66.

٦٦. عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا: أَنَّهُمْ ذَبَحُوا شَاةً فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

«مَا بَقِيَ مِنْهَا؟» قَالَتْ:

«مَا بَقِيَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا كَتِفُهَا» قَالَ:

«بَقِيَ كُلُّهَا غَيْرَ كَتِفِهَا».

66. Aisha narrated that the family of the Messenger of Allah sacrificed a sheep. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked:

“What is left from it?”

 Aisha (r.a.) answered:

“Only its scapula”

Upon that, Prophet (pbuh) said:

“In fact, except the shoulder blade, the whole sheep is here!” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 33/2470)

Explanations:

Allah the Almighty gave us everything that we need^[1] and wanted us to let others benefit from these blessings. For this reason, while making to give one fortieth of the wealth obligatory as zakat, He kept the door of Sadaqah (charity) open for those who want to give more and earn more divine rewards. As long as one does not put himself and those who depend on him in a difficult position, he can give alms as much as wants and is encouraged to do so. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) even said:

“In one’s wealth, there are rights other than zakat.” (Tirmidhi, Zakat, 27/659-660. Also see Al-Baqarah; 2:177)

One day, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told the wisdom and virtues of infaq (giving) and gave the following speech to his companions:

“O people, give charity!  O people give charity so that I can be witness to your faith on the Day of Judgment with it. Maybe when one of you and the offspring of his camels are full and comfortable, his nephew might be cringed from hunger. Maybe when the trees of one of you give nice fruits and increase his wealth his neighbor might be a poor person who does not have anything. Isn’t there a man who can give one of his camels as charity so it gives milk to poor in the morning and evening and be a blessing to them?  Be careful! The reward of this is huge.” (Alusi, X, 146, [Al-Tawbah; 9:79]; Ali al-Muttaqi, no: 16181)

In many hadith, we are given the good news that those who give charity will not be deprived of anything and will definitely be compensated by calling the divine mercy and receive blessings. In the first hadith, expressing this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) encourages and motivates people to give charity by saying that the treasures of our Exalted Lord will never end. In another hadith, he said:

“There are three things that I can swear to:

1. 1.                 Sadaqah (charity) does not in any way decrease the wealth of a servant.
2. 2.                 Allah advances the honor of those who are patient to unfairness done to them.
3. 3.                 Allah opens the door of poverty for those who open the door of begging.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 17/2325. Also see Muslim, Birr, 69)

Then, one should absolutely not be afraid of giving charity asking for rewards only from Allah. As a matter of fact, for sure Allah the Almighty, while continuously giving charity at all times to His servants can give more to those who give alms. In a verse, it is stated in the Qur’an that:

“Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity: For He loves not creatures ungrateful and wicked.” (Al-Baqarah; 2:276)

Ali’s (r.a.) advice deals with the same issue:

“When you get poor, give alms as if you make trade with Allah, so that He will give you more.” (Sharif al-Radi‘, Nahj al-Balagha, no: 258)

Pointing out the blessings in charity Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari (r.a.) says:

“When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ordered us to give in charity, we used to go to the market and work as porters and get a Mudd^[2] and then give it in charity. (Those were the days of poverty) and today some of us have one hundred thousand (dinars).” (Bukhari, Zakat, 10)

Besides the material benefits of giving alms, there are also many spiritual blessings. This issue is clearly explained in the second hadith. Even if the thing given as charity is something small, Allah the Almighty increases its divine rewards, and advances it unimaginably and responds with incomparable blessings. This situation shows that Allah gets very pleased when alms and charities are given. As a matter of fact, in order to express this, it is said that Allah receives the alms with His right hand. The phrase “right hand” is an expression that means Allah accepts alms with pleasure. Otherwise, Allah does not resemble any creature.

Another report that shows how Allah gets pleased with those who give alms is as follows:

“Before the alms are received by poor, they get received by Allah the Exalted. Because of the alms given, apart from the rewards that will be given in the Hereafter for those who give the alms, Allah also closes the doors of seventy disasters in this world. Leprosy, skin discoloration diseases, and some other serious illnesses are among them.” (Abu Nuaym, Hilya, IV, 81. Also see Haythami, III, 110, 111; Ali al-Muttaqi, VI, 377/16134)

Another hadith that expresses Allah’s pleasure when alms are given and informs of its rewards in the Hereafter is as follows:

“If any Muslim clothes a Muslim when he is naked, Allah will clothe him with some green garments of Paradise; if any Muslim feeds a Muslim when he is hungry, Allah will feed him with some of the fruits of Paradise; and if any Muslim gives a Muslim drink when he is thirsty, Allah will give him some of the pure wine which is sealed to drink.” (Abu Dawud, Zakat, 41/1682; Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 18/2449; Ahmad, III, 13)

Once the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said in order to explain the broad and comprehensive blessings of charity:

“Allah the Exalted puts three people into His paradise in return for a morsel of bread, couple of dates, and other things that the poor can benefit from:

1. 1.                 The owner of the house and the person who ordered to give these to the poor,
2. 2.                 The wife who prepares the things that are given,
3. 3.                 The helper who takes the alms to the poor.”

After stating this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) completed his words saying:

“Many thanks to Allah who does not forget anyone of us!” (Haythami, III, 112)

On the other hand, giving out of wealth and life strenghtens the spirituality of a person and enriches his character. While people feel overwhelmed by taking something from others, they get elevated by the things that they give. Therefore, giving alms and treating others with respect helps a person to mature his spiritual life.

There is another important issue that must be expressed here. Above all, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) emphasized that alms should be given out of an income that is rightfully earned. This is because the rightful earning is the essence of happiness both in this world and in the hereafter. In one of his sayings, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) explained this condition as follows:

“…If a person earns an income from a prohibited way (haram) and if he spends it, he does not benefit from it; and if he gives alms from this income, his charity does not get accepted by Allah. The share that he leaves behind only gets him closer to the Fire. That is because Allah does not erase wrongdoings with other wrongdoing, but only with goodness. For sure, something evil does not exterminate another evil thing.” (Ahmad, I, 387)

As it can be understood from our third hadith, the best charity is the one done in the way of Allah, in other words to glorify His religion and deliver His message to others. The rewards and blessings given to such charity are expressed in the hadith by a term indicating abundance. Or that number shows the minimum level. As a matter of fact, Allah gives much more rewards or even uncountable rewards to those whom He wishes. This is expressed in a noble verse of the Qur’an as:

“The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases and Allah cares for all and He knows all things.” (Al-Baqarah; 2:261)

Giving charity not only increases the wealth but also saves it from being destroyed by perpetuating it. Wealth is always under the risk of being destroyed in the hands of humans. Even if it stays safe, it might be spent unnecessarily and turn into a sin. Even the wealth spent by the owner himself is considered lost, wasted, or luxury if it does not get spent appropriately. When it comes to wealth that is given as charity, it will be protected in the sight of Allah and turn into a capital for eternal life depending upon the level of sincerity of the donor. Indeed in our forth hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) explained this issue in its best form. In other words, the wealth that is given as charity becomes ours and the wealth spent is lost from us most of the time.

Allah the Almighty says:

“…Whatever of good you give benefits your own souls, and you shall only do so seeking the “Face” of Allah. Whatever good you give, shall be rendered back to you, and you shall not be dealt with unjustly.” (Al-Baqarah; 2:272)

On the other hand, sadaqah (charity) prevents many troubles, both material and spiritual. Some of them are stated in various ahadith as follows:

“As the water extinguishes fire, sadaqah extinguishes torment of the sins.” (Tirmidhi, Iman, 8/2616. Also see Ibn Majah, Fitan, 12)

“Sadaqah extinguishes the anger of the Lord and protects one from dying in a bad condition.” (Tirmidhi, Zakat, 28/664)

“The sadaqah that a Muslim gives lengthens his life time, prevents unfortunate dying, and Allah prevents arrogance, poverty, and pride with it.” (Haythami, III, 110)

“Until everyone is judged (on the Day of Judgment), everyone will wait under the shade of the sadaqah that they have given.”

Abu’l Hayr, one of the narrators of this hadith, did his best to give a sadaqah every day even if it is a piece of cake, onion, or something small like these…  (Ahmad, IV, 147-8; Haythami, III, 110)

In another hadith the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Sadaqah extinguishes the heat of the grave for its donor. A believer takes a shade under the sadaqah he has given on the Day of Judgment.” (Haythami, III, 110)

“Hurry in giving sadaqah!  For trouble cannot pass before sadaqah.” (Haythami, III, 110)

According to what the Prophet informed us, a group of people visited Isa (Jesus) (pbuh) and he said to them:

“One of you will die today if Allah wishes.”

They went and came back to Jesus (pbuh) in the evening with woodpiles on their shoulders. He said:

“Drop the woodpiles!”

Then he said to the man whom had said that he was going to die:

“Untie the woodpile!”

As soon as the man untied it, a black snake appeared. Jesus (pbuh) asked:

“What good deed have you done today?”

The man said:

“I did not do any good deed today.”

Jesus (pbuh) said:

“Think one more time, what did you do?”

Then, the man said:

“I did not do anything, but I had a piece of bread. Then, there came a poor man and asked for something. I shared my bread with him.”

Upon this, Jesus (pbuh) said:

“Well, in this way, you had been protected from that trouble.” (Haythami, III, 109-110; Ahmad, Zuhd, I, 96)

The Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) used to compete with each other in helping others and giving charity. The following story is an exemplary incident speaking to this fact:

 Umar (r.a.) narrated:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) commanded us to give charity. I was wealthy at the time. I said to myself ‘If I ever have a chance to exceed Abu Bakr, this will be the day’ and gave half of my wealth to the Messenger of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked:

“What did you leave for your family?”

“I left as much as what I brought here” I said.

Abu Bakr (r.a.) brought all of his wealth.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked:

“Abu Bakr, what did you leave for your children and family?”

Abu Bakr (r.a.) answered:

“Allah and His Messenger.”

Then, I said to myself “I swear to Allah that I cannot exceed him in any matter!” (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 16/3675)