“Mu’alla,” one of the servants of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), narrates:
On one of the rainy nights, Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) left his house. I quietly followed him from behind. Suddenly, something fell from the hand of the Imam onto the ground in the darkness of the night. At that moment, I approached and greeted him. He said: “Mu’alla, is that you?” I replied, “Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).” He said, “Reach down and pick up what you have found, and bring it back to me.” I then stretched my hand to the ground and found a piece of bread that had fallen. I gathered it and handed it to the Imam. Suddenly, I saw a sack of bread near Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), some of which had spilled onto the ground. I said, “My master, allow me to carry this sack.” He replied, “No, I am more deserving of carrying it myself, but come with me.”
So, I walked alongside him until we reached the “Saqifah of Banu Sa’ida.” The “Saqifah of Banu Sa’ida” was a place where people used to seek shelter from the intense heat during the day, and at night, the poor and needy would sleep there. At that moment, I realized that the Imam had gone out at midnight with the intention of helping the poor.
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) gently took out pieces of bread from the sack and placed one or two pieces next to each of the poor, ensuring that none of them were left without.
On the way back, I asked the Imam (peace be upon him), “May I be sacrificed for you, you serve these people so much, do they recognize the truth (i.e., are they Shia)?” Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) answered, “If they knew the truth (and followed the path of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)), we would even share with them our own portion.”[1]
Taken from the book “Khandan-e Ismat,” by Syed Taqi Vardi.
Footnote:
[1] Muntahi al-Amaal fi Tarikh al-Nabi wa al-Aal, Vol. 2, p. 127