The Secret Charity of ‘Alī b. Husayn

It is reported that there used to be poor people in Al-Madīnah who didn’t know where they were getting their food from. When ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn passed away, they started missing what they used to be given at night.

Abū Ḥamzah Al-Thumālī narrates that ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn used to carry bread on his back in the darkness of the night and follow the poor people (to give it to them). He used to say, “Charity in the darkness of the night extinguishes the Lords anger.” ‘Amr b. Thābit reports that when ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn died, they found marks on his back from the sacks of provisions he used to carry at night to the houses of the widows. Shaybah b. Nu’āmah narrates that when ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn died they found out that he used to provide for a hundred (poor) families. Al-Dhahabī in Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā’ under the biography of ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn Zayn Al-‘Ābidīn.

Al-Dhahabī in Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā’ under the biography of ‘Alī b. Ḥusayn Zayn Al-‘Ābidīn.