Sheikh Ahmed Mujtahidi says that there was a time when many...

Sheikh Ahmed Mujtahidi says that there was a time when many grape gardens in a village in Shahriyaar in Iran were afflicted with disease, which caused extensive damage to the fruit. There was a man who owned a garden in the same village who on hearing the news was sure that his garden was in a good state.

When the man was asked how he could be so sure about this, he answered that he always gave the Zakaat (Islamic Tax) on the property and also gave out a lot of charity, and this was a guarantee for his property to be safe from disasters. When people who had heard this went to investigate his gardens in Shariyaar, they found it to be the only garden which had not been affected with the disease. [^3] Charity removes illness!

The author of the book Najafiyat, Sheikh Ali Dakheel relates that Al Haj Abdul Husayn Abu Reeha related to him that Al Haj Rasheed Roomaani who was a Syrian businessman once became extremely sick. His family had surrounded him with despair, crying for him. The sick man asked his family whether they wished him to be well. They admitted eagerly that that was their hearts desire. Well he asked them to give all the food and grains stored in the house as charity.

Shortly after he recovered and is said to have lived up to the age of 130 years. Indeed the Holy (S) says: “ Cure your sickness with charity” . [^4] The ship drowned …! A man known as Al-Hajj Salim Tarih who died in Iraq in 1293 A.H. was a famous ship merchant who traded with other countries. He once asked his trade partner to contribute some money to give as charity.

When asked by his business partners why he had given this charity, he answered that he had received some news that the ship in which they had sent their property had sunk. He was certain that the charity would help in the recovery of their property. Soon afterwards some men came to give Al-Hajj Salim a bag full of dirhams.

The men said that all the goods had sunk but this bag which had the money belonging to Al-Hajj Salim was hanging on a nail which was hammered onto a plank of wood that formed part of the ship. This plank together with the bag of money had not sunk.[^5] Charity in the name of Imam Husayn (a.s.) Iraq was a nation which in olden times was afflicted just like any other nation with diseases like cholera and typhoid, and the epidemic affected so many people.

It is to avert such dangers that the people carried out many religious ceremonies in the name of the great Imam and Martyr Husayn (a.s.).