The Generous Slave Boy
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Once, Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn Ja’far ibn Abu Thalib ( r.a. ) went past an orchard where an Abyssinian slave-boy was working. Someone brought the slave-boy his daily food, three loafs of bread. At the same time, a stray dog came into the garden and stood next to him. The boy threw a loaf of bread to the dog. The dog ate the bread but did not go away. The boy threw another loaf. The dog ate that too but still did not leave. The boy gave the dog a third loaf, thus letting the dog eat the whole of his daily food allotment. Sayyidina ibn Ja’far ( r.a. ), who had been watching this, said to the boy, “How much bread do you get as your daily ration of food?” “I get three loaves every day,” the boy replied. Sayyidina ibn Ja’far ( r.a. ) asked, “Then, why did you feed the dog all three loaves of bread instead of eating some yourself?” The boy said, “As you may be aware, there are n...