“let us go and put it to the test.”

The slave of Banū Umayyah went to one of his patrons, laid before him his hardship and straitened condition, and lamented his poverty. The patron gave him ten thousand dirhams. He then visited nine further patrons, so that after he had gone the rounds of ten of them he had amassed one hundred thousand dirhams. Taking the money, he set it before the Hāshimi slave and said, “Now you go to Banū Hāshim, test them, and see the reach of their generosity.”

The Hāshimi slave thereupon went to al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī—peace be upon him—complained of his circumstances, and detailed the poverty to which affairs had brought him. Al-Ḥusayn ordered that he be given one hundred thousand dirhams. He next proceeded to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar, voiced his complaint, and Ibn Jaʿfar likewise bestowed on him one hundred thousand dirhams. He then went to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabīʿah, who also gave him one hundred thousand dirhams. Taking the entire sum, he returned to the Umayyad slave and said, “Your patrons learned generosity from mine. Still, let us go back to them, try them a second time, and restore the money to them.”

The Umayyad slave returned to his patrons and told them, “I am now free of want. God, exalted be He, has eased matters for me elsewhere, so I have no need for these dirhams and have brought them back.” Each patron reclaimed his own share.

The Hāshimi slave then carried the dirhams to his patrons and said, “Sustenance has reached me from another quarter and my need is gone, so I am returning what I took from you—please take it back.” They replied, “We do not take back anything once we have granted it as a gift, nor do our donations ever return to mingle with our wealth.”

Maxim: One of the sages said, “Honoring elders is a mark of generosity and fine character, while despising people springs from a base lineage and ugly manners. Aspiration without the means to fulfill it is mere frivolity; only when aspiration is joined to resources does it become graceful and refined, handsome and elegant. If a man possesses lofty ambition but lacks the means that aid it, his ambition only drags him downward—aspiration should soar on high and the means to sustain it should be elevated as well. It has also been said: speech follows one’s station, and action follows one’s capacity. One’s resolve ought to aim for Baghdad even if one’s provisions reach only two parasangs—and so it is with dignity.”

Story: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Marwān was governor of Egypt. One day, while riding out, he passed a spot where a man was calling to his son, “O ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz!” Hearing the boy addressed by his own name, the governor ordered that ten thousand dirhams be given to the man to spend on that son who shared his name. The report spread throughout the city