When he was in Najaf his expenditure came to him from his...

When he was in Najaf his expenditure came to him from his father and from his grandfather ayatollah Sayyid al-Hadi as-Sadr. It was more than his need and so he always spent the further amount on some of his study-mates. Sheikh Imran Hadeeda an-Najafi said that once he had been in Mecca in the year when Sayyid Sharafuddeen had gone to offer the hajj.[^2] He complained to Sayyid Sharafuddeen that he was in need of a jubba.

Sayyid Sharafuddeen pointed to his own jubba hanged on the wall and said to him: “Take it with all what it has.” There were ten Ottoman liras in its pocket. Sheikh Imran said too: “Sayyid Sharafuddeen had a big tent, in which he used to held religious ceremonies. Many hajjis of ulama and high classes used to attend his meetings. Some merchants of Muscat saw how much money Sayyid Sharafuddeen had spent.

They offered to him one hundred Ottoman liras, which Sayyid [^1] Hawza is a theological college, where students can specialize in Islamic law, philosophy, theology, and logic. [^2] It was in 1340 A.H. He went by sea to offer the hajj. With him there were a great number of people from his country Aamila. He led those people crowded in al-Masjid al-Haram in offering the prayer. He might be the first Shia imam who could lead the great masses of people in Mecca in offering the prayer.

This made him as a famous religious authority, about whom people began to talk here and there. King Husayn welcomed him warmly and they both washed the Kaaba. He met with him many times. In honor of him, King Husayn invited famous ulama and leaders from different countries in a big invitation. (37) Sharafuddeen spread at once among the needy and for the public affairs.

The next day they offered to him another hundred liras and said to him that they were not of the legal rights and they were as a gift and they insisted on him to spend them on his own affairs. He accepted the liras from them and spent them on the affairs of the meeting itself, which was as a forum that hajjis came to from everywhere. His dignity All his life showed that he had a high dignity and a great personality.

I remember two events showing clearly this deep-rooted aspect in his high Alawite soul. Sayyid Sharafuddeen was in Damascus during the reign of King Faysal the First when he had been exiled from his country and had been sentenced to death by the French. Among those, who had been included by this sentence was the leader of Mountain Aamil Kamil Beg al-As’ad, the sincere patriot.