On the third day...

On the third day, a war-captive came to their house at sunset, asking for food and said: ‘Peace be upon you, O’ family of Muhammad! I am a war-captive from among the Muslim community. Please give me some food – may Allah bless you with food from Paradise!’ All the members of the noble family once again gave away all of the food which they had to the captive. On the morning of the fourth day, Imam Ali took Hasan and Husain by the hand and went to see the Prophet.

When the Prophet saw them and their conditions as they were trembling due to their intense hunger! He immediately said to them: ‘It is very troubling for me to see you in such a state!’ The Prophet got up and accompanied them to the house of Fatimah and saw her standing in the prayer niche. She too was suffering the pangs of hunger which were evident from her frail body and the heavy inset of her eyes. Witnessing this heart-breaking sight, the Prophet became extremely grieved.

Immediately at this point, a revelation was brought by the Angel Gabriel whereby Allah acknowledged and appreciated the unique sacrifice of the pure Prophet’s Household and the Messenger of Allah then recited the verses which were revealed to him: Indeed, the pious will drink from a cup seasoned with Kafur, a spring where Allah’s servants will drink, making it gush forth as they please. They fulfil their vows and fear a day whose ill will be widespread.

For the love of Him, they feed the needy, the orphan and the prisoner, [saying,] ‘We feed you only for the sake of Allah. We desire no reward from you, nor thanks. Indeed, we fear a frowning and fateful day from our Lord.’ So, Allah saved them from that day’s ills and graced them with freshness [on their faces] and joy [in their hearts].

(Qur’an 76: 5-11) Based on the reason for the revelation of these verses, the true and perfect manifestation of these verses is Imam Ali, Lady Fatimah Zahra and their two sons, Hasan and Husain who fulfilled the oath that they had made by fasting for three consecutive days, while breaking their fast with a mere glass of water! It was through this act that their hearts became filled with the awe of Allah and anxiety over the Day of Judgment.

It rather takes self-sacrifice to perform this action when one himself is in a state of desperate need.