In Attar's 'Asrar Nameh', this tale illustrates the spiritual principle that charitable acts performed consciously during one's lifetime are vastly superior to posthumous bequests. The narrative follows a man who leaves a massive fortune to be distributed to the poor after his death. The elder entrusted with the wealth gives only a minuscule amount (half a barleycorn) to a dervish, explaining that even this tiny gift, if given by the man's own hand while he was alive, would have possessed far greater spiritual merit than his entire amassed fortune distributed after his passing. The allegory emphasizes the importance of personal, timely generosity and detachment from wealth during life.