Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Abi Hilal Mir Munshi (Rah) narrates:
I was once sitting with the Minister, Abu Muhammad al-Muhallabi. At that moment, the gatekeeper entered and announced that Sayyid Sharif al-Murtada (Rah) was seeking permission to enter. The Minister granted permission.
When Sharif al-Murtada (Rah) entered, the Minister stood up, showed great respect, and seated him in his own place. After conversing with him, the Minister respectfully stood up again to see him off as he took his leave.
A short while later, the gatekeeper returned and announced that his younger brother, Sayyid Sharif al-Radi (Rah), was seeking permission to enter.
At that moment, the Minister was deeply engrossed in writing something. Nevertheless, he hurriedly set the paper aside, stood up with great eagerness, rushed to the entrance, and respectfully and honorably took him by the hand to lead him inside, seating him in his own place.
Sharif al-Radi sat before him with humility and conversed with great attentiveness. When he stood up to leave, the Minister accompanied him all the way to the door to see him off, and then returned to sit in his place.
Since there was a large crowd around the Minister at that time, I did not have the courage to ask him about this.
Once the crowd dispersed, I said to the Minister, “I would like to ask you about something, if you would permit me.”
To this, the Minister replied, “Certainly, you have my permission. You most likely want to ask why I did not show the elder brother the same degree of respect that I showed to the younger brother, despite the elder brother being superior to the younger brother in both age and knowledge, correct?”
I replied, “Yes, that is exactly my question.”
The Minister then explained:
“We had once ordered the digging of a canal. Next to it lay lands belonging to the elder brother, Sharif al-Murtada. Because of this, his share of the canal-digging expense came to about sixteen dirhams. He wrote to me multiple times asking to waive that amount. He kept petitioning me repeatedly for such a trivial sum.
On the other hand, there is an incident concerning Sayyid Sharif al-Radi (Rah). I heard that a baby boy was born in his house. Out of joy, and keeping his needs in mind, I sent a platter containing one hundred dinars to him. However, he sent it back with a message for the Minister: ‘I do not accept gifts from people; I have enough for my needs.’
I sent the platter of gold coins to him a second time, saying, ‘I have sent this for the midwives and other maidservants.’
He sent the platter back again, stating, ‘The maidservants in my house are also not accustomed to receiving from others.’
I sent it a third time, saying, ‘At least keep this amount for the students who are with you.’
This time, he said he was very pleased. He placed the platter among the students and permitted them, saying, ‘Whoever needs it may take as much as they require.’
A large crowd of students always surrounded Hazrat Sharif al-Radi (Rah). He had built a separate hostel for the students to reside in, which they named ‘Darul Uloom’. The students stayed there, and Sharif al-Radi himself took the responsibility of fulfilling all their needs.
When the platter was placed among the students at the Darul Uloom, only one student stood up, went to the platter, and took a single dinar. He broke off a tiny piece of it right there, kept the small fragment for himself, and placed the rest back onto the platter.
Sharif al-Radi questioned the student, ‘Why did you need that small piece?’
The student replied, ‘One night, I ran out of oil to burn my lamp. At that time, the hostel warden was not around either. I took oil on credit from a shopkeeper. I took this small piece just to clear that debt.’
Upon hearing this, Hazrat Sharif al-Radi (Rah) had keys to his treasury made according to the total number of students. He handed a key to each student and announced, ‘Whoever needs anything at any time may take it directly, without even asking the warden.’
Afterward, he sent the platter back to me exactly as it was, with that one dinar still broken on one side.”
Sharing this incident, the Minister asked me, “Tell me, how can I not honor a person possessing such noble character to the utmost degree?”
