Hatim Tai’s father died when he was young, so Hatim Tai was brought up by his grandfather. It is said that when astrologers, at the time of Hatim’s birth, predicted that he would be generous, charitable and benevolent, his family celebrated it by giving alms to the poor. When Hatim grew up and started giving away all their wealth in alms, they got tired of him! One day, a King tried to test Hatim. He dressed as a traveller and asked Hatim to give him a gift of twenty rare camels. Those camels were the only precious possessions left with his grandfather. Hatim gave him those camels without a second thought. Next day, the King returned those twenty camels with loads of precious gifts as Hatim had passed his test, but Hatim distributed that wealth amidst the poor and the needy. On hearing about this incident, his grandfather threw him out of the house to fend for himself.
The Faith of the Charitable Hatim
