ABSTRACT
IT is related that there was once a youth in the city of Alexandria, who inherited great possessions and riches from his father in well-watered fields and solid buildings. As he was born in benediction, with a right spirit and a knowledge of the Holy Book, which bids a generosity of alms to the people of Allah, he hesitated for a long time as to the best use which he might make of his inheritance. At length, in his perplexity, he decided to consult a venerable sheikh who had been a friend of his father. He displayed his scruples and hesitations to the old man, who reflected for an hour after hearing them, and then said: ‘O son of Abd alRahman-whom may Allah bless-to give gold and silver to the needy with full hands is an action which finds great favour in the sight of God. But such merit is possible to any rich man. It is not necessary to have great virtue in order to give away the surplus of one’s goods. There is another generosity, the savour of which is more agreeable to the Master of All, and that is the generosity of the intellect. He who can scatter the benefits of his intelligence upon those who grope in darkness has the highest merit of all in the accounts of heaven. Only a cultivated mind is capable of such an alms, and a cultivated mind is only possible to one who has read and meditated deeply. Enrich your mind, O son of my old friend, and let your alms-giving lie in that direction. Such is my counsel under Allah!’
