To Imam Husayn (a.s.) worship of Allah did not mean only praying, fasting and going for Hajj. It also meant spending his hard earned income on the needy. Anyone who needed help would only have to go to his house and ask for it. To encourage his followers to give charity, the Imam would often say “Any time a needy person comes asking for help, remember that he has sold his honour to you. It is important for you therefore to give something to him. Whatever you give to him should have the value of his honour and yours as well.” A beggar once came asking for help. The Imam gave him whatever he had on that day. The beggar began to cry like a child. The Imam asked him as to why he was crying. Was it be- cause what he got was not enough? The beggar replied, “My Master, You are so generous and gave me far more than what I need. I cry thinking that one day such a generous person like you would die and be buried in clay.” The Imam did not limit his generosity to only those who came to his house. In the darkness of night, the Imam would carry a load of bread and other food materials to the places of the needy and give it to them all. He would cover his face so that people should not see who he was and feel shy for their poverty. He spent so much after the needy that he came to be known as “THE FATHER OF THE BEGGARS.” Imam Husayn’s generosity was for the poor and for those not poor but who still needed help. He went to see Usama Bin Zayd who was very sick. Usama was very sad and was saying “O GRIEF, O GRIEF.” The Imam asked why Usama was so sad. Usama said he had a debt of sixty thousand dirhams. Imam ar- ranged to clear this debt immediately. Anas Bin Malik reports that he saw a slave girl give as gift to Imam a bunch of flowers. The Imam set her free. Anas was sur- prised. He asked the Imam as to why he set her free for such a small gift. The Imam replied: “When someone gives you a gift, you should return a better gift as Allah says in the Quran and what gift could be better than her freedom?”.