Giving priority to others' (ithar) is where you put other people before yourself when it is a question of deriving benefit, and place yourself before others when it is a case of risking harm. In giving priority to others, one should not hold back one's possessions and, indeed, one's very life.
Possessing this quality is one of the teachings of the great masters of Khurasan. The virtue of this trait, along with that of chivalry (jawanmardi), was taught by these masters in the early days of Islam when they traveled to Arabia, Syria and Iraq (Mesopotamia).
An example of this quality in practice is shown in an anecdote about Abul-Husayn Nuri' recounted by 'Attar in his Tadhkirat al-awliya' (Memorial of the Saints):
It is reported that when a cleric named Ghulam Khalil set out to attack the Sufis, he went to the caliph and told him that there was a certain group around who were carrying on singing and dancing and doing sinful things, attracting onlookers. Sometimes they would hide themselves in basements and cellars and make speeches. They were clearly heretics.
Ghulam proposed that the caliph order them to be executed, thereby eradicating heresy, because this group was the source of it. Expunging heresy is virtuous work for Muslims, claimed the cleric, who guaranteed that if the caliph did this, he would gain uncountable merit.
The caliph summoned the group in question, which included Nuri and Junayd, along with other Sufis. When the caliph gave the word for them to be beheaded, they were led out to the executioner, who was preparing his sword for the Sufi at the head of the line. Suddenly Nuri, moved by the fullness of sincerity, threw himself in front of the executioner to take the other Sufi's place.
His actions were spontaneous and ecstatic, done with a smile on his face, as he cried, "Execute me first!"
"Look here," said the executioner, "it's not your turn! Besides, the sword is not something that you can just rush into!"
"The foundation of my Path," said Nuri, "involves giving priority to others, and I want to give priority to my companions. The most precious thing in this world is one's life. I want to give priority to my brothers by pledging these few gasps of breath I have for their sake. The fact is that one breath in this world is dearer to me than a thousand years in the hereafter, for this is the domain of service and that is the domain of nearness, and my nearness lies in my service."
Hearing these words, courtiers of the caliph ran to tell him about this. The caliph was amazed at the sincerity and fair-mindedness of the Sufi. He immediately ordered the decree of execution to be lifted and had them referred back to the judge for further sentencing.
The judge decided to test their knowledge of the canon law. Yet for every question he threw at them on issues of jurisprudence, they gave a correct answer.
Finally, Nuri said, "Your Honor, you've asked all these questions, but you haven't covered the matter that God has devotees who rise up for the sake of God, whose every motion and reflection is for the sake of God. They live for His sake and continue to live through the witnessing of Him. If they be distracted from the witnessing of Him for but a moment, their lives would be forfeit. Their sleeping, eating, receiving, going, seeing, hearing, their very being, are all through Him. True knowledge is this, not the things which you asked about."
The judge, astonished, sent word to the caliph that if he were to condemn these people as heretics, there could be no true believer on earth, no adherent to Divine Unity. The caliph summoned them and asked what he could do for them.
"What you can do for us," they replied, "is to forget all about us. Do not honor us with your acceptance, nor dismiss us with your rejection, for your acceptance rejection as far as we are concerned, and your is rejection is acceptance from our point of view.
Notes
Abul-Husayn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Nuri, a native of Baghdad of a family from Khurasan, was a pupil of Sari Saqati and a faithful companion of Junayd. A leading figure of the Baghdad circle, he composed some fine mystical poetry. He died in 295/908.