Giving Charity Repels Misfortune

“I heard abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), say, ‘You must not be late in giving charity, and be interested in it. Any believing person who just for the sake of Allah gives charity so that Allah may protect him against the evil of things that come down from the heaven to earth on that day, that person should know that Allah does keep him safe from the evil of things that come down from heaven to earth on that day.”

“This is a narration of abu Ja‘far (a.s.), from his ancestors. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, ‘Allah, the Lord, besides whom no one deserves to be worshipped, certainly repels by charity illnesses such as plague, boils, drowning, death by falling of crumbling debris, insanity, and so on. . . . He counted up to seventy kinds of misfortunes.”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘One day a Jewish man passed by the Holy Prophet, who said, “Assam Alaykum,” and the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, said, “Wa ‘Alayka” (the same to you). His companions said, ‘What the Jewish person said meant “death to you.’” The Holy Prophet said, ‘I said the same to you.’ The Holy Prophet then said, ‘A black serpent will bite him (Jewish man) on his back, and it will kill him.’ The Jewish man went and collected a great deal of firewood, then carried it on his back; after a short while, he returned. The Messenger of Allah asked him to leave his firewood on the ground. He agreed, not realizing there was a black serpent biting on a twig inside the bunch of firewood. The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘What did you do today, Jewish man?’ He replied, ‘I did not do anything other than collecting this firewood and moving. While returning, I ate one of the two cakes I had, and gave the other one as charity to a destitute person.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Because of that charity, Allah protected you. Giving charity repels bad forms of death from man.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Ali (a.s.), has said, ‘They (reliable people) were of the opinion that by giving charity, a man saves himself from suffering injustice.’”

“I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), say, ‘The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Do not be late in giving charity; misfortunes cannot bypass it (charity).”’

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘Giving charity repels seventy kinds of worldly misfortunes as well as disgraceful death. One who gives charity never dies a disgraceful death and will have his reward on the Day of Judgment.”

"Whoever gives charity in the morning, Allah removes from him the distress of that day."

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), once in response to the words of Isma‘il ibn Muhammad that his son had given charity on his behalf and that he is a man, said this. ‘Ask him to give charity, even if it is only a small piece of bread.’ The Imam then said that abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘A man in banu Israel had a son whom he loved a great deal. In his dream, he was told, “One night, after going to bed with his wife, your son will die.” His father helped him to get married and when that night came, he was concerned about his dream. In the morning he found his son safe and alive. He went to him and asked, “Son, did you do any good deed last night?” He replied, “No, except that a beggar came to the door last night. They had spared some food for me, and I gave it to the beggar.” He then said, “Because of this, (Allah) has repelled misfortune from you.””’

Ali ibn Asbat from the chain of his narrators who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said a man and I shared a piece of land. The man was an astrologer. He would find the lucky hour for his coming out of his home and an unlucky hour for me to come out of my home. We divided it, and my share was the better one. The man struck his hand against the other and said, ‘I have never seen such a day!’ I then said, ‘Woe upon the others. What is the matter?’ He said, ‘I am an astrologer. I asked you to come out from your home in an unlucky hour, and I came out in a lucky hour. We divided it, but your share came out to be the better one.’ I then asked, ‘Can I narrate to you a Hadith my father narrated to me? The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, “If one has a wish before Allah to remove the evil of an unlucky hour from him, he should begin his day by giving charity. For giving charity, Allah removes the evil of the unlucky hour from him. If one has a wish before Allah to remove the evil of the unlucky hour of the night from him, he should begin his night by giving charity. For giving charity, Allah removes the evil of the unlucky hour of the night from him.” I began my coming out by giving charity. This is better than your astrology.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.), say, ‘Among banu Israel there was a man who did not have a son. When he became the father of a son, he was told that his son would die on the night of his marriage. The boy waited until the night of his marriage, when he saw a frail, old man. He felt sympathy for him and invited him for food. The old man said to him, “You revived me, and I pray to Allah to give you life.” He (the father) was told in his dream to ask his son about what he had done. He asked his son, and his son told him about his treatment of the old man. Someone in his dream, again, told him that Allah has protected your son from dying because of his good treatment of the old man.’”

“I was in the presence of abu Ja‘far (a.s.), in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause. At that time, one of the extended over-hangings of the Masjid fell on a man and injured his leg. Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), told us to ask him about what he has done today. When people asked him about it, he said, ‘When I came out of my home, there were some dates in my sleeve. I passed by a beggar and gave him one piece of date as charity. 5 Abu Ja’far (a.s.), said, ‘That is the reason why Allah repelled misfortune from you.”’