His Generosity There was nothing in the world more beloved to Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.

His Generosity There was nothing in the world more beloved to Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) than doing good deeds and being charitable and benevolent to people. Generosity was a part of him. Historians have mentioned many signs of his generosity. Here are a few: He had spent all his wealth on the poor when he was in Khurasan and the Day of Arafa came. Al-Fadhl bin Sahl repudiated that from Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) and told him, “This is a loss.” Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) said to him, “No, rather it is a gain.

No harm is done as long as you intend generosity and reward.” Helping the poor and being charitable to the weak for the sake of Allah cannot be considered as a loss at all. The real loss is when one spends his monies in unlawful ways, especially spending on that which does not benefit society. Once, a man came, greeted him and said, “I am one of those who love you and your fathers. I have come from performing hajj, and all my money has run out. I have nothing left to help me get anywhere.

If you could, please give me enough to help take me back to my home, and when I arrive there, I will pay back what you give me as charity to the poor on behalf of you.” Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) got up and went into a room in his house. After a moment he stuck his hand out (of the room) and said to the man, “Take these two hundred dinars to carry out your affairs and do not repay them as charity on behalf of me!” The man left while being so delighted with the gift of the Imam.

Some of the attendants asked Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s), “Why did you hide yourself from the man and give him the money without looking at him?” Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) said, “I did so in order to not see the shame of request on his face.

Have you not heard the tradition of the messenger of Allah (a.s), ‘He who hides when doing good, it is as if he offers the hajj seventy times, and he who declares his bad acts will be defeated.’ Have you not heard the lines of the poet: ‘Whenever I come to him requesting something, I go back to my family without losing my face.’[^3] One day he passed by a poor man who said to him, “Give me to the extent of your magnanimity.” Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) said to him, “I cannot do that.” The poor man understood that he had made a mistake in the wording of his question and again asked, “Give me to the extent of my magnanimity.” Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) smiled at him and said, “Yes, now I can,” and he gave him two hundred dinars.[^4] The magnanimity of Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s) cannot be measured.