3. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn abu Nasr from Muhammad ibn Sama‘ah from abu Basir from one of the two Imam abu Ja’far or abu ‘Abd Allah, recipients of divine supreme covenant who has said the following: “I asked him (the Imam), ‘What kind of charity is more excellent?’ He said, ‘It is the kind of charity that one provides after doing his utmost. Have you heard the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, “They give preference to others over themselves even though they are in dire need?” (59:9) It is this kind of charity giving in which you can see excellence.’”