Allah Almighty says: {And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision} [Hūd: 6] He also says: {[Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of Allah, unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] may think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently.} [Al-Baqarah: 273] And He says: {And they are those who, when they spend, they do not do so excessively or sparingly but are moderate between them.} [Al-Furqān: 67] And He says: {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.} [Adh-Dhāriyāt: 56-57]
Contentment is to be satisfied with what Allah Almighty gives us, which in turn inspires modesty and restraint in us. Thus, we do not covet what others have or complain about our circumstances except to our Lord, the Exalted.
1) Reliance upon Allah Almighty for the provision of sustenance is the attitude of the believers.
2) Frugal living is the trait of the righteous servants of Allah.
most of them were cited in the two preceding chapters. The following are among the ones that were not cited:
522/1 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Richness does not lie in worldly abundance; rather, richness lies in self-contentment.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
--
--
1) The useful commendable richness is the sense of richness derived from self-contentment.
2) The Shariah teaches a believer the true standards in life. Real richness is not the wealth and worldly possessions a person has, but it is his contentment and modesty. It is the richness of the heart.
523/2 - ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Successful is the one who enters Islam and is provided with bare subsistence and Allah makes him content with what He has given him.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) The means to success is the blessing of Islam and contentment with little provision.
2) The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) gave us the following blessed advice: “Bo content with what Allah has given you and you will be the richest of people.” [Narrated by Ahmad]
524/3 - Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) (i.e. for money) and he gave me. Then I asked him again and he gave me. Then I asked him again and he gave me. Then he said: ‘O Hakīm, this money is like a sweet fresh fruit; whoever takes it without greediness, he is blessed in it, and whoever takes it with greediness, he is not blessed in it, and he is like someone who eats but is never satiated; and the giving hand is better than the receiving hand.’ So I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, by He Who sent you with the truth, I shall never accept anything from anybody after you until I leave this world.’” Then, Abu Bakr (during his caliphate) would call Hakīm to give him his share from the war booty, but he would refuse to take anything of it. Then, ‘Umar (during his caliphate) called him to give him his share, but he refused. Thereupon, ‘Umar said: “O Muslims, bear witness that I offered Hakīm his share from this booty that Allah entitled him to and he refused to take it.” And so, Hakīm never took anything from anyone after the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) until he died. [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
-- -- --
1) We are urged to show restraint and refrain from asking help from people without need. The believer should know that his honor lies in his lack of need for people and his constant pursuit of the bounty and favors of his Lord.
2) It shows the merit of the Companion Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him). He made a promise and fulfilled it. This indicates the true faith and complete sincerity of the first generation of this Ummah.
525/4 - Abu Burdah reported that Abu Mūsa Al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We set out with the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for a battle and we were six persons having one camel which we rode in rotation. As a result, the skin of our feet became thin and fragile. The skin on my feet became thin and my toenails fell off. We used to wrap our feet in rags so this battle was named Dhāt al-Riqā‘ (i.e. that of the rags), because of the rags we wrapped around our feet.” Abu Burdah said: “Abu Mūsa narrated this then he disliked having done so, saying: ‘What was I thinking when I mentioned it,’ as if he disliked to have disclosed a good deed of his.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
--
--
1) It shows the austere life of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and how they endured this patiently and displayed contentment and submission to the commands of Allah Almighty.
2) With patience and certitude, leadership in religion is attained.
3) It is disliked for a person to speak about the good deeds he had done, as sincere believers keep their acts of piety between them and their Lord.
526/5 - ‘Amr ibn Taghlib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “Some money or war booty was brought to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) so he divided it, giving some men and not giving some others. Then he was told that the ones who were not given were dissatisfied. So, he praised Allah and lauded Him then said: ‘By Allah, I give to one man and leave another, and the one to whom I do not give is dearer to me than the one to whom I give. But I only give to some people because of the impatience and discontent that I see in their hearts, and I entrust other people to the content and goodness that Allah has put in their hearts, and one of them is ‘Amr ibn Taghlib.’” ‘Amr ibn Taghlib said: “By Allah, what the Messenger of Allah said in my favor is dearer to me than having red camels (i.e the most precious possessions).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
--
Red camels: The best and most expensive breed of camels. The Arabs used them as an example of the most precious property a person can possess.
1) Wealth and property are not the measure of a person’s status in the sight of his Lord. Some people are poor in wealth but rich in faith and piety.
2) It points out the Prophet’s wisdom in attracting people’s hearts and saving them from ruin.
3) It highlights the merit of the Companion ‘Amr ibn Taghlib (may Allah be pleased with him), as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) attested to him being one of those who have richness of their hearts and good deeds.
527/6 - Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The upper hand (the one that gives) is better than the lower one (the one that receives); and begin (charity) with those who are under your care; and the best charity is what is given out of surplus; and he who asks (Allah) to help him abstain from the unlawful and the forbidden, Allah will fulfill his wish; and he who seeks self-sufficiency will be made self-sufficient by Allah.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim] This is the version narrated by Al-Bukhāri; the version by Muslim is shorter.
--
1) We are urged to show restraint and refrain from begging.
2) Allah Almighty grants success to those who pursue goodness. So, he who seeks to be modest and self-sufficient is helped by Allah Almighty to reach his goal.
528/7 - Abu Sufyān Sakhr ibn Harb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not be importunate in asking (for something), for by Allah, if one of you asked me for something and I gave it to him while I was reluctant to do so, there will be no blessing in what I gave him.” [Narrated by Muslim]
--
1) We are prohibited from taking what is possessed by others through persistent asking and embarrassing them into giving.
2) What is taken by means of persistent asking and embarrassment is devoid of blessing.
The narrator of this Hadīth, according to the famous editions of Riyādh al-Sālihīn, is Abu Sufyān Sakhr ibn Harb, whereas the version in Sahīh Muslim reads: “Mu‘āwiyah reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said...” So, the correct version is as follows:
Mu‘āwiyah ibn Abi Sufyān Sakhr ibn Harb (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said...”
529/8 - Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmān ‘Awf ibn Mālik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), and we were seven or eight or nine, when he remarked: ‘Would you pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?’ As we had recently given our pledge of allegiance, we said: ‘We have already given you our pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of Allah.’ He again asked: ‘Would you pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?’ So, we stretched out our hands and said: ‘We have already given our pledge of allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allah, so what pledge should we give you?’ He said: ‘To worship Allah and not associate anything with Him, to perform the five prayers, and to obey.’ Then, he added in a low tone: ‘And not to ask people for anything.’ Thereafter, I saw some of those who were present when the whip of one of them fell to the ground, he would not ask anyone to pick it up for him.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) With his instruction to his Ummah: “And not to ask people for anything”, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) teaches us to be dignified.
2) The Companions’ fulfillment of the pledge they gave to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is a sign of their merit.
530/9 - Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If one of you keeps begging (of people), he will meet Allah Almighty with no shred of flesh left on his face.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
--
1) The stern warning in the Hadīth indicates that begging is prohibited.
2) It urges the believers to have a sense of dignity. A person should be a slave to Allah Almighty alone and not humiliate himself before people.
531/10 - He also reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) while he was on the pulpit, after speaking about charity and restraint from begging, said: “The upper hand is better than the lower hand; the upper hand is the giving hand, and the lower hand is the begging hand.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) It urges the believers to have the upper and giving hand,
2) A believer has high ambitions and does not know laziness. He always hastens to do acts of goodness and kindness.
532/11 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He who begs people to increase his riches is only asking for live coals. So, it is up to him to take a few or to take many.” [Narrated by Muslim]
533/12 - Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Begging is a scratch that a person inflicts upon his face; except for asking a man in authority or regarding something necessary.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; he classified it as Hasan Sahīh (sound and authentic)]
--
--
--
1) It is prohibited to beg from people. Indeed, all honor lies in a person’s humiliation before his Lord alone. It is not permissible for him to humiliate himself by begging from others - except in case of necessity.
2) It is legitimate under the Shariah to seek one’s rights from those in authority, as a Muslim ruler is the one in charge of the affairs of his subjects. So, asking him for something is not a form of humiliation.
534/13 - Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He who is inflicted with poverty and seeks relief from people, he will not be relieved; whereas he who seeks relief from Allah, he will be given sustenance from Allah, sooner or later.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hasan (sound)]
--
--
1) If a person gets attached to something, he is left to it and not helped. So, if someone accustoms himself to begging from people, he will have a hard and straitened life.
2) We should hold onto the Prophet’s advice that we should patiently endure austere living. If a person complains to people about his Lord, he is actually complaining about the All-Merciful to those who have no mercy!
535/14 - Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Who guarantees to me that he will not ask people for anything, and I will guarantee Paradise for him?” I said: “Me.” So Thawbān never asked anything from people afterwards. [Narrated by Abu Dawūd, with an authentic Isnād]
1) It urges us not to beg from people and to rely upon ourselves in the fulfillment of our needs.
2) It shows the merit of Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him), as he gave a pledge to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and fulfilled it. This was one of the virtuous traits of the noble Companions.
w536/15 - Abu Bishr Qabīsah ibn al-Mukhāriq (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I guaranteed the payment of a debt, so I went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) begging him for money to pay it. He said: ‘Wait till we receive the charity so that we give you from it.’ Then, he said: ‘O Qabīsah, begging is not permissible but for one of three persons: a man who has incurred a debt (for assuming guarantee), and for him begging is permissible till he pays that off, after which he must refrain (from begging); a man whose property has been destroyed by a calamity, and for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support him – or he said: what will provide him reasonable subsistence; and a man who has been smitten by poverty and his poverty is confirmed by three rational members of his people; for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support him – or he said: what will provide him reasonable subsistence. O Qabīsah, apart from these three, begging is unlawful, and one who engages in it consumes what is unlawful.’“ [Narrated by Muslim]
-- -- -- -- --
--
1) It is not permissible to beg except in specific cases sanctioned by the Shariah, which are all marked by need and necessity.
2) It teaches us to have a sense of honor and dignity and not covet the possessions of others.
537/16 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The needy person is not the one who goes from door to door, begging people and is turned away with a morsel or two or with a date or two. Rather, the needy person is the one who does not have enough to live on, and his appearance does not show him to be needy, and thus receives charity, and he does not go and beg from people.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) The needy person who deserves to be given is the one who is too bashful to beg from others or display his need.
2) The believers are urged to check on poor families whose affairs are concealed from the people.