[extessarere]

I was reading parts of the book 'The travels of Ibn Jubayr' when I came upon this incident that tells us of the amazing generosity of the people of Damascus [Dimashq].

Incidentally, this month 828 years ago, Hadrath Ibn Jubayr [rh] - the most famous traveler after Hadrath Ibn Battuta [rh] was in the city of Damascus. From the 12th of July 1184 or the month of Rabi' al-Akhir 580 A. H until 7th of October or Jumada al-Akhirah 580 A. H.

Onto the story:

If in all of these eastern lands there were nothing but the readiness of its people to show bounty to strangers and generosity to the poor, especially in the case of inhabitants of the countryside (it would be enough). For you will find admirable their eagerness to show kindness to guests, which is enough to bring them honor. It sometimes comes to pass that one of them offers his piece (of bread) to a poor man, upon whom refusing will cry and say, 'Had Allah seen in me any good, this needy man would have eaten my food.' In this they reveal a noble heart. One of their admirable traits is their respect for the pilgrim, despite the shortness of the distance to Mecca and the ease and facility with which they could make the journey. When the pilgrims return, they stroke them with their hands and press upon them to secure their benedictions.

One of the strangest things told us about this is that when the pilgrims from Damascus, together with those from the Maghrib who had joined them, returned to the city in this year of 580, a vast concourse of people, men and women, went forth to meet them, shaking the hands of the pilgrims and touching them, giving dinars to the poor amongst them that they met, and offering them food. One who witnessed it told me that many women met pilgrims and gave them bread which if they [pilgrims] bit the women would snatch from their hands and hasten to eat it in order that they might be blessed in the pilgrim's having tasted it. In place of it, they gave them dirhams, and did other remarkable things, the opposite to what we were accustomed to in the Maghrib. At the time of of the reception of the pilgrims at Baghdad the same thing was done to us, or something near to it. But if we sought to relate this matter exhaustively we should depart from the purpose of our narrative, so we have given a glimpse that offers some indication, and that shall content us in the place of diffuseness.
When we had Deen we had everything, now almost nothing remains except the stories of our glorious past.
At least remember this story during the Holy month of Ramadhan.