In the Dead of Night

It was a dark, cold night. Imam Sadiq (P.B.U.H.) was walking
along carrying a heavy sack. "Where is Imam Sadiq going
with this heavy sack?" I said to myself. "In this dark night
perhaps he will find himself in danger. It is best for me to walk
along with him and guard him."
I walked quietly along behind Imam Sadiq (P.B.U.H.), but I
couldn't think where he was going or what he was carrying.
We walked through a few lanes, and then I heard a noise. It
sounded as if Imam's sack had fallen to the ground. I heard
Imam's voice as he prayed, "0 Lord, help me this dark night
to find what I have lost."
I went closer to the Imam and could just see that the sack
which he had been carrying on his back was lying on the
ground. Imam was trying with his hands to gather all its
contents. I came up to the Imam and greeted him. The Imam
returned my greeting and. recognizing my voice, asked me,
"Is it you. Mu'alla?"
"Yes, O son of the Prophet" I replied. "Will you let me
help you?"
The Imam had been carrying loaves of bread and
packets of food, and I helped him gather them and put them
back in the sack. When the sack was full I asked him if he
would allow me to carry it for him.
"No", he said. "it is more fitting for me to carry it. My
grandfather the Prophet used to say that whoever doesn't
think about the needs of the Muslims is not a Muslim, and
that whoever sleeps at night with a full stomach while his
neighbors are hungry is not a Muslim."
Together we walked along until we came to the lodge of
"Bani Sa'idah" where many poor people were living. Imam
put his load on the ground and, quietly, without awakening
anyone, began to distribute the food he had brought. He put
the share of each person by the side of his head, and, without
any one knowing who it was from, we quietly left.
God tells us in the Quran:
"Give to the poor and distribute from what We have
provided you and render them needless, before the Day of
Resurrection when you will be sorry for your hoarding of
wealth. and you will be faced with a severe chastisement."