The Pearl Necklace
“Behold! Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good, and generosity toward [one’s] fellow men.” (Qur’an 16:90)
The following story narrated about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) beautifully articulates how acts of human generosity done in God’s name are magnified manyfold by Allah:
One day a man came across the Prophet (pbuh) and said, “Oh Prophet of Allah! I am starving, so feed me; I am naked, so cloth me; and I am poor, so help me!” The Prophet (pbuh) said although he had nothing to give the man, he knew that his daughter Fatima Zahra may be able to be of help.
The man was guided to Fatima Zahra’s house and when he knocked on her door and she answered him, he made the same plea he made to the Prophet (pbuh). Fatima Zahra looked in her
house and saw it empty except for a piece of goatskin her beloved sons Hussein and Hassan would sleep on. She took the goatskin and gave it to the man. The man said, “Oh daughter of the Prophet of God! I complain to you of hunger and you give me a goatskin? How can I eat this?”
Fatima thought for a moment to herself if she had anything else to give the man until she remembered she was wearing a pearl necklace she was given to her on her wedding day. She took the necklace off and gave it to the man and told him to sell it and acquire what he needs. The man then took this necklace to the Prophet (pbuh). When the Prophet (pbuh) saw the pearl necklace tears welled up in his eyes because he knew it was something Fatima loved.
A companion of the Prophet (pbuh) that was present by the name of Ammar bin Yasir said, “Oh Messenger of Allah! Do you allow me to buy this necklace?” The Prophet (pbuh) gave his companion permission to do so. The companion gave the poor man money, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a horse to get back home. Ammar then took the necklace perfumed it with musk and sent the necklace and one of his slaves as a gift for Fatima.5
When the slave knocked on Fatima’s door she accepted the necklace and freed the slave. When the slave was freed he began laughing loudly in the street. Someone asked him what he was so hysterical about and he said, “I laughed when I thought of the abundance of goodness in this glorious necklace - it came out of the house, fed a hungry man, clothed a naked man, and provided for a lost wayfarer. It then freed a slave from his bond and then returned to its rightful owner.” Only Allah through His generosity could make a single necklace produce so much goodness without incurring any cost. Human generosity is in the giving of what we have, but Allah’s generosity is about multiplying the benefits of what is given beyond the scope of the giver or receiver. Allah’s giving transcends our understanding of both the outer manifestation and the inner reality.
Reflection: As Muslims, we are called to give like the sun gives to the Earth, freely and without conditions. As the Persian poet Hafiz ecstatically said, “Even after all this time the sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.”