260. Kashf al-Yaqin: “It is reported that one night Ali (a.s.) passed by a woman whose little children were crying out of hunger. The woman was amusing and playing with them to make them go to sleep, while she had set up a fire under a pot that contained just water so that the children would think that there is some food in the pot being cooked for them.
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) found out about the woman’s condition. He went to his house along with Qanbar and he took a basket of dates; a sack of flour; some fat, rice and bread and put them on his back. Qanbar asked if he could carry it himself, but he (a.s.) refused.
When he reached the woman’s house, he asked permission to enter and the woman allowed him in. He put some rice in a pot together with some fat and when he finished preparing the food, he called the children and asked them to eat. When they became full, he began to hop around the room (mimicking the actions of a lamb) and bleating and making the children laugh.
When they left the house, Qanbar said: “O my master! I saw something astonishing tonight and I understood the reason for it that is your carrying of the food which was for the sake of earning reward, but I did not know the reason for your hopping around the room and bleating!”
The Imām (a.s.) said: “O Qanbar! I went to see these children while they were crying from starvation and I wanted to leave them while they are full and laughing. I found no way to make them laugh other than the way I did.”1
