The Man Who Sold His House In Order To Get His Religious...

The Man Who Sold His House In Order To Get His Religious Writings To Be Printed Marhum Ayatullah al-Sheikh Jawad al-Balaghi an-Najafi is known for his publications in which he has debated with Atheists, Jews and Protestants. Despite all these talents in the field of knowledge he lived in extreme poverty. His house in Najaf showed signs of his poverty.

It is indeed astonishing to know that when he wanted his educational work to be published, he found himself in no position to do so due to his abject poverty, and despite this he sold his house and got his desire. Wasn’t it possible for the Sheikh to lead a life of comfort? Of course, but he gave preference to the world Hereafter which is eternal. Never Discontinue A Charitable Act!

Shahid Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib, may Allah’s mercy be on him, relates that a great and pious man told him the following event. A relative of this pious man had bought a property on which he had built a house. After the death of this relative, the pious man saw him in his dream one night. The relative was blind, and when he was asked the cause of his blindness he related to the pious man the reason for his bad state.

He related that when he had bought the land, there was a well in it by means of which the villagers in the surrounding villages benefited. However the relative ordered for the well to be closed. The villagers faced the constraint of going through long distances to get their supply of water. The result of this act was blindness in the life hereafter. The pious man asked his relative in the dream whether he could do anything for him to relieve him of this bad state.

The man replied in the affirmative, and suggested that his heirs should endeavour to open that well for the villagers’ benefit. The pious man stood up to carry out this act, and after some time he dreamt that his relative had got back his sight and was thanking him for the help given to him[^6]. The dress was sold but the Masjid remains! It has been related that during the Abbasid regime one of the cruel rulers used to charge high taxes to the people.

The people of Balkh in Afghanistan were subjected to cruelty when they refused to pay taxes to the rulers. When the situation for the people of Balkh became intolerable they went to the wife of the representative of the ruler in Balkh who they knew to be a merciful and considerate lady.