CHAPTER 3: THE DESTITUTE : PART 1
The Dealings of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with the Destitute
Introduction:
Poverty, in Islamic legislation, refers to lacking or falling short of basic necessities, so, “anyone who does not have a quantity that satisfies him and his family is considered in poverty and among the destitute.” (Majmoo` Al-Fataawa (28/570).)
Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, feared the trial of riches for his nation more than he feared poverty. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “By Allah, it is not poverty about which I fear for you, but I fear in your case that [the worldly] riches may be given to you as were given to those who had gone before you, and that you begin to vie with one another for them as they vied for them, and that they may destroy you as they destroyed them.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (4015).)
Yet, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, realised that poverty is also a great trial. Therefore, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate to Allah saying: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief and poverty.” (Reported by Abu Dawood (5090).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, realised the severity of the crisis of poverty and its attenuating impact on people, so he supported the poor and lived amongst them. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, treated the poor with mercy and kindness, and he used to give them whatever he could, although he, himself, was poor.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also taught his Companions to have mercy upon the poor as well. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sometimes used to feed them from what he had. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,would take them to his home or order that charity be given to them or propose that one of his Companions take them in as guests.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave whatever surplus resources he had, that extended beyond his need, to the poor and destitute:
`Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (a Companion) said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to spend from his wealth on his family, and whatever exceeded that, he would give it in charity.” (Reported by Abu Dawood (2975) and the origin is reported by Al-Bukhaari (2904) and Muslim (1757).)
When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, conquered Khaybar and took his share of booty (one-fifth), he did as `Umar described. `Umar said: “As for Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, split it into three parts, two of the three were split among the Muslims, and a third was expenditure for his family. Whatever exceeded the expenditure of his family was given away and spread to the poor Muhaajireen (Emigrants).”(Reported by Abu Dawood (2577).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “All of the wealth of a Prophet is charity, except that which they use to feed and clothe their families; we [the prophets] do not leave inheritance.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (2904), Muslim (1757) and Abu Daawood (2975), and the wording is for Abu Dawood.)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was moved if he saw signs of poverty on the faces or demeanour of some of his Companions:
Jareer ibn `Abdullaah (a Companion) said:
“We were with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, around the beginning of the day, and some people came to him barefooted, and (almost) naked, wearing leopard skins on their shoulders (they passed their heads through a hole in the middle of the skin), or cloaks, and they had their swords hanging from their necks. Most of them, or actually, all of them were from the tribe of Mudhar.
When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, saw the extent of their poverty, his face changed. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, entered his home then exited, then ordered Bilaal to call to the prayer, then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed and delivered a sermon to the people, reciting the verse (which means): «O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.» [Quran: 4:1]
Then he read the verse in Chapter Hashr (which means): «O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah.» [Quran: 59:18]
Let a man give charity from his Deenaar (golden coin); let a man give charity from his Dirham (silver coin); let a man give charity from his clothes; let a man give charity from a measure of his wheat; let a man give charity from a measure of his dates…’ until the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Even if half of a date.’
So a man among the Ansaar came with a bag of money that he could barely carry, in fact, he could not carry it. Thereafter, the people continuously kept bringing more things, until I saw two heaps of food and clothes, and I saw the face of Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, become luminous out of joy, as if it was gold. Then the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Whoever starts [revives] a good tradition in Islam will have its reward, and the reward of those who follow suit, without decreasing any of their respective rewards. In contrast, whoever starts an evil tradition in Islam [or leads to it] will have its sin, and the sins of all those who follow suit, without decreasing any of their respective sins.’” (Reported by Muslim (1017).)
An-Nawawi (a scholar) said: “The reason the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was happy because he saw the Muslims hastening towards obeying Allah The Almighty, spending their money for Allah’s Sake, obeying the order of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the fact that those needy people had their needs taken care of, the care that the Muslims have for one another, and their cooperation on righteousness and piety. It is befitting for an individual to become happy when they see something like this, as well as make their happiness apparent, and their happiness should be for those things that we mentioned.”(The explanation of An-Nawawi on the book of Muslim (7/103).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, evaluated their level of poverty, and would honour and console them accordingly:
Abu Hurayrah (a Companion) said: “I would lie on the floor and press my stomach on it out of hunger; and I used to tie a rock around my stomach out of hunger.” (The scholars said that the benefit of tying a rock around one’s stomach is that it helps with standing up straight, or preventing too much gases that occur during digestion of the food in the stomach because the stone is tied around the stomach and is close to it, lessens the feeling of weakness (out of hunger). Another benefit is that the coldness of the rock lessens the heat of the hunger. Fat-h Al-Baari (11/284).)
In another narration Abu Hurayrah states: “At times, I would be so hungry that I would be lying unconscious and senseless between the pulpit and the house of `Aa’ishah, and a person would come to me and step on my neck, thinking that I was insane, but I was only hungry.” (Reported by Al-Bukhaari (7334).)
Abu Hurayrah said:
“One day, I sat on the path that was used often, and Abu Bakr passed me, so I asked him about a verse from Allah’s Book. I only asked him so he would ask me to follow him (for dinner). But, he did not do so.
Then, `Umar passed, so I asked him about a verse from Allah’s Book. I only asked him so he would ask me to follow him, but he, too, did not. (Perhaps both Abu Bakr , and `Umar, may have thought that Abu Hurayrah’s question was as it apparently was, i.e. just a question.)
Then, I walked a little bit, but then fell on my face out of tiredness and hunger. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, appeared by my head. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, smiled when he saw me, took my hand, stood me up, and knew what my face was showing, and knew what I was feeling. Then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘O Abu Hirr [i.e. a diminutive of his nickname],’ and I said: ‘I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Follow me.’
Then, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, walked ahead and I followed him. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, entered his house, asked permission to allow me to enter and then allowed me to enter. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, found a bowl of milk and said: ‘Where did this milk come from?’ They said: ‘So-and-so gave it to us as a gift.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘O Abu Hirr,’ I said: ‘I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Go to Ahl As-Suffah1 and call them here.’
Ahl As-Suffah were the guests of Islam, they had no support, neither family nor wealth. If any charity came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he would send it straight to them, and would not use any of it; and if he received a gift, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would take some of it, and share the rest with them, and that bothered me, so I said: ‘This will not be sufficient for all of Ahl As-Suffah. I am more worthy of drinking from this milk, so I can strengthen myself.’
When they come, he will order me to serve them; what would remain from this milk for me; however, there was no doubt that I had to obey Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. So, I went and called them. They came, were given permission to enter, and sat in the house. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘O Abu Hurayrah,’ I said: ‘I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Take,
and serve them.’
So, I took the bowl and was serving each man, until he was satisfied; he would give me the bowl back, and I would pass it to the next, and he would drink, until he was satisfied and would give me the bowl back, and so on.
Then, I reached the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and everyone present had become satisfied. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, took the bowl and placed it in his hand, looked
at me, smiled and said: ‘O Abu Hurayrah,’ I said: ‘I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Only you and I remain?’ I said: ‘You have spoken the truth, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Sit and drink.’ So, I sat and drank. Then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said again: ‘Drink.’ So, I drank more.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, kept saying: ‘Drink,’ until I said: ‘No, by He Who has sent you with the truth, I am full.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Give it to me.’ I gave him the
bowl, whereupon he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, praised Allah, and said: ‘Bismillah,’ and drank the remainder of the milk.
Then I met `Umar and told him about my matter, and said to him, ‘Allah gave that to someone who was more deserving than you, O `Umar. And by Allah, I asked you about the verse, while I am more knowledgeable than you in it.’
`Umar said: ‘By Allah, for me to have invited you into my home is more beloved to me than having red camels (Red camels are the best and most expensive type of camels.).’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (5375), (6452) and At-Tirmithi (2477).)
Thus, the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, realised who the poor were, and would notice signs of hunger that were apparent on their faces, and in turn, would console whom he could.
Abu Hurayrah said:
“Three days passed over me wherein I ate no food. So I went to As-Suffah and began falling, which caused the young children to say, ‘Abu Hurayrah has gone crazy.’
I called back to them saying, ‘Rather, you are crazy,’ until I got to the Suffah.
I happened to come across the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, when he was brought a platter of Thareed (a dish made of meat, bread and broth), and so he invited the people of As-Suffah to eat from it. They ate from it while I was lurking around, hoping to be invited to eat. When everyone finished and subsequently stood up, there was only some small amount left on the edges of the plate, so the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, collected it, and it became a morsel. Then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, put it on his fingers and said: ‘Eat in the Name of Allah,’ and by Allah, I continued to eat until I was full.”(Reported by ibn Hibban (6533).)
Abu Hurayrah in this story, alluded to the custom of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, when dealing with the poor Companions, when he said: “If some charity came to him, he would send it to them and would not consume any of it, and if a gift came to him, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would use a part of it and share the rest with them.”
In the story of Salmaan Al-Farsi (before he accepted Islam) he said:
“I had something that I collected, and when it was evening, I took it and went to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while he was in Qubaa’. I entered on him and said: ‘I heard that you are a righteous man, and that you have Companions that are needy, and so this is something that I present as a charity, as I found you are more worthy of it than others.’
I put it close to him, and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to his Companions: ‘Eat,’ but he held back his hand and did not eat.
So I said to myself: ‘This is one (sign of his truthfulness).’
Then I went away from him and gathered something, and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went back to Madinah, then I went to him with what I gathered (of food), and said: ‘I noticed that you do not consume charity, so this is a gift that I am giving to honour you.’
So the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ate from it and ordered the Companions to eat with him.
So I said to myself: ‘This is two.’”… to the end of the narration. (Reported by Ahmad (23225).)
This story confirms the one above it (i.e. of Abu Hurayrah), that if charity came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would leave for the poor and would not consume any of it. However, if a gift came to him, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would use a part of it and share the rest with them.
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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