The Book of Miscellany

كتاب المقدمات

Chapter 56: Contentment and Self-esteem and avoidance of unnecessary begging of People

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A needy person is not the one who goes from door to door, begging and is turned away with a morsel or two or with a date or two. But a needy person is the one who does not have enough to live upon, and neither from his appearance it occurs that he is needy and should be given alms, nor does he himself beg anything from others."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 57: Permissibility of Assistance without Greed

538. Salim, son of Abdullah bin 'Umar, from his father Abdullah; from 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 58: Encouraging Livelihood by (working with) Hands and Abstaining from Begging

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "(Prophet) Dawud (ﷺ) ate only out of that which he earned through his manual work."[Al-Bukhari].

Chapter 59: Excellence of Generosity and Spending in a Good cause with Reliance on Allah

'Adi bin Hatim (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Protect yourself from Hell-fire even by giving a piece of date as charity."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Everyday two angels descend and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate (more) to the person who gives (in charity)'; while the other one says, 'O Allah! Destroy the one who withholds (charity, etc)".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, says, 'Spend, O son of Adam, you will also be spent upon."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 61: Selflessness and Sympathy

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said; "I am hard pressed by hunger." He (ﷺ) sent a word to one of his wives who replied: "By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, I have nothing except water." Then he sent the same message to another (wife) and received the same reply. He sent this message to all of them (i.e., his wives) and received the same reply. Then he (ﷺ) said, "Who will entertain this (man) as guest?" One of the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will." So he took him home and said to his wife: "Serve the guest of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."Another narration is: The Ansari asked his wife: "Have you got anything?" She answered: "Nothing, except a little food for the children." He said: "Keep them busy with something, and when they ask for food put them to sleep. When the guest enters, extinguish the light and give him the impression that we are also eating." So they sat down and the guest ate and they passed the night hungry. When he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) in the morning, he said to him, "Allah admired what you did with your guest last night."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 62: Competition in matters of the Hereafter

Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

A drink was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he drank some of it. On his right was a boy and on his left were elderly people. He said to the boy, "Would you permit me to give the rest of this drink to these on my left?" The boy said, "O Messenger of Allah, I would certainly not give preference to anyone in anything that might come to me from you." So he handed over the rest of the drink to him.[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 63: Excellence of a Grateful Rich Man

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Some of the poor Emigrants came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said to him, "The wealthy have obtained all high ranks and everlasting bliss." He asked, "How is that?" They replied: "They offer Salaah as we do, and observe Saum (fasting) as we do, but they give in Sadaqah (charity) and we do not, and they emancipate slaves and we cannot." He (ﷺ) said, "Shall I not teach you something whereby you will catch up with those who have preceded you and will get ahead of those who follow you, and no one will surpass you unless he does the same as you do?" They said, "Surely, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Say: Subhan Allah, and Allahu Akbar, and praise Him (by saying Al-hamdu lillah) thirty-three times at the end of every Salaah." They returned to him and said: "Our brothers, the possessors of wealth, having heard what we are doing, have started doing the same." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "This is Grace of Allah which He gives to whom He wishes."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 64: Remembrance of Death and Restraint of Wishes

'Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is the duty of a Muslim who has something which is to be given as a bequest not to have it for two nights without executing a written will."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].In the narration of Muslim it is narrated as 'three nights'. Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: Since I heard the Messenger of Allah say this, I have never spent a night without having my will with me.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Hasten to do good deeds before you are overtaken by one of the seven afflictions." Then (giving a warning) he said, "Are you waiting for poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion, or prosperity which will make you corrupt, or a disease which will disable you, or senility which will make you mentally unstable, or sudden death which will take you all of a sudden, or Ad-Dajjal who is the worst expected, or the Hour; and the Hour will be most grievous and most bitter."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

Ubayy bin Ka'b (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

When one- third of the night would pass, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would get up and call out, "O people, remember Allah. The Rajifah (i.e., the first Blowing of the Trumpet which will shake the whole universe and thus cause all life to cease) has come, followed by Ar-Radifah (i.e., the second Blowing of the Trumpet which will restore life and thus mark the Resurrection Day). Death has approached with all that it comprises. Death has approached with all that it comprises." I said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I frequently invoke Allah to elevate your rank. How much of my supplications should I devote to you?" He said, "You may devote as much as you wish." When I suggested a quarter, he said, "Do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase it." I suggested half, and he said, "Do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase." I suggested two- thirds, and he said, "Do whatever you wish but it will be better for you if you increase it." I said, "Shall I devote all my supplications invoking Allah to elevate your rank?" He said, "Then you will be freed from your worries and your sins will be forgiven."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

Chapter 65: Desirability of visiting the Graves for men, and that they should say

Buraidah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to teach them (i.e., the Companions) whenever they came out to visit the graveyard to say: "As-salamu 'alaikum ahlad-diyyari minal- Mu'minina wal-Muslimina, wa inna in sha' Allahu bikum lahiqun. As 'alul-laha lana wa-lakumul- 'afiyyah (May you be safe, O inmates of the abodes of the believers and the Muslims, and if Allah pleases, we shall follow you, we pray to Allah for well-being for ourselves and for you)."[Muslim].

Chapter 55: Excellence of Simple Living and being Content with Little

'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Successful is the one who enters the fold of Islam and is provided with sustenance which is sufficient for his day's needs, and Allah makes him content with what He has bestowed upon him."[Muslim].

Chapter 56: Contentment and Self-esteem and avoidance of unnecessary begging of People

'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-as (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Successful is the one who has entered the fold of Islam and is provided with sustenance which is sufficient for his needs, and Allah makes him content with what He has bestowed upon him.".[Muslim].

Hakim bin Hizam (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The upper hand is better than the lower one; and begin (charity) with those who are under your care; and the best charity is (the one which is given) out of surplus; and he who wishes to abstain from begging will be protected by Allah; and he who seeks self- sufficiency will be made self-sufficient by Allah."[Al- Bukhari].

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If one of you would keep begging (of people) until he meets Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) his face will be without a shred of flesh."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

While Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was on his pulpit (in the mosque) delivering a Khutbah (religious talk) about Sadaqah (charity) and begging, he said, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand, the upper hand is the one which gives and the lower hand is the begging one."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Chapter 59: Excellence of Generosity and Spending in a Good cause with Reliance on Allah

'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as (May Allah be pleased with them) reported

A man asked Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "Which act in Islam is the best?" He (ﷺ) replied, "To feed (the poor and the needy) and to greet those whom you know and those you do not know."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked a thing by one who is about to accept Islam, he would give it. A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he gave him a herd of sheep scattered between two mountains. When he returned to his people, he said to them: "O my people! Embrace Islam because Muhammad gives like one who has no fear of poverty." Some people would embrace Islam only for worldly gains, but soon Islam becomes dearer to them than the world with all what it contains.[Muslim].