About the One Who Serves Food to a Fasting Person

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the reward for one who serves food to a fasting person is equal to the reward for the fasting person for his fasting.”

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), has said, ‘Your serving food to your fasting brother (in belief) is better than your fasting.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that on the first day of his fasting, Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), would ask his people to prepare a sheep for food. In the evening, the cooking pots gave out a fine fragrance while he was fasting, and he would then say, ‘Fill up this pot for the family of so and so and fill up this one for the family of so and so.’ He would then ask for bread and dates for his own dinner. May Allah grant him and his ancestors the compensation worthy of their service to His cause.”

“Once, during the month of Ramadan, Sadir went to visit abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.). The Imam asked, ‘O Sadir, do you know which nights are these days?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I pray to Allah to keep my soul and the soul of my father in service for your cause, these are the nights of the month of Ramadan, but what do they signify?’ The Imam then said, ‘Can you set free ten slaves from the descendants of Isma‘il in every one of these nights?’ Sadir replied, ‘I pray to Allah to keep the souls of my parents in service for your cause, my belongings are not that much.’ The Imam then reduced the number of slaves until it was only one slave, but he kept saying, ‘My belongings are not enough.’ The Imam then asked, ‘Can you serve food to a Muslim every night.’ He replied, ‘Yes, I can do so. I can even serve food to ten people every night.’ The Imam then said, ‘That is what I meant, O Sadir. Your serving food to your Muslim brother is equal in reward to setting free of ten slaves from the descendants of Isma‘il.’”