THE NEW CONVERT

Two neighbors,

a Muslim and a Christian, were on friendly terms. Having concern for one
another they used to enquire after each other's health, and exchanged views
from time to time. The Muslim being a devout and religious man spoke high of
his religion and the result was that the Christian friend embraced Islam.

The night
passed and it was nearing dawn. The Christian, a new convert, heard somebody
ramming his door. Surprised and restless he shouted:

"Who is
it?"

From the back
came a loud voice, "I am so and so", introducing himself.
He was the Muslim neighbor who had the honor of converting him to Islam.

"What do
you want at this late hour?"

"Be
quick, put on your clothes and perform ablution, so that we should go to the
Mosque together".

The new Muslim
performed ablution (Wazu) for the first time in his
life and set out to Mosque behind his Muslim friend, They
had arrived before time. It was the time for the Recommended
(not obligatory) prayer after mid-night. They prayed till dawn - the time came
for the Morning Prayer. They prayed the Morning Prayer and were engaged in
benedictions and invocations till it became perfectly clear. When the new
Muslim made a move towards the door, his friend interrupted:

"Where
are you going?"

"I am
going home, Since I have finished my Morning Prayer,
there is nothing else to do now."

"Wait a
while and recite the benedictions till the sun rises."

"Very well."

He sat and
recited the same till the sun rose. When he rose up to go, his friend placed
the Qur'an in his hand saying, "Read it till the
sun rises a little high. And I advise you to fast
today. Don't you know how much virtues and rewards there are in fasting?"
The new Muslim did as he was told, and sat reciting the Qur'an
till it was nearing noon. The Muslim neighbor
said: "Now it is almost noon; better we perform the
noon-prayer in the Mosque." So, the Zohr (noon) prayer was prayed. Then he said again: "After just
a short time, the Asr
(after-noon) prayer will be prayed. We should perform that also at the proper
time". That prayer was also performed. Then he said, "It is almost
evening now" and detained the new convert till it was time for Maghrib (evening) prayer. When he rose up to break his
fast, the neighbor said, "there is one more
prayer remaining. It is named "Esha" or the
sleeping-time prayer." So they waited nearly one hour for the proper time
of this prayer. After that the new Muslim got up and went away.

Next day at
the same hour of night he again heard knockings at the door.

"Who is
there?"

"I am so
and so.... your neighbor. Be quick, put on your clothes and perform ablution to
go to the Mosque together".

"As soon
as I returned from the Mosque last night, I resigned from your religion. Please
go away and find some other idle man who has nothing to do in this world, so
that he may be able to spend his whole time in the mosque. I am a poor man
having wife and children to feed. I should better go after my work to earn my
livelihood."

Imam Jaafer Sadiq relating the story
to his friends and companions, said: "In this manner a devoted man after
converting a new Muslim, had himself kicked him out of Islam. You must bear
this fact in mind and should not trouble the people unnecessarily. You should
judge their strength and capacity and act accordingly, so that they develop
affinity for the religion and do not run away from it. Don't you know that the
policy of Ummayyads is based on violence, oppression
and intimidation whereas our ways and methods are based on leniency,
brotherhood and persuasion."

IBNE SAYYABA

Ibne Sayyaba, a resident of Kufa, was a young man whose father had died. The tragedy of
the death of his father, coupled with poverty and unemployment, was destroying
the soul of the sensitive man. One day while sitting in his house, he heard a
knock at the door. He was a friend of his father. After offering his
condolences, he said:

"Did your
father leave anything for you?"

"No"

"Then
take this thousand Dirham; try to turn it into a
capital, and meet your expense from its profit".

Saying these
words he went away. Ibne Sayyaba,
happy as he was, went to his mother and showing the
money told her the story. The same day, he used the money in purchasing some
merchandise and opening a shop; and set his heart to it. He made a rapid
progress. Soon after he realised that not only he had
met his household expenses from the profit, but also the capital had increased
to a great extent. Now he thought of performing pilgrimage, and approached his
mother for her advice. She said, "First you should repay the thousand Dirham which has brought such prosperity to us,
and then you may go to Makkah."

He went to see
the friend of his father, and placing a purse of one thousand
Dirham before him, said, "Please accept your money back." The
man thought that Ibne Sayyaba
was returning the same money because it was not sufficient for any trade. So he
said:

"If the
amount is insufficient I can increase it."

"Good
God, it was not insufficient. It has brought great prosperity to us and since I
am now quite well off financially, I have come to repay your money, and to
express my thanks to you, particularly when I have decided to go on pilgrimage.

He came to his
home and packed his luggage for Makkah.

After
performance of the holy Hajj, he came to Medina and went to see Imam Sadique (a.s.)
along with other pilgrims. There was a huge crowd in the house of the Imam (a.s.). Being young he chose to sit at the far end of the
gathering, and from there watched the people coming and going; and heard their
questions and the answers given by the Imam. When the house became nearly
empty, the Imam (a.s.)
pointed to him and said:

"What can
I do for you?"

"I am Abdur Rehman, son of Sayyaba, of Kufa (from the tribe
of Bijilly)."

"How is
your father?"

"He
died"

"Ah! Ah!
May God have His mercy upon him. Did he leave anything
for you?"

"No, he
didn't"

"Then how
could you perform pilgrimage?"

"After
the death of my father we were in distress. On one side his death and on the
other side poverty and unemployment, were crushing us extremely. Then one day a
friend of my father gave me one thousand Dirham and
advised me to invest the amount in business. I followed his advice and from its
profit I came to perform pilgrimage".

Before he
could finish his story, the Imam (a.s.)
said, "Tell me what did you do about the money of your father's
friend?"

I refunded the
amount on the advice of my mother before coming out for Hajj".

"Very good. Do you like me to give you an advice?"

"May I be
your ransom; of course"

"Be
truthful and righteous. A truthful and righteous man is a partner in the wealth
of others".

IN THE LAND OF MINA

The pilgrims
had assembled in Mina. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) and his companions sitting
in a place were eating some grapes placed before them.

A beggar
appeared and asked for alms. The Imam took some grapes to give him, but he
refused to accept it and asked for money. Imam told him to excuse him as he did
not have money. The beggar went away disappointed.

After going a
few steps he had second thoughts came back and asked for the same grapes. The
Imam now refused to give him those grapes too.

Soon after,
another beggar appeared. The Imam again took some grapes and gave to him. He
accepted it and said, "Thanks to the Lord of universe who gave me my
sustenance". On hearing these words, the Imam told him to wait and gave
him two handfuls of grapes.

The beggar
thanked God for the second time.

The Imam again
told him to wait and then turning to one of his friends and asked, "How
much money is with you?" The man searched his pockets and produced nearly
twenty Dirham which he gave to the beggar at he order of the Imam.

The beggar
thanking God for the third time said, "Thanks are exclusive to God. O God!
Thou art the Bestower of the good, and thou hast no
companion." On hearing these words, the Imam took off his garment and gave
it to the beggar.

Now, the
beggar changed his tone and spoke a few words of thanks to the Imam himself.
Then the Imam did not give anything and he went away.

His friends
and companions who were present there said, "We thought that had the
beggar continued thanking God in he same manner as
before, the Imam would have continued giving him more and more. But when he
changed his words and praised and thanked the Imam himself, the Imam did not
continue his assistance."

THE BLACK
MARKET

The dependants
of Imam Ja'afer Sadique (a.s.) had increased in number; so
had his expenses. The Imam decided to invest some money in trade to meet the
increased expenses of the house. He arranged for an amount of thousand Dinars, which he gave to his slave named 'Musadif' directing him to proceed to Egypt and to invest the
amount in business on behalf of Imam.

Musadif purchased some goods usually exported to Egypt, and joined a Caravan
of traders, who were taking the same type of merchandise to Egypt.

When they
reached near Egypt, they met another
Caravan coming out of the City. They enquired about each other's affairs.
During the course of conversation, they learnt that the goods, which Musadif and his friends were carrying, were not available
in Egypt and were in great demand
there. They became very happy at their good fortune. Indeed that was an article
of common uses and people had to buy it at all costs.

The traders on
hearing the good news decided to exploit the situation. They agreed together
not to sell the goods at less than hundred percent profit.

They entered
the city. The situation was same, as they had been told. As previously agreed,
they created a black market, and did not sell the goods at less than double the
cost.

Musadif returned to Medina with a net profit of
one thousand Dinars. Happy as he was he went to Imam Sadique, and placed before him two bags, each containing
one thousand Dinars. The Imam asked:

"What is
this?"

"One of
the two bags represents the capital you gave me, and the other one (which is
equal to the capital) is the profit I have made."

"Certainly
the profit is unexpectedly high. Tell me how could you make so much
profit?" "The fact is when we learnt near Egypt that the merchandise
we were carrying had become scarce there, we agreed not to sell the goods at
less than double the cost; and we did accordingly." "Glory be to God! You did such a work! You took oath to create a
black market among the Muslims! You swore not to sell the goods at less than
double the actual cost! No I don't want such business and such profit."

Then picking
up one of the bags, he said, "This is my capital." He did not even
touch the other one, and said that he did not want to have any connection with
that.

Then he said:

"O Musadif! It is easier to fight with a sword than to earn
the livelihood lawfully."