Chapter on the Virtue of Generosity and Munificence
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 2|Book 1|Chapter 16
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh
Volume 2, Book 1, Chapter 16
Chapter on the Virtue of Generosity and Munificence
وَ رُوِيَ عَنِ اَلْفَضْلِ بْنِ أَبِي قُرَّةَ اَلسَّمَنْدِيِّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: قَالَ لِي أَبُو عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ «أَ تَدْرِي مَنِ اَلشَّحِيحُ» قُلْتُ هُوَ اَلْبَخِيلُ فَقَالَ «اَلشُّحُّ أَشَدُّ مِنَ اَلْبُخْلِ إِنَّ اَلْبَخِيلَ يَبْخَلُ بِمَا فِي يَدِهِ وَ اَلشَّحِيحَ يَشُحُّ بِمَا فِي أَيْدِي اَلنَّاسِ وَ عَلَى مَا فِي يَدِهِ حَتَّى لاَ يَرَى فِي أَيْدِي اَلنَّاسِ شَيْئاً إِلاَّ تَمَنَّى أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ بِالْحِلِّ وَ اَلْحَرَامِ وَ لاَ يَقْنَعُ بِمَا رَزَقَهُ اَللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ».
It is narrated from Al-Fadl ibn Abi Qurrah Al-Samandi that he said: Abu Abdullah Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq عليه السلام said to me: "Do you know who the miser is?" I said: "The miser is the stingy person." He replied: "Miserliness (shuhh) is more severe than stinginess (bukhl). A stingy person withholds what is in his hand, but a miser is protective over what is in the hands of others and also over what is in his own hand. He does not see anything in the possession of others except that he wishes it were his, whether by lawful or unlawful means. Moreover, he is not content with what Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Mighty and Majestic, has provided him."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh