Islam Guidance

Ali's views on charity

Ali was always extremely poor, yet he was as renowned for his charity as he was for his piety. Because he never owned any money or goods of his own, he had to be exempted from the Zakat, the obligatory alms tax levied on every male and female Muslim of means, but whenever his share of the "Ghanima" (booty) or "Fay" came into his hands, he immediately distributed it amongst the poor and destitute, giving not a proportion of it but. all till nothing remained for himself or his family. His deeds of charity were on the lips of every one.

`A beggar once received a ring while Ali lay prostrate on his prayer-mat.' There are confirmed traditions that the angel Gabriel appeared to the Holy Prophet at that time and revealed the following verse of the Quran :--

"Your friend is only Allah and His Messenger and the Believers who observe prayers and charity. even in prostration when worshipping God alone." (5 : 551).

Another story relates how somebody presented 300 gold coins to the Holy Prophet who made a present of them to Ali. Ali immediately decided to give them away in three installments of 100, pieces. On his way home, after finishing his night prayers, he saw a harlot, to whom he gave the first one hundred coins. Early next morning the whole town was gossiping about Ali's misplaced charity and how he had squandered money on a woman of ill repute. Returning home the next night, after prayers he met a man, who was to all intents and purposes a thief, yet he gave him the money. Again the people started to gossip, saying that this time All had given the money to a worthless and good-for-nothing person. On the third night he met a rich man to whom he gave the remainder of the money. At this the people again murmured against Ali saying that lie had wasted the money on a worthless miser. Now no money was left and Ali repaired to the Holy Prophet, to whom he related what had transpired. The Holy Prophet told Ali that the angel Gabriel had visited him and informed him that God had accepted Ali's charity on all the three occasions. The harlot after getting the money had given up prostitution and had resolved to lead a chaste life; the thief after getting the money had resolved to give up larceny and had entered into honest business, and the-rich man had been so ashamed 1t receiving alms from someone as poor as Ali that he had decided to cease hoarding wealth and give all he possessed to the poor.

That Ali's charity had proved acceptable to the Almighty God was also revealed in the following Quranic Verse :

"Men, whom neither merchandise nor business diverts from the remembrance of Allah and the observance of the prayers and the giving of alms. They fear a day in which hearts and eyes will be agitated." (24:37)

On another occasion as related by Tabrani, Wahidi in Tafseer-e-Kashaf page 286 and Suyuti in Dur-e-Mansoor Vol. I page 363, Ali had Dirhams (about rupees two and fifty paise), with a view to spending it in a manner most agreeable to God, he gave one Dirham in charity at night in a hidden manner and one Dirham in the night openly and one Dirham in the daytime hiddenly and one Dirham openly. According to the same authority, God praised Ali in verse 274 of Sura Baqarah approving all the four manners of his charity.

Not only did Ali practice charity himself but he preached it to others. A great many of his sermons stress the importance of alms giving. In one of these he said, "Of the various meritorious acts of a Believer, one of the most acceptable is "Zakat". It behoves every one to give charity because from amongst the acts of worship this is the one most pleasing to God." In another set mon he emphasised that God had sent men in this world only to test them. When a man dies his relatives ask how much wealth .he has left, while the angels look to see how much he had given in charity, in the path of God. 'O thou people! Send a part of your wealth in the way of God so that it may stand you in good stead in the next world. Do not leave your entire wealth here so as to be a source of annoyance to you (in the world to come)."

Whenever Ali learned that someone was hungry or thirsty, without clothes or in debt, he would provide food, water, clothes and money for him. He would go to the houses of the sick, nurse them and give them money and medicines. Although Ali's shirts, wearing apparel and shoes were full of patches, yet he felt the greatest pleasure in providing others with clothes. Whenever Ali used to visit the bazars of Kufa, he would help the travellers, the aged and the infirm. He was particularly kind to the elderly who could not support themselves and the widows who were left destitute.

Ali the Magnificent

Compiled Author: Yousef N. Lalljee.

Taken from: imamalinet.net

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