Guests and Spending

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Muhammad ibn Ziyad said: I encountered the early generations, and they would live with their families in one house. Sometimes a guest would arrive at one household while another person’s pot was on the fire. The host would take that pot for his guest. Its owner would notice it missing and ask: “Who took the pot?” The host would say: “We took it for our guest.” The owner of the pot would reply: “May Allah bless it for you,” or words to that effect. Baqiyya said: Muhammad also said that when they baked bread, they did likewise. Nothing separated their homes except reed walls. Baqiyya said: I too encountered Muhammad ibn Ziyad and his companions doing this.

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Abu Hurayra reported that a man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He sent word to his wives, and they said: “We have nothing but water.” The Messenger of Allah said: “Who will take him in—or host him?” A man from the Ansar said: “I will.” He went with the guest to his wife and said: “Honor the guest of the Messenger of Allah.” She replied: “We have only enough food for the children.” He said: “Prepare your food, tend to your lamp, and put the children to sleep when they ask for supper.” She prepared the food, tended to the lamp, and put the children to sleep. Then she stood as though tending the lamp and extinguished it. The two of them made the guest think that they were eating with him, while they spent the night hungry. In the morning, the man went to the Messenger of Allah, who said: “Allah laughed—or marveled—at what you two did,” and Allah revealed: “They give preference over themselves, even though they are in need. Whoever is protected from the stinginess of his own soul—it is they who are successful.”

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Abu Shurayh al-‘Adawi said: My ears heard and my eyes saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he spoke and said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his neighbor. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest with his guest-gift.” He was asked: “What is his guest-gift, Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “A day and a night. Hospitality lasts three days, and anything beyond that is charity given to him. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.”

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Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Hospitality lasts three days, and anything beyond that is charity.”

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Abu Shurayh al-Ka‘bi reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest with his guest-gift: a day and a night. Hospitality lasts three days; anything beyond that is charity. It is not lawful for a guest to stay with his host until he causes him hardship.”

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Al-Miqdam Abu Karimah ash-Shami said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “A guest’s night is a binding right upon every Muslim. If a guest spends the morning in his courtyard, it is a debt owed by the host; if the guest wishes, he may claim it, and if he wishes, he may leave it.”

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‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir said: I said: “Messenger of Allah, you send us out, and we stay with a people who do not receive us. What do you think we should do?” He said to us: “If you stay with a people and they provide for you what is due to a guest, accept it. If they do not, then take from them the guest’s due that they ought to provide.”

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Sahl ibn Sa‘d reported that Abu Usayd as-Sa‘idi invited the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to his wedding. His wife, who was the bride, served them that day. She—or he—said: “Do you know what I prepared for the Messenger of Allah? I soaked some dates for him overnight in a bowl.”

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Nu‘aym ibn Qa‘nab said: I went to Abu Dharr but did not find him. I asked his wife: “Where is Abu Dharr?” She said: “He is doing some work; he will come to you shortly.” I waited for him. He came with two camels, one following closely behind the other, each with a waterskin around its neck. He set them down and came to me. I said: “Abu Dharr, no man I have met has been dearer to meet than you, and no man more hateful to meet than you.” He said: “How can both be true?” I replied: “In the pre-Islamic era I buried a girl alive. I feared you would say, ‘There is no repentance for you, no way out,’ but hoped you would say, ‘There is repentance for you and a way out.’” He asked: “Did you do that in the pre-Islamic era?” I said: “Yes.” He said: “Allah has pardoned what is past.” He told his wife: “Bring us food.” She refused. He asked again, and she refused, until their voices rose. He said: “Well, you women are no more than what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said.” I asked: “What did the Messenger of Allah say about women?” He replied: “A woman was created from a rib. If you try to straighten her, you will break her; but if you treat her gently, there is some crookedness in her and enough to make do.” She turned away and brought a dish of tharid, as though she were a quail. He said: “Eat, and do not let me alarm you; I am fasting.” Then he stood to pray and performed the bowing briefly. When he finished, he turned and ate. I said: “We belong to Allah! I never thought you would lie to me. You just told me you were fasting, and now you are eating.” He said: “May your father be bereft of you! Since I met you, I have not lied.” I asked: “Did you not tell me you were fasting?” He replied: “Yes. I fasted three days this month, so their reward has been recorded for me, and eating is lawful for me.”

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Thawban reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Among the best dinars a man spends is a dinar he spends on his family, a dinar he spends on his companions in the way of Allah, and a dinar he spends on his mount in the way of Allah.”

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Abu Mas‘ud al-Badri reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever spends on his family, seeking its reward from Allah, it is charity for him.”

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Jabir said: A man said: “Messenger of Allah, I have a dinar.” He replied: “Spend it on yourself.” The man said: “I have another.” He said: “Spend it on your servant”—or he said, “on your child.” The man said: “I have another.” He said: “Put it in the way of Allah, and that is the least of them.”

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Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Four dinars: a dinar you give to a poor person, a dinar you spend to free a person, a dinar you spend in the way of Allah, and a dinar you spend on your family. The best of them is the one you spend on your family.”

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Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him: “You will not spend anything seeking thereby the Face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, without being rewarded for it—even what you put into your wife’s mouth.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends each night to the lowest heaven when the final third of the night remains and says: ‘Who is calling upon Me so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?’”