MUSJIDUL HAQ

Download PDF: To Spend in the Path of Allah

Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – reveals that once a person appeared in front of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and asked him for something. Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then mentioned that he did not have anything with him at that moment, but the person was free to purchase anything using his name and when he had money he would repay this debt.

 

When Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – heard this, he remarked, “O Prophet of Allah, you have given something to this person but Allah Almighty has not made this a duty on you to give something which was not in your power.”

 

It is mentioned that when Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – heard these words, he was not very pleased. However, an Ansaari in the congregation declared, “O Prophet of Allah, spend freely and do not fear restraint from the Divine Creator.”

 

When Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – heard these words, he smiled happily and the joy which he experienced from the words of the Ansaari was clearly seen on his face. Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then declared, “This is what has been commanded of me.”

 

In another report, Hadrat Sayyiduna Jabir – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that once a person appeared in front of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and asked for something, Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – gave him something. Another person appeared and asked. Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – promised him that he will give him something.

 

When Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – saw this, he mentioned, “O Prophet of Allah! When it was asked of you, you gave. Again when it was asked, you gave something. Again when it was asked, you gave something and when it was asked finally you promised that you will give something. Again when it was asked, again you promised that you will give something.”

 

When Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – heard these words, he seemed displeased. However, Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Huzaafah – may Allah be pleased with him – stood up and declared, “O Prophet of Allah! Spend freely and never allow the fear for poverty to reach you from the Divine Creator.”

 

This was the blessed behaviour of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.

 

Once he mentioned to Hadrat Sayyiduna Bilal Huzaafah – may Allah be pleased with him, “O Bilal! Spend freely and have no fear in decrease from Allah Almighty.”

 

It is mentioned that once someone gave Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – three birds as a gift to cook. He gave one to his female servant. The next day, when she appeared and brought the same bird of yesterday, he said to her, “Did I not prohibit you not to leave anything for tomorrow. The Allah Almighty sends sustenance to me every day.” (Tirmidhi, Hayaat As Sahaba, etc)

 

What should be your thought when helping a poor person!

 

When you help a poor person, do not think that you are doing any favour to anyone. Remember that it is the Infinite Mercy of Allah Almighty that for that moment, He thought you fit enough to help someone! As He does this, in like manner, He could change your role and you would be the beggar. Remember that when you serve a King, you are not doing any favour to this King. It is in fact the King who is doing you a favour by thinking that you are fit enough or qualified enough to help him.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali – may Allah be pleased with him – has stated that when you do a favour on someone, then hide this (favour). And if someone does a favour upon you, then highlight this among people.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas – may Allah be pleased with him – advises that, “Give someone even before he asks you. Give more than is asked for. As much as you have given; think even less of it so that the embarrassment remains with you and not the person who is asking.”

 

In the Hadith Shareef the message is quiet clear that when you help someone who is poor, you are not doing a favour to that person, rather a favour has been done upon you that you have actually received this opportunity to help someone. In the Hadith Shareef, the message is also given that it is through these poor people that Allah Almighty actually bestows wealth upon you.

 

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has stated that Allah Almighty has Declared that, “When you seek Me, then seek me among the weak and destitute. It is because of them that you are receiving sustenance and (through them) you are helped.” (Abu Daud Shareef; Mishkaat Shareef)

 

A Hadith Shareef in Bukhari Shareef explains that, “When sustenance is given to you, it is given through the sadqah of the poor and when help is given to you it is given to you through the sadqah of the poor.” We should give thanks to Allah Almighty that He has blessed us with the power of giving. How many millions are not blessed with this noble trait even though they have wealth in abundance?

 

Remember that to become rich and wealthy is not the actual blessing. The actual blessing is to be able to spend it in the Path of Allah Almighty. Yet, people think the other way around. When a person comes to him for help, firstly he is suffering from the illness of thinking that this wealth belongs to him and secondly, he thinks that this poor person is a burden. You might think that he is a burden to you but you have no idea that he could be a beloved servant of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.

 

A thought provoking Hadith Shareef

 

Hadrat Sahl bin Sa’ad – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that once a rich and powerful person was walking past the gathering in which Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – was sitting. Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then asked the person sitting with him, “What is your opinion of that person?” He replied, “He is among the very influential people. By Allah! He is such that if he sends a marriage proposal to any female, she will certainly marry him. If he intercedes on behalf of someone, his intercession will certainly be accepted.”

 

When Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – heard this, he remained silent for a few moments.

 

Thereafter, a very poor person walked past.

 

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then asked the person next to him, “What is your opinion about him?”

 

He replied, “O Prophet of Allah! This is indeed a very poor Muslim. If he sends a marriage proposal to any female, she will not be prepared to marry him. If he intercedes on behalf of someone, his intercession would not be accepted. If he speaks in any gathering, no one will pay attention to his words.”

 

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – declared, “Even if the entire earth is full of people like the first person, still, the second person on his own is far superior in the Divine Court of Allah.” (Sahih Bukhari Shareef; Sahih Muslim Shareef)

 

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has stated that, “Islam appeared with poor people, it will stay with the poor and congratulations to those who are poor.” (Muslim Shareef).

 

If we look at the Holy Qur’an, we will see that the first people to refute the Prophets were the rich and powerful. The first people to accept the Prophets were the poor and down trodden.

 

Why does Allah Almighty seek a loan?

 

It is mentioned that once a rich person looked at a poor person and remarked, “Look at how great we are, in that Allah Almighty is asking us for a loan.” The reason is because the Qur’an clearly declares. “Who is it that can give Allah a loan.” The poor person replied, “You do not understand, He is asking on our behalf. When it comes to asking for your money from people whom you have loaned money to, in that case you ask from the rich and poor.

 

However, the person on behalf of whom you are asking, that person is always your friend. On the Day of the Judgement, the rich person will be asked, “How did you spend our wealth?” The poor person will be asked about his state and condition. If the rich person does not spend wealth properly, then this same wealth will become his curse and become a jewellery of fire for him.

 

This is the reason why a wealthy person will take five hundred years to give accountability for the manner in which he spent his money. As for the poor person, he will not have this hanging over his head. It is said that at one time, a hundred rupee note was suddenly closed. When this happened a rich businessman suddenly died of a heart attack. The poor person replied, “Why should we worry, even if a ten rupee note is closed, it would mean nothing to me. Stress is only for that person who has it in the first place.”

 

Some people say that this wealth and money belongs to us because we worked hard to acquire it. In fact this is the result of our hard work. Why should we spend it on the poor? Listen carefully, this is nothing but the thoughts displayed by Qarun the cursed. When it was said to him to spend of what he had he replied, “What belongs to Allah? All of this is the result of my hard work.” Yet, you fail to see that it is Allah Almighty who has blessed you with this art and this qualification to earn money. In brief, do not spend in grief, spend in happiness. This is truly giving thanks to Allah Almighty.

 

This also signifies a very important lesson which is being given by Sayyiduna Rasoolullah – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – which is that even if you are starving and there is something little to eat, survive on this instead of begging. It also teaches the Muslims to live as simple as possible and not become involved in the fitnah of extravagance. After all, if a person is very hungry, even dry bread would taste like the best food he had.

 

In other words, such is the Barakah of helping people which very few Muslims understand in the present time.