AHMED A.S, CHARITY AND GIVING
By: Laila Ali
Asalaam Alaykum wa rahmatullah wa
barakatu,
Somebody asked the Imam (as) about
those who ask for charity but we're not
too sure about where they intend to
spend it or maybe they are imposters,
etc. So he (as) said, "Ali (as) said, 'If
the person asking turned out to be
righteous, then the person asked
would be perished. Treat people by
what they seem to be, and Allah is
the one to reward people or punish
them on Judgement Day.'
And I Swear by Allah, it is easier
for me that it is said about me a
thousand and a thousand times,
that I do not know, and that I am
an ignorant and that I am fooled
by anybody in just a couple of
words from them, this is easier
than meeting Allah on Judgement
Day by doing one of His
worshipers injustice."
Subhanallah, the Justice of the Ahlul
Bayt (as) is something else. Truly, they
are the Mercy of Allah (swt) on Earth.
For Haq is with Ali (as) and Ali (as) is
with Haq.
Once Imam `Ali (as) had four Dirhams.
He divided them into four. He gave
away one dirham for the sake of Allah
by night and one dirham by day. He
gave away the third dirham secretly and
the fourth openly. The following holy
verse was revealed on the same
occasion,
As for those who spend their
property by night and by day,
secretly and openly, they shall have
their reward from their Lord and
they shall have no fear, nor shall
they grieve (2:274)
On the above-mentioned story, ibn
`Abbas, commenting on the following
holy verse, “Men whom neither
merchandise nor selling diverts
from the remembrance of Allah…
without measure (24:37-38)” says:
The occasion of the revelation was that
one day the Holy Prophet gave `Ali
three hundred Dinars, which they had
given to him as gift. `Ali said: I took the
money and said to myself by Allah, I
will give such a charity with these
Dinars that Allah will accept. When I
completed the night prayer with Allah’s
Messenger, I took a hundred Dinars and
left the mosque. On my way, I came
across a woman to whom I gave one
hundred Dinars. The following day,
people said, “`Ali has given charity to
a corrupt woman!” It was a grant
sorrow for me. The night of that day, I
performed the night prayer, took a
hundred Dinars in my hand, left the
mosque and said to myself, “By Allah! I
will give a charity which will be
accepted by my Lord. I saw a man
and gave away the one hundred
Dinars to him.” The following day,
the people of Medina said, “`Ali has
given away a hundred Dinars to a
thief.” Again a great sorrow came to
me but said to myself, “By Allah! I will
give a charity tonight that Allah will
accept from me.”
So, I performed my night prayer with
Allah’s Messenger and then left the
mosque having a hundred Dinars with
me. I saw a man to whom I gave the
money. The next day, the people
Medina said, “Last night, `Ali gave a
hundred Dinars to a rich man.”
Again, a great sorrow came to me. I
went to Allah’s Messenger and told him
the story. The Holy Prophet said: O
`Ali! Gabriel says to you: Allah has
accepted your charity and purified your
acts: The one hundred Dinars you gave
as charity was put at the disposal of a
corrupt woman who repented to Allah
and used the money as earnings for her
living. She also intends to get married
with this money. The charity of the
second night went to a thief who
repented thereafter and used the money
for running business. The charity of the
third night went to a rich man who had
not paid alms for years. He went home
and blamed himself saying, “How
miser I am! This is `Ali ibn AbuTalib