A Muslim’s charity to Franciscans changed Bonaventura’s view of Islamic character

Evidence

Very much the same reaction was shown by St Bonaventura, who never visited an Islamic country himself, when he learned of Muslim charity to some Franciscans. Here we see the impact of facts, really representative of Islamic society, upon a man whose assumptions, however outstanding his intellect, were those of the general public. He described how two of the Brethren arrived in Islamic territory, and how a Muslim who saw that they were needy was moved to pity; he offered them money to buy food, which, in obedience to their Rule, they refused. He then understood that for the love of God they wished not to possess money, and offered to maintain them for as long as he had the means. “What incalculable value poverty has’, commented Bonaventura, ‘when by its wonderful virtue the mind of barbarous savagery is changed into such sweet commiseration. Equally, it is a dreadful and abominable crime that a Christian should trample upon this noble pearl, which a Muslim exalts with so great a veneration.’ — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1092

Categorization

• CANDY: A Muslim offering free meals to penniless Franciscan friars who refuse money, then offering to support them indefinitely — a compact, warm story that lands without context.