of inferior quality, and this will be sufficient for it.” The slave said, “I feel ashamed to face Allah Ta‘ala, that I should eat while one of His creatures is watching me with a hungry look.”
After this, Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) returned and went to the family of Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and said that he had come to ask them a favour. When they said, “Please let us know what we can do for you! We will definitely fulfil your request!” he replied that he wanted to buy such-and-such orchard.
Hearing this, they spontaneously said, “We have given it to you as a gift! Please accept it from us free-of-charge!” However, Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) declined to accept the gift and said that he wanted to pay for it. At last, a price was fixed, and Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) purchased the orchard.
He then said that he also wanted to purchase the slave who worked in the orchard. They asked to be excused, as the slave had been with them since his childhood and they would be very sad to part with him. But, when Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) insisted, they agreed to let him have the slave as well.
After purchasing the orchard and the slave, Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) went to the orchard and said to the slave, “I have bought this orchard and yourself.” The slave congratulated him and said, “May Allah bless you in this purchase. However, I am very sad at parting from my masters who have brought me up since my childhood.”
Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) then said to him, “I set you free and give this orchard over to you as a gift.” Hearing this, the slave said, “If it is so, I make you a witness that I make this garden over as a private waqf (donation) for the family of Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).”
Hazrat Abdullah bin Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) says, “I was greatly surprised to hear this from him, and after making dua for Allah’s blessings (barakah) upon him, I returned home.” Such were the excellent qualities of the slaves of our Muslim predecessors. (Fazaa’il-e-Sadaqaat [Urdu] pg. 707-708)
