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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 oil 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." (5:55)
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 or 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 Ali 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 he 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
at 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. 1 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 Surah Baqar 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 behooves every one to give charity
because from amongst the acts of worship this is the one most
pleasing to God." In another sermon he emphasized 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 travelers, the aged and the infirm. He was
particularly kind to the elderly who could not support themselves
and the widows who were left destitute.
Once Ali saw a woman who was
carrying on her shoulders a water skin which was too heavy a load
for her feeble body. Ali took the load on to his own shoulder and
accompanied her to her house. She had a number of children who
awaited her arrival anxiously. In the course of talks, Ali came to
know that her husband was a Kharijite who had fallen in a battle
fighting against him (Ali). The widow tended the destitute
children and earned her living by doing odd jobs and working for
others. The next day Ali again repaired to the hut of the widow
with a basketful of eatables. On his way towards her house, Ali
met a number of people who wanted to carry the basket for him but
the Caliph refused to take any one's help saying, "You will share
my burden today but who will be there to share it on the Day of
Judgment." Thus carrying the basket on his shoulders the Caliph
reached the widow's house, knocked at her door and put the
provisions before her. The poor woman was overjoyed and in great
excitement said, "May God blesses you. Let the Almighty decide
between me and Ali". At this Ali said,
"Either let me bake you some
bread with this flour that I have brought you or you bake it and I
will play with your children and try to cheer them up." The woman
replied, "I will do the baking if you will light the oven for me."
Ali, who had been distributing dates to the children immediately,
apologized for his discourtesy in not having offered to light the
fire. When it flamed up and he felt the heat of the oven scorching
his face, he said, "Taste the heat of this fire; imagine what
punishment awaits one who has neglected the widows and orphans."
In the meantime the next door neighbor had come in and had
recognized Ali as the Caliph. "Cursed be thou", she said,
reprimanding the widow, "How dare you talk so insolently to the
Commander of the Faithful?" The widow in great shame fell
prostrate to the ground, begging forgiveness, but Ali said, "It is
Ali who must feel ashamed at having neglected you."
