Part of Riyad as-Salihin — Gardens of the Righteous (series completed)
· Lesson 68 of 190
Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (78) | Chapter on generosity, generosity, and spending in charitable causes out of trust in God Almighty (1)
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Riyad al-Salihin (The Meadows of the Righteous)
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from the words of the Master of the Messengers,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Chapter on Generosity, Munificence,
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and Spending in Avenues of Good
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out of Trust in Allah Almighty.
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Allah Almighty said:
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“Say: Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will of His bondmen, and narroweth (it) for him. And whatsoever ye spend (for good) He replaceth it. And He is the Best of Providers.” (34:39)
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And He Almighty said:
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"Whatever good you spend is for yourselves,
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when you spend only seeking the countenance of Allah.
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And whatever good you spend will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged."
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And He Almighty said:
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"And whatever good you spend, indeed Allah is fully aware of it."
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On the authority of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him),
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from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:
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"There is no envy except in two cases:
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a man whom Allah has given wealth
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and empowered him to exhaust it in the pursuit of truth,
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and a man whom Allah has granted wisdom
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by which he judges and which he teaches."
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Agreed upon.
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The meaning is:
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no one ought to be envied
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except for one of these two traits.
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"No envy":
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what is meant here is admirable emulation (ghibtah),
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which is a person's desire to possess a similar blessing
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while it remains with its original possessor;
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and this is permissible.
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"Empowered him":
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meaning Allah enabled him to spend it in avenues of good.
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"To exhaust it":
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meaning its proper avenues of expenditure and disbursement.
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"In the pursuit of truth":
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meaning in various forms of righteousness and facets of good.
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"Wisdom":
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meaning placing everything in its rightful place.
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"Judges by it":
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meaning he adjudicates and delivers rulings among people according to it.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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envy is a dangerous disease,
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and one must avoid it and beware of it.
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Emulative envy (ghibtah) is praiseworthy
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when it concerns avenues of good.
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Encouragement to compete in righteous deeds.
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Blessings in their entirety are from Allah,
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and gratitude to the Bestower of Blessings is obligatory,
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namely that the servant directs them where Allah has commanded him.
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The commendability of spending, giving wealth generously,
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and divesting oneself entirely of it in avenues of good,
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provided it does not lead to depriving one's heirs or begging from people,
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and similar matters prohibited by the Sharia.
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The virtue of knowing the rulings of the religion, teaching the people,
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and calling them to gain deep understanding (tafaqquh) in the religion.
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And on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"Which of you loves the wealth of his heir more than his own wealth?"
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They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
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there is not one of us but his own wealth is more beloved to him."
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He said: "Indeed, his wealth is what he has sent forward,
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while the wealth of his heir is what he leaves behind."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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"Indeed, his wealth is what he has sent forward":
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meaning whatever he gave in charity or spent on food and clothing.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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encouragement to send forward whatever wealth one can in avenues of good,
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so that one may benefit from it in the Hereafter.
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Everything the deceased leaves behind
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becomes the property of the heir.
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And on the authority of 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him),
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"Guard yourselves against the Fire, even if with half a date."
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Agreed upon.
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And on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was never asked for anything
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and said, "No."
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Agreed upon.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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the permissibility of asking the leader (imam),
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and the explanation of the permissible forms of asking has preceded.
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The abundant generosity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his noble character,
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and that he would never turn away a petitioner;
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his giving was the giving of one who did not fear poverty
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and possessed no worldly attachment,
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out of supreme trust in Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He.
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And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"There is no day in which the servants wake up in the morning
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except that two angels descend,
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and one of them says:
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'O Allah, give the one who spends a replacement,'
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and the other says:
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'O Allah, give the one who withholds ruin.'"
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Agreed upon.
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And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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Allah Almighty said:
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"Spend, O son of Adam,
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and you shall be spent upon."
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Agreed upon.
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"Spend":
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meaning spend wealth in avenues of good
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through lawful, sharia-sanctioned means,
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with faith and seeking Allah's reward.
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"You shall be spent upon":
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meaning provision will be expanded for you,
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a replacement will come for what you spend,
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and it will be blessed for you.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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encouragement to spend in the cause of Allah.
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Spending is a means to abundance in provision.
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Allah's giving to His servant is proportionate to the servant's giving to the poor, needy, and destitute.
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Allah's treasures are full and never depleted,
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and the Master is Most Generous, not withholding out of fear of spending.
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And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both),
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that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
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"Which aspect of Islam is best?"
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He said:
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"That you feed others,
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and extend greetings of peace to those you know and those you do not know."
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Agreed upon.
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"Which aspect of Islam":
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meaning which of its traits.
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"That you feed others":
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meaning by way of charity, gifts,
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hospitality, and the like.
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"And extend greetings of peace":
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meaning spreading the greeting of salam widely.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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the Companions' eagerness to learn the religious practices that benefit in this world and the Hereafter.
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Encouragement to give generously
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by feeding the poor and needy,
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the wayfarer, and the weak,
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and presenting gifts to neighbors.
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Greetings of peace should be spread widely without singling out anyone,
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as it is among the general rights of a Muslim.
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And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both),
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he said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"There are forty good deeds,
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the highest of which is lending a milch goat;
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no person acts upon any of them hoping for its reward and trusting in its promise,
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except that Allah Almighty admits him to Paradise thereby."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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And on the authority of Abu Umamah,
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Sudayy ibn 'Ajlan (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"O son of Adam,
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if you spend the surplus, it is better for you,
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and if you withhold it, it is bad for you;
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yet you are not blamed for having sufficient sustenance.
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Begin with those who depend on you,
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and the upper hand is better than the lower hand."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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And on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was never asked for anything for the sake of Islam except that he gave it.
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A man once came to him,
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and he gave him a flock of sheep filling the valley between two mountains.
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The man returned to his people and said:
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"O my people, embrace Islam!
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For indeed, Muhammad gives the giving of one who does not fear poverty."
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Even if a person would embrace Islam desiring nothing but worldly gain,
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it would not be long
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before Islam became more beloved to him than this world and everything in it.
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Narrated by Muslim.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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used to give those whose hearts were to be reconciled from the zakat,
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in order to win their hearts.
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An illustration of the exceptional generosity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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and his abundant spending of wealth in the cause of Allah,
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to elevate the word of Allah.
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Whoever tastes the sweetness of Islam
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and experiences the relish of faith
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will prioritize nothing over them—neither wealth, worldly possessions, nor desires.
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And on the authority of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) distributed a portion of wealth,
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so I said,
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"O Messenger of Allah,
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others besides these were surely more deserving of it than them."
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He said:
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"They gave me the choice either to ask of me with crude importunity
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or to regard me as stingy,
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and I am not stingy."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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"They gave me the choice either to ask of me with crude importunity so that I give to them":
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Al-Nawawi said:
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they persistently pressured me with requests due to the weakness of their faith,
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forcing me, by their manner, either to endure crude demands
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or to be accused of stinginess.
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Among the benefits of the hadith:
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the sublime character, patience,
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forbearance, and turning away from the ignorant displayed by the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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The censure of persistent and crude begging.
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The leader (imam) may give those whose hearts are to be reconciled from the funds of zakat and the fifth (khumus),
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in order to soften their hearts until love for the religion permeates them.
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Stinginess is neither the character of the prophets nor of the righteous.
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And on the authority of Jubayr ibn Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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While he was walking with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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on his return from Hunayn,
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some Bedouins crowded around him, begging from him,
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until they forced him against a thorny acacia tree,
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which snatched away his cloak.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, stopped and said:
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"Give me back my cloak!
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For if I had camels as numerous as these thorny trees,
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I would have distributed them among you,
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and you would not find me stingy, a liar, or a coward."
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Related by al-Bukhari.
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"On his return" means during his journey back,
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a *samurah* is a type of desert tree,
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and *'idah* refers to thorny trees.
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Among the lessons of the hadith:
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The censure of stinginess, lying, and cowardice,
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and that the leader of the Muslims should possess none of these traits.
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It illustrates the sublime state of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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regarding his forbearance and noble character,
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as well as his vast generosity and patience with the harshness and roughness of the Bedouins.
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It is permissible for a person to describe themselves with praiseworthy traits when necessary,
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out of concern that the ignorant might suspect otherwise,
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and this is not considered blameworthy boasting.
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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"Charity does not decrease wealth,
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and Allah does not increase a servant who pardons others except in honor,
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and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah
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except that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, elevates him."
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Related by Muslim.
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Among the lessons of the hadith:
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Charity does not diminish wealth,
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because Allah blesses it
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and compensates for what was spent from it.
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Whoever is known for forbearance and pardoning others
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gains leadership and esteem in people's hearts,
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because noble character naturally draws hearts.
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On the authority of Abu Kabshah 'Umar ibn Sa'd al-Anmari, may Allah be pleased with him,
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who heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
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"Three things I swear by,
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and I will narrate a teaching to you, so memorize it:
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No servant's wealth is decreased by charity;
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no servant suffers an injustice and bears it with patience
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except that Allah increases him in honor;
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and no servant opens the door of begging
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except that Allah opens for him the door of poverty" —
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or words to that effect.
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"And I will narrate a teaching to you, so memorize it:
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This world belongs to only four types of people:
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A servant whom Allah has granted wealth and knowledge,
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so he fears his Lord concerning it,
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maintains ties of kinship with it,
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and recognizes Allah's due right in it;
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this person is in the highest of ranks.
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A servant whom Allah has granted knowledge
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but has not granted wealth,
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so he is sincere in his intention, saying:
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'If I had wealth, I would act as so-and-so acts';
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he is rewarded according to his intention,
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and the reward of both is equal.
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A servant whom Allah has granted wealth
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but has not granted knowledge,
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so he squanders his wealth recklessly without knowledge,
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neither fearing his Lord concerning it,
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nor maintaining ties of kinship with it,
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nor recognizing Allah's due right in it;
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this person is in the worst of ranks.
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And a servant whom Allah has granted neither wealth nor knowledge,
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so he says:
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'If I had wealth, I would act as so-and-so acts';
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he is judged according to his intention,
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and the sin of both is equal."
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Related by al-Tirmidhi.
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Among the lessons of the hadith:
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It is permissible to take an oath to emphasize a matter
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or to remove doubt from the listener's heart,
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even without being asked to swear.
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Encouragement to have patience and endure hardships,
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and not to retaliate against injustice with injustice.
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Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah
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while having the power to retaliate,
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Allah will reward him generously for his deed.
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The fruit of pardoning and forgiveness manifests
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as honor, elevation, and dignity
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in this world and the Hereafter.
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Warning against begging
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without a genuine necessity,
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and that it opens the door to poverty.
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Clarification of the categories of people in this world.
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Encouragement to seek knowledge and put it into practice,
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while maintaining sincerity in both.
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Urging the maintenance of kinship ties.
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Wealth without knowledge
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leads to ruin,
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and knowledge without the fear of Allah
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leads to the wrath of Allah.
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A person is rewarded or punished
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based on their resolute intention,
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even if they are unable to carry out the physical action;
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for if the deed itself is unattainable,
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wishing and yearning for it is not.
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*Riyad al-Salihin*.