The Imam (peace be upon him) had been in a state of itekaaf ...

The Imam (peace be upon him) had been in a state of itekaaf , but he put on his shoes and intended to move out of the mosque whereupon I said to him: O’ Son of the Prophet of God! Have you forgotten that you are in a state of itekaaf (and you must not go out of the mosque)? The Imam (peace be upon him) said: No! I have not forgotten.

However I have heard from my father that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) used to say: “One, who strives to fulfill a desire of his Muslim brother is like one who has spent nine thousand years, fasting during the days and worshipping during the nights.

[^4] Breaking the Circumambulation Aabaan Ibn Taghlib narrates: I was engaged in the circumambulation of the Ka’bah in the company of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when one of my friends asked me to move to a side and listen to his request. Not wanting to leave the company of the Imam (peace be upon him), I ignored him and disregarded his request.

In the next round around the Ka’bah that person signaled me to come towards him; this time however the Imam (peace be upon him) happened to see him and so asked me: O’ Aabaan! Does he have some work with you? I replied in the affirmative, whereupon the Imam (peace be upon him) inquired: Who is he? I said: One of my friends. The Imam (peace be upon him) further inquired: Is he also a Mu'min and a Shiite? I replied: Yes.

Hearing this, the Imam (peace be upon him) instructed: Go to him and fulfill his desire. Should I discontinue my circumambulation? I queried. He (peace be upon him) replied: Yes. I asked: Is it permissible to discontinue even the obligatory circumambulations and leave them midway if it is for the purpose of fulfilling the needs of a Mu'min? He (peace be upon him) replied: Yes. I halted my circumambulation and proceeded towards the man.

After assisting the person, I returned to the Imam (peace be upon him) and requested him to inform me of the rights of a Mu'min upon another Mu'min…[^5] Concern towards the Needy Waqidi relates: It so happened that once I was faced with abject poverty and was compelled to seek a loan from an A’lawi[^6] friend of mine, especially since the month of Ramadhan was near at hand. I wrote him a letter and he reciprocated by sending me a sac containing one thousand dirhams.

Soon after, I received a letter from another friend requesting me to assist him with a loan.