Zubaydah was the wife of Haroon al-Rasheed, the Abbasid Caliph and also a secret follower of Imam Musa ibn Ja’ffar Al-Kadhim (AS). Being the wife of the caliph and by virtue of being a queen, she was the most important woman of her time.
One day Zubaydah was reciting the Holy Quran when she came across the verse which reads: “You shall never attain righteousness until you spend (in the cause of Allah) of what you love (most)…” (3:92)
As soon as she read this verse, Zubaydah got up from her place and opened up her treasury (safe) to see what was the thing she loved most from her possessions and she discovered that it was the Holy Quran, the writings of which was gilt-covered (coated with gold). The gold was not an ordinary gold. It was the most expensive type of those days.
Immediately, Zubaydah called for a Jeweller, had the gold removed from the Holy Quran, and gave it away in the cause of Allah. She sold off the gold and whatever value she got for it, she spent the money to build a fountain of water in Taif, from the source of which, even today water flows in to Makkah and benefits the pilgrims. (Tafseer of Suratul-Hadeed: Ayatollah Dast Ghayb)
“O you who believe! Spend out of what we have given you before the day comes when there shall be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession and the disbelievers – they are unjust”. (2:254)
“And whatever good thing you spend, is to your own good; and do not spend except to seek the pleasure of Allah”. (2:272)
Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (AS) has said, “No one shall benefit anything from this world (after he dies) except what he had spent (from it) for his hereafter.” (Meezan al-Hikmah)