HADITH THIRTY EIGHT: SPEND FROM WHAT YOU LOVE TO ATTAIN LOVE
When the ayah ﴾You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love﴿ [Ali Imran 92] was revealed, Abu Talhah came to the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and said, “O Messenger of Allah, Allah the Most Blessed and High said in His Book, ﴾You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love﴿, and my most beloved wealth to me is Bayruha’—a garden that the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم used to frequent, seek shade in it, and drink from its water—and I give it to Allah, Glory be to him, and to His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم seeking its reward and investment [with Allah]. So, put it, O Messenger of Allah, wherever Allah directs you.” The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, «Amazing, O Abu Talhah! That is profitable wealth. We accept it from you and return it to you, so give it to relatives.» So, Abu Talhah donated it to his relatives.
Reported by al-Bukhari (1461) and Muslims (998)
Commentary
The love of Allah and the love of the world are polar opposites. In order to love Allah, we have to be willing to sacrifice the world for His sake. Only then would we be liberated from the shackles of greed and selfishness, and we would taste the sweetness of nearness to Allah.
Giving from what we love
Abu Talhah I was of the wealthiest in Madinah, and his wealth was made up of palm-trees in the lands he owned. The best of his gardens was Bayruha’. It was close to the Madinah Mosque, and had a freshwater well in it that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم loved to drink from. That made it even more precious in Abu Talhah’s eyes. When Allah revealed the ayah urging charity from what we love, it moved Abu Talhah. He gave away the thing he loved the most for the sake of Allah. He did not have to give anything, and he did not have to give the thing he loved the most. But he chose the dearest of his possessions. He wanted to attain righteousness, and that beautiful garden was a small price to pay in his eyes. When something matters to us, it is easy to sacrifice
for its sake. And Allah mattered to him.
Why did Allah state that spending from what we love is a condition for righteousness? It has to do with our nature and what we love. We have an intense love for wealth and this world. Allah said:
And you love wealth, an immense love.
Al-Fajr (Q89:20)
Humans love wealth in all of its forms: gold and silver, mansions and estates, cars and clothes, and all the luxury money can buy. And this is not something that easily goes away as we age. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«The heart of an elder is still young in loving two things: long life and love of money.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (6420) and Muslim (1046)
This love—when immoderate and unchecked—has dire consequences. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep will not do more harm to it than the harm one’s desire for wealth and recognition does to their religion.»
Reported by al-Tirmidhi (2376) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Tirmidhi, 2376)
Can we picture the carnage? The two hungry wolves will devastate the flock, soaking the ground with their blood. Nothing will be left alive. If one allows their craving for money and fame to grow rampant, they will destroy their religion. One will commit every sin to get richer. Their heart will be so saturated with the love of this world that it will leave no space for Allah. The test of wealth is serious and severe. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Each Ummah has a fitnah [test or a source of temptation], and the fitnah of my Ummah is wealth.»
Reported by al-Tirmidhi (2336) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Tirmidhi, 2336)
It is this Ummah’s greatest temptation. And you can see what it did to other nations before us. They kept running after this world until it blinded their eyes and put a seal on their hearts. They ran away from Allah to amass the money they so desired, no matter the consequences. What they could not see, however, was how what they loved was destroying them. The love of Allah opens our eyes, but the love of the world blinds
us. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«When you see Allah giving one what they love from this world despite their sins, they are being led on. Then the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم recited, ﴾When they forgot what they were reminded of, we opened for them the doors of everything. Then when they
were happy with what they were given, we destroyed them suddenly, and they became hopeless﴿ [Al-An‘am 44]»
Reported by Ahmad (17311) and al-Albani declared its chain strong (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 413)
Imagine one running after the world and winning so much of it, thinking all along that they are lucky. Their material fixation blinds them to the irony of receiving more wealth while sinning. This alone should wake them up. But the world is intoxicating.
The stark danger of wealth explains the warning in the Quran against its temptations, the cautionary tales of past nations who did not heed this advice, and the command to spend for Allah’s sake. This spending is not because Allah needs it, but because we do. Allah said:
Take from their wealth a charity that purifies them and blesses them.
At-Tawbah (Q9:103)
The intent of charity is the cleansing of the soul from stinginess and greed, from the worldly obsession that comes from running after money. Allah knows very well the hold that money has on us, how much we love it and are willing to sacrifice for it. And Allah wants us to change, to adopt a higher and nobler love. This is why He asks us to spend from the wealth that we love. When we do, another love takes its place. Ibn Mas‘ud said commenting on ayah 177 from Surah al-Baqarah:
Allah’s saying, ﴾And he gave wealth despite loving it﴿ [al-Baqarah 177]. Ibn Mas‘ud said, “You give it while you are healthy and stingy, hopeful of living and afraid of poverty.”
Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim (1546)
This is taken from the following hadith.
A man came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and asked, “O Messenger of Allah, which charity has the greatest reward?” He replied, «When you give while you are healthy and stingy, afraid of poverty and hoping to be rich. And you do not wait until the soul reaches the throat and then say, “So-and-so gets this, and so-and-so gets that,” and it is already for so-and-so.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (1419) and Muslim (1032)
We love wealth, and we love it especially when we are hopeful of a long and healthy life. If we manage to sacrifice some of it despite our natural selfishness, we will free ourselves from the hold of wealth, purify our souls from the impurities of greed, and increase our love for Allah and the Hereafter. You are not going to give up something dear to you except for something dearer. The act of giving itself develops this new love.
This is the purpose of spending. We are giving to Allah to treat our souls. We are not going to unload our junk. Allah gave us a valuable reminder about the quality of what we spend when He said:
O you who have Iman, spend from the good that you earned and from what We produced for you from the ground. And do not seek what is lowly among it to spend, while you would not take it unless your eyes were closed. And know that Allah is Self- Sufficient and Praiseworthy.
Al-Baqarah (Q2:267)
It is better to donate our old belongings than throw them away. But the giving we aspire to, the one that will uplift us, comes from what we love. We give from what we love to Whom we love to gain what we love.
Kindness to those closest to us
When we speak of love and good manners, many imagine it as an attitude we show to strangers. We fail to realize that our families deserve our greatest kindness. It may be that our proximity to them blinds us to their needs, or maybe our interactions create
friction and tension that harden our hearts towards them. But this is all the more reason that we show greater love to our families, close and extended. It is truly lopsided piety when one is cordial with nonrelatives but denies their family the love and compassion they need. It is, of course, important to treat strangers kindly, especially when they are vulnerable and in need. But our kin have greater rights over us, and we cannot be right with Allah unless we do right by them. Sometimes this is more challenging than kindness towards nonrelatives. But remember that there is a lot more reward when things are difficult. When doing the right thing is challenging, it removes more of our sins and carries us closer to Allah. So, do not let the difficulty deter you. Let it motivate you.
Kindness to our relatives is doubly rewarded: it is both charity and kindness to our kin (Silat al-Rahim). Thus, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم directed Abu Talhah to give his charity to his needy relatives. Its purpose is to please Allah. It doesn’t matter who will appreciate the gift or how people treated us in the past. What matters is that Allah will reward you. Humans are incapable of compensating you adequately and fully for your kindness. So, do not seek your reward from them. Only Allah has the reward you want and need.
Loving the Hereafter
Loving this world competes with love for Allah and the Hereafter. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«The one who loves their world will harm their hereafter, and the one who loves their hereafter will harm their world. So, give preference to what lasts over what perishes.»
Reported by Ahmad (19697) and Ibn Hibban (709) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Mawarid, 2093)
Each love leads to different ends and paths in life. Each creates different concerns and actions. Loving the Hereafter elevates us as Muslims and human beings: it lets us focus on the meaningful and disregard the trivial. The best among us are those who devote their lives to reaching the happiness of the Hereafter.
The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم was asked, “Who is the best of people?” He said, «Everyone with a makhmum [clean] heart and truthful tongue.» They asked, “We know the truthful tongue, but what is a makhmum heart?” He answered, «It is the pious and pure one, with no sin, aggression, hatred, and envy in it.» We said, “O Messenger of Allah, then who?” He said, «The one who hates this world and loves the Hereafter.»
Reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab al-Iman (446) and al-Albani declared it sahih by (Sahih al-Targhib, 2931)
What does it mean to hate this world? The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not hate everything on earth. In fact, he said:
«Women and perfume were made beloved to me from this world. And my greatest joy is in Salah.»
Reported by al-Nasa‘i (3949) and al-Albani declared it sahih (Sahih al-Nasa’i, 3949)
It is natural to love and be attracted to the beauty of this world. Allah put it there as a blessing and a favor. Allah also did not ask us to stay away from halal or hate it. And if we realize that halal is the means of avoiding haram, which Allah hates, we will know that halal is actually praiseworthy and desirable. What brings us closer to Allah deserves our love. Hating the world means hating the unlawful and what is distracting in it. The problem is obsessively running after it, favoring it over the Hereafter. This is why the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم repeatedly reminded us of the true value of this world. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was coming from al-‘Aliyah. He passed by the market and saw in it a dead short-eared young goat. He grabbed it by the ear and asked, «Who among you would love that this be his in return for a dirham [coin]?» They replied,
“We would not love that it be ours even if it were free. What would we do with it?” He asked again, «Do you love that it be yours?» They replied, “No.” He said that to them three times. They replied, “No, by Allah! If it were alive, it would be defective because it is earless, so how about when it is dead!” He said, «By Allah, this world is paltrier to Allah than this [dead animal] to you.»
Reported by Muslim (2957)
We are encouraged to work to earn a living and support our family and children. With the right intention, work becomes an act of worship. But most do not stop there. They collect much more than they need—often from haram sources—and they allow the pursuit of wealth to distract them from the Hereafter. The following hadith puts it all in perspective. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«Who among you would like to head each morning to Buthan or al-‘Aqiq and come back with two big-humped she-camels without being guilty of sin or severing ties of kinship?» They replied, “All of us, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, «If any of you heads each morning to the masjid and learns or reads two ayahs from the Book of Allah, it would be better for them than two she-camels. And if three, then three like their numbers.»
Reported by Muslim (803)
Yes, it is permissible to acquire those camels (or cars for us today). But few of us are as excited about learning an ayah as we would be when we buy a new car. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم wanted to change these preferences in our hearts and cleanse them from
worldly obsession. Otherwise, this obsession becomes a disease that dooms us in this life and the next. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«People are about to invite each other [to attack you] like people invite each other to a meal.» So someone said, “Will we be few at times?” He replied, «No, you will be plenty then, but you will be like the dregs of a stream. And Allah will remove from the chest of your enemies any fear they have for you and will place weakness in your hearts.» Someone asked, “What is this weakness [meaning where does it come from] O Prophet of Allah?” He replied, «Love of the world and hatred of death.»
Reported by Abu Dawud (4297) and al-Albani declared it sahih (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 958)
Love of the world here is condemnable. It produces weakness in faith and hatred of meeting Allah. Loving the world in moderation, with our eyesight on the life to come, does not do that. There lies the difference between obsessive love and healthy love. In the first, we sacrifice Allah for the sake of the world. In the second, we give up the world to please Allah. What we love most wins.
What will help us make the emotional transition to the Hereafter is to know what happens after death. Those devoted to Allah never want to return to this world. They realize that what Allah has is incomparable to this meager world. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
«If a soul dies on earth and it has something good waiting for it with Allah, it would not love to come back to you, even if it had the world in return. Except for the martyr. They would love to come back and be killed another time.»
Reported by al-Bukhari (2795), Muslim (1877), and al-Nasa’i (3159), and the wording is his
Gaining the favors of the Hereafter requires devotion to Allah, and this takes one away from excessive worldly pursuits. Conversely, winning more of this world requires devotion to it, and this takes one away from Allah. The two are opposite projects in life. And they lead to very different results. Thu al-Nun said:
Know that Allah’s beloved does not consider any sacrifice for Allah’s sake to be too big because, for them, there is nothing greater than Allah. Allah’s beloved must exhibit this by turning away from the world, for it is impossible for the heart to combine the love of Allah and the love of the world. The one who loves Allah does not pay attention to what they get from this world, and they do not have a need for anyone except the One they love.
Al-Zuhd al-Kabir by al-Bayhaqi (p. 312)
Loving Allah makes sacrificing this world possible. And it is a worthwhile trade. But when the love of this world dominates the heart, it will abandon Allah for this world. And it would be its greatest loss.
If we want to conquer this world and surrender to Allah, we must spend from what we love. In fact, the entire Shari‘ah leads to that end. Ibrahim ibn Adham said:
Wara‘ [i.e. leaving haram and doubtful matters] leads one to Zuhd [i.e. turning away from the world]. And turning away from the world leads one to love Allah, Glory be to Him.
Al-Zuhd al-Kabir by al-Bayhaqi (p. 312)
The first step is abandoning haram and performing the obligations. This blocks the greatest worldly harm. Declining the impermissible creates the first distance between us and the world. This distance grows further when we avoid doubtful matters. As we keep moving away from the world, our worship moves us closer to Allah. And as our love for this world decreases, our love for Allah grows. The last stage is leaving unnecessary halal that distracts from Allah. Eventually, and if we are consistent, we will love Allah and desire His rewards more than we want anything in this life. This is when the love of Allah becomes our greatest possession and joy. But to get it, we have to start giving from what we love.
DR. ALI ALBARGHOUTHI
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