It has been related from Abil Hassan Al Mussa (a.s.)
that there was a man amongst the Bani Israelites who
saw a dream in which an angel informed him that half
of his life would be prosperous and another half would
be in distress. The angel asked him to choose whether
he would like the first half to be in prosperity or
the latter half.
The man woke up from his dream and consulted his
wife. His wife advised him to choose the first half
to be in prosperity, suggesting that Allah may have
mercy on them later on.
The second night the man dreamt the angel again who
demanded the answer from him. The man replied exactly
what had been discussed by him with his wife. As prophesized
by the angel the dream came true and the man was leading
a very prosperous life with an abundance of blessings.
However his wife advised him to help his relatives,
neighbors and the needy. Soon the first half of his
life came to an end, and despite his expectation of
problems and distress he found no change in his life,
and still had all the blessings. He was puzzled and
in this condition he dreamt of an angel who informed
him that Allah thanked him for all the charity he
had given and so decided to increase the blessings
given to him.
A poet once said that if you wish to do good do so,
and if you decide to sow a seed then sow a good one
since a good seed will produce seven hundred more
seedlings but a bad seed will only result in a bad
outcome.
The famous poet Firdous says that: "A good deed
is for yourself and a bad one also returns back to
you". (JAZAA AL AAMAL PAGE 127)