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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Anecdotes From the Lives of the 14 Ma’sumeen Imam Ja'far As-sadiq (a) In the time of our 6th Imam, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A) there lived a young man called Zakariyya who had converted from Christianity to Islam. When Zakariyya went to Haj, he stopped at Madina to visit Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A). On meeting the Imam (A), Zakariyya asked him how he should behave towards his father, mother and other family members who were still Christians.

Imam (A) replied that Islam is a religion of mercy and kindness to all that has been created by Allah. Also Islam holds the rights of parents very highly. Imam (A) then advised the man to be even more kinder and more helpful to his mother than he had ever been. When Zakariyya returned home, he was there even more than before for his mother. He listened to her and was kind to her and ever ready to help her. He gave her food and drink with his own hands.

He washed her and her clothes and kept the house tidy. And when he was free he would sit and chat with her and cheer her up. His mother was very surprised and asked Zakariyya what had made him become so kind towards her. Zakariyya explained that his Imam, our 6th Imam, had told him to act in this way. His mother wanted to know what else the religion of Islam had taught her son.

Zakariyya sat with his mother to tell her all about the teachings of Islam and when he had finished, his mother became a Muslim too. Moral: Always behave with good Akhlaq towards other people. If they can see for themselves what decent children you are then they will want to find out more about Islam. Never forget the rights of your parents. In the time of our 6th Imam, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A) there was once a wheat shortage in Madina.

As a result the people of Madina were buying as much wheat as they could afford. There were some people who were quite poor and could only afford to buy enough wheat for that day. These people had to pay a little bit more for the wheat each day because there was less and less wheat available. Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A) asked his servant how much wheat they had in the house. The servant replied that they had enough to last them for several months.

Imam (A) then told the servant to take the wheat to the market and sell it all to the people. The servant argued that if he did this then they probably would not be able to buy all the wheat back and also they would have to pay a lot more for it. Imam (A) told him that it did not matter.