*Riyadh al-Salihin* from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter on Altruism (*I'thar*) and Mutual Consolation.
Allah the Exalted said:
“Those who entered the city and the faith before them love those who flee unto them for refuge, and find in their breasts no need for that which hath been given them, but prefer (the fugitives) above themselves though poverty become their lot. And whoso is saved from his own avarice - such are they who are successful.” (59:9)
And the Exalted said:
“And feed with food the needy wretch, the orphan and the prisoner, for love of Him,” (76:8)
...to the end of the verses.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said,
"I am exhausted by hunger."
So he sent a message to one of his wives,
but she said,
"By the One Who sent you with the truth, I have nothing except water."
Then he sent to another,
and she said the same thing,
until they all said the same:
"No, by the One Who sent you with the truth,
I have nothing except water."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
"Who will host this man tonight?"
A man from the Ansar said,
"I will, O Messenger of Allah."
So he took him along to his home,
and said to his wife,
"Honor the guest of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
And in another narration,
he said to his wife,
"Do you have anything?"
She said, "No,
nothing except the sustenance of my children."
He said, "Distract them with something,
and if they want dinner, put them to sleep.
When our guest enters,
extinguish the lamp,
and make him think that we are eating."
So they sat, and the guest ate,
while they spent the night hungry with empty bellies.
When morning came,
he went early to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
who said,
"Allah was indeed amazed by the deed of you two
regarding your guest last night."
Agreed upon.
"Exhausted" (*majhud*):
meaning hardship has afflicted me,
which refers to distress, severe hardship, and hunger.
"His home" (*rahlihi*):
meaning his dwelling in town.
"Except the sustenance of my children":
meaning what they usually eat according to their habit and desire for food.
"Distract them" (*'allilihim*):
meaning occupy them with something other than this food.
"And make him think that we are eating":
meaning give him the impression by moving hands over the food
and moving the mouth in chewing.
"With empty bellies" (*tawiyayn*):
meaning hungry.
"Went early" (*ghada*):
meaning he came in the morning.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Honoring the guest is obligatory in Islam.
The permissibility of referring a guest to someone who is capable of spending on him
and fulfilling his need.
An illustration of the state in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) lived,
regarding scarcity of provisions and asceticism in worldly life,
alongside his abundant generosity.
The virtue and chastity of the Ansar,
and that they are people of altruism
despite their own poverty.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Ever-Watchful over His servants,
Aware of their deeds,
and All-Knowing of their conditions.
The recommendation of expressing admiration for one who does good.
A clarification of the reason for the revelation of Allah's statement regarding the Ansar:
“Those who entered the city and the faith before them love those who flee unto them for refuge, and find in their breasts no need for that which hath been given them, but prefer (the fugitives) above themselves though poverty become their lot. And whoso is saved from his own avarice - such are they who are successful.” (59:9)
"And whoever is saved from the greed of his soul — it is those who are the successful."
Affirming the attribute of wonder (*al-'ajab*) for Allah,
which is among the active attributes affirmed by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"The food of two is sufficient for three,
and the food of three is sufficient for four."
Agreed upon.
And in a narration by Muslim,
on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him),
from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said:
"The food of one suffices for two,
the food of two suffices for four,
and the food of four suffices for eight."
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement of noble traits and contentment with what suffices.
The recommendation of gathering together over food,
because the larger the gathering, the greater the blessing.
Sufficiency arises from the blessing of gathering together.
Encouragement to feed others,
and not looking down upon what one has
so as to withhold offering it,
for even a small amount may bring about sufficiency,
in the sense of staving off hunger and sustaining the body,
which is better than having nothing.
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
While we were on a journey with the Prophet (peace be upon him),
a man came on his mount
and began looking right and left.
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever has an extra mount,
let him give it to the one who has no mount;
and whoever has surplus provisions,
let him give them to the one who has no provisions."
And he mentioned various types of wealth
until we felt that none of us had any right to any surplus.
Narrated by Muslim.
"Looking" (*yasrif*): meaning turning his gaze about.
"An extra mount" (*fadl dzahr*):
meaning a riding animal beyond one's need.
"Let him give it" (*fal-ya'ud bihi*):
meaning let him give it in charity.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The leader looks after his subjects and guides them to what is most upright for them.
Encouragement to cooperate in doing good deeds and show solidarity in times of hardship.
The swift response of the Companions to the desire of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and their implementation of it,
for they were truly a source of joy to him.
On the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him),
that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
with a woven cloak (*burdah*),
and said,
"I wove it with my own hands to clothe you with it."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) took it, being in need of it.
Then he came out to us wearing it as his lower garment.
A certain man said,
"Clothe me with it; how beautiful it is!"
He replied,
"Yes."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat in the gathering for a while,
then returned home, folded it up,
and sent it to him.
The people said to the man,
"You did not do well!
The Prophet (peace be upon him) wore it while he was in need of it,
yet you asked him for it,
knowing that he never turns down anyone who asks."
He replied,
"By Allah, I did not ask him for it to wear it;
I only asked him for it so that it would be my shroud."
Sahl said:
"And it indeed served as his shroud."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
"A cloak" (*burdah*):
it is a striped wrap.
"His lower garment" (*izar*):
meaning he wrapped it around the lower part of his body,
because the *izar* is what is worn on the lower half of the body to cover the nakedness.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The recommendation to readily accept a gift to comfort the heart of the giver.
The generosity of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the vastness of his munificence,
and that he never turned away anyone who asked.
The permissibility of preparing an item before the time of its need,
as this man designated it to be his shroud.
The legitimacy of relying on contextual clues,
as the Companions deduced from the Messenger's taking it
that he was in need of it,
so they said, "He took it while in need of it."
The permissibility of expressing admiration for garments seen on others,
either to let them know its worth,
or to hint at requesting it when that is appropriate.
The legitimacy of censuring perceived breaches of etiquette,
even if they do not reach the level of prohibition.
On the authority of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"When the Ash'aris run short of provisions during military expeditions,
or the food of their families runs low in Madinah,
they collect whatever they have in a single cloth,
and then divide it equally among themselves in a single vessel.
So they are of me, and I am of them."
Agreed upon.
"Run short of provisions" (*armalu*): their provisions run out or come close to depletion.
"During military expeditions" (*fi al-ghazw*): meaning going out to fight the enemy.
"They are of me": meaning they are close to me in character and guidance.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
A clarification of the virtue of the Ash'aris,
who are the tribe of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him).
A clarification of the virtue of mutual consolation,
the merit of pooling provisions together while traveling,
and gathering them in one place when they are scarce and then distributing them.
The permissibility of a person speaking about the virtues of his people.
Chapter on Competing in Matters of the Hereafter
and Seeking Abundance in What Brings Blessing (*Barakah*).
Allah the Exalted said:
“Whose seal is musk - for this let (all) those strive who strive for bliss -” (83:26)
On the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him),
that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
was brought a drink,
so he drank from it.
On his right was a young boy,
and on his left were the elders.
So he said to the boy,
"Do you permit me to give these elders first?"
The boy said,
"No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah!
I will not give preference to anyone over my share of your blessing."
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) placed it in his hand.
[Agreed upon].
"He handed it," meaning he placed it.
This young boy was Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father).
"Al-Ashyakh" is the plural of "Shaykh,"
which refers to someone advanced in age.
"My share of you,"
meaning of the remnant of your blessing and virtue.
Among the lessons of the hadith:
The general Sunnah regarding drinking.
Giving precedence to the right side in every situation.
Giving precedence to the right is not due to higher status or favoring them over others present,
but rather to give precedence to that side itself.
Prioritizing legal (Shar'i) considerations over all other considerations.
The recommendation to respect elders and accord people their proper status,
so long as it does not conflict with a legal ruling.
The rightful owner takes precedence over others in receiving their full right, and they need not yield it to others.
The eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) for whatever benefited them.
Encouragement to give dues to their rightful owners.
Good manners when interacting with people,
whether they are old or young.
The permissibility of youngsters attending gatherings of elders,
because it serves to teach and discipline them;
for true manhood is only learned in the gatherings of men.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:
"While Ayyub (peace be upon him) was bathing naked,
golden locusts fell upon him,
so Ayyub began scooping them up into his garment.
Thereupon, his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, called out to him:
'O Ayyub, did I not make you rich enough not to need what you see?'
He said: 'Yes, by Your Might,
but I cannot do without Your blessing.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhari. "Fakharra" means they fell down.
"Golden locusts,"
meaning pieces of gold resembling locusts
in shape and abundance.
"He scooped," meaning he took them with his hand and tossed them into his garment.
Among the lessons of the hadith:
Encouragement to seek whatever increases a person in blessing and bounty.
The permissibility of desiring to acquire an abundance of lawful wealth,
for someone who is confident they will remain grateful for it.
The virtue of the grateful wealthy person.
The permissibility of bathing naked when alone in private,
though covering oneself is better.
Affirming the attribute of Speech for Allah the Exalted.
Riyad al-Salihin.