Abdul Rahman al-Sulami was a Quran teacher in Medina, teaching children the Quran. Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) sent one of his children to him to learn the Quran[1]. The teacher taught the child to recite Surah Al-Fatiha. When the child returned to Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and recited the Surah he had learned, the Imam summoned the teacher and ordered that, in front of the people, he be given a reward of a thousand dinars (gold coins) and a thousand pieces of fine cloth. However, Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) did not stop at these two large rewards. It is narrated that he instructed that the teacher’s mouth be filled with pearls and jewels.
Thus, Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) wanted to teach the people that a mouth and tongue that teaches the Quran are worthy of being filled with jewels and precious things. In any case, the three valuable rewards given by Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) to the Quran teacher for teaching one Surah, Al-Fatiha, in Medina drew the attention of everyone. People were astonished and asked, “Does teaching one Surah, Al-Fatiha, really deserve such rewards?”
In response to this question, Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) made a statement whose significance and value for Quran teachers far exceeds those three rewards. Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) said:
“What I have given him is nothing compared to what he has given to my child.”
He referred to the teacher’s action as “giving,” and compared his own gift as something of no value next to the teacher’s gift.
This generous treatment is from the Imam who himself, in a poem attributed to him, teaches us:
“When the world turns to you, open your hands and heart to the people, and before it slips away, give to them. Through this, secure your Hereafter.
Know that neither generosity, when the world comes to you, will take it away, nor stinginess, when the world turns away, will keep it for you.”[2]
Indeed, although the house of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) is itself “Bait al-Quran” (the house of the Quran), and he was more capable than anyone else of teaching his child the Quran, by this action he aimed to promote the teaching of the Quran and to give respect and value to Quran teachers, so that both the teachers themselves would realize the importance of their work, and the people would also give them greater respect and honor. Thus, this act of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) was to promote Quran education institutions and to honor and glorify Quran teachers.
(Excerpted from the pamphlet “Hussain, the Guide of Humanity, the Father of the Rightful Believers,” by Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Dhiya Abadi)
Footnotes:
[1] Certainly, this child was not Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him), as the Imams do not require a human teacher.
[2] “When the world turns to you, open your hands to it, and give generously to the people before it slips away. For neither generosity when it comes can prevent its departure, nor stinginess when it turns away can keep it with you.”