At the time of his death, Sheikh Murtadha Ansari – having become the highest-ranking religious authority, with notable popularity and profundity in the Methodology and Science of Islamic Jurisprudence – was not any different in the material point of life from the time when he had first set foot in Najaf as a poor student from Dizful.
When people looked at his house, they found that he led his life just as the most impoverished ones led theirs. A person once said to him: “This is an immense work on your part that despite the large sum of money that comes to you, you refuse to use it for yourself.” He said: “What great work have I done?” The man said: “What work could be greater than what you are doing presently?” The Sheikh said: “At the very best, my work is similar to the donkey-riders of Kashan, who go to Isfahan and then return from there.
The donkey-riders are given money to travel to Isfahan, purchase goods from there and bring them back to Kashan. Have you ever sin them exhibiting unfaithfulness and disloyalty with respect to the people’s money? They are trustworthy individuals and do not possess any right (over the people’s money). This work of mine is not as important as it appears to you.”( Dastanha-e-Ustad, vol. 2, pg. 68; Sirah-e-Nabawi, pg. 29 )