A man came to the Imām, greeted him, and said to him: “I am one of those who love you and your fathers. I have returned from the hajj. My money has finished. I have nothing with me to reach a stage, so I ask you to send me back to my homeland. When I arrive in it, I
will give what you have given to me as alms to the poor on your behalf.” The Imām said to the man: “Sit down, may Allah have mercy on you.” Then he turned to the people and spoke to them until they scattered. None stayed with him except Sulaymān al-Ja‘fari and Herthama. The Imām asked them for permission and entered the
house. Then he came out, closed the door, and said: “Where is al-Khurasāni?” AL-Khurasāni stood for him. The Imām, peace be on
him, said to him: “Take this two hundred dinars, spend it on your need, and do not give it to the poor as alms on my behalf.” The man went away with happiness because the blessing of the Imām had included him. Then Sulaymān al-Ja‘fari turned to the Imām and asked him: “May I be your ransom, you gave to the man a lot of money and had mercy on him, but why did you cover your face from him?”
He, peace be on him, replied: “I did that less I should see the abasement of begging on his face because of my accomplishing his need. Have you not heard the tradition of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family: ‘He who secretly does a good deed is like him who performs the hajj seventy times; and he who openly performs an evil deed is abandoned.’ Have you not heard the statement of the poet: ‘When I someday come to him in order to seek my need, I return home without losing face. ( Al-Majjlisi, Bihār al-Anwār , vol. 12, p. 28 )