\u201cIf you do not help the poor and weak today, how are you going to answer Allah on the Day of Judgment? Show mercy to the needy with the blessings in your hand.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Muhammad Esad Efendi<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) would protect the poor and help them in every way even before his prophethood. In fact when Khadijah (r. anha) comforted him after the first revelation, she emphasized this characteristic. (Bukhari, Bad\u2019ul Wahy, 3; Muslim, Iman, 252)<\/p>\n
This pre-prophethood characteristic of the Apostle of Allah (pbuh), which was combined with the Divine orders and advices, became the perfect exemplary for the whole of humankind. During the Meccan period and the years after the immigration believers who had the financial means always helped those who were in need. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) even established a brotherhood between Meccan immigrants and the believers of Medina. Thus, the wealthy believers of Medina manifested the virtue of sharing everything they had with their brothers who had been forced to emigrate from Mecca. Moreover, Islamic acts of worship like financial atonements, alms given in lieu of ritual fasting, almsgiving, charity, and supports given to the needy out of state treasury, are among the measures taken by our religion to protect the poor.<\/p>\n
There are many sayings of the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) about protecting and finding solutions for the misfortunate people in Muslim society. Some of them are as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026the wealth of this world is sweet and attractive. And it is a good companion for a Muslim who gives out of it to the needy, to the orphan, to the wayfarer\u2026\u201d <\/i>(Muslim, Zakat, 122; Ibn Hanbal, III, 21)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst kind of food is the wedding feast to which the rich are invited and the poor are ignored.\u201d<\/i> (Muslim, Nikah, 107)<\/p>\n
The Prophet said, \u201cThe one who looks after a widow or a poor person is like a mujahid (warrior) who fights for Allah\u2019s Cause, or like him who performs prayers all night and fasts all day.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Nafaqat, 1)<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh), who invited and encouraged us to help the poor by his words like the above mentioned ones, he also manifested the best practice for facilitating unfortunate people. He liked to be with the widows and the poor; he would always empathise with their hardships. (Nasai, Juma, 31) Because of this, there were many days that he spent in hunger. Abu Hurairah (r.a.) expressed this matter as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe multitude of poor and hungry people around the Prophet (pbuh) was the reason why he spent his days in hunger. Since the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would never have a meal without sharing it with some guests from among his Companions or the needy people of his mosque. Even though people began to feel some comfort after Allah the Almighty bestowed on the Muslims the victory at Haibar, they still had some financial hardships.\u201d (Ibn Sa\u2019d, I, 409)[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n The Companions of Suffa constituted the majority of the people who were mentioned by Abu Huraira (r.a.) as the needy of the Prophet\u2019s mosque. After they had embraced Islam, those Companions devoted themselves to knowledge and conveying the message of Islam. Abu Huraira (r.a.) was one of those people. He narrated one of his memoirs as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cBy Allah, except Whom none has the right to be worshipped, sometimes I used to lay on the ground on my abdomen because of hunger, and sometimes I used to bind a stone over my belly because of hunger. One day I sat by the place from where they (the Prophet and his Companions) used to come out. When Abu Bakr passed by, I asked him about a Verse from Allah\u2019s Book and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by and did not do so. Then Umar passed by me and I asked him about a Verse from Allah\u2019s Book, and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by without doing so. Finally Abu-l-Qasim (the Prophet (pbuh)) passed by me and smiled when he saw me, for he knew what was in my heart and on my face. He said,<\/p>\n \u201cO Aba Hirr (Abu Huraira)!\u201d<\/i> I replied,<\/p>\n \u201cLabbaik, O Allah\u2019s Apostle!\u201d He said to me,<\/p>\n \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/i> He left and I followed him.<\/p>\n Then he entered the house and I asked permission to enter and was admitted. He found milk in a bowl and said,<\/p>\n \u201cFrom where is this milk?\u201d<\/i> They said,<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been presented to you by such-and-such man (or by such and such woman).\u201d He said,<\/p>\n \u201cO Aba Hirr!\u201d<\/i> I said,<\/p>\n \u201cLabbaik, O Allah\u2019s Apostle!\u201d He said,<\/p>\n \u201cGo and call the people of Suffa to me.\u201d<\/i> These people of Suffa were the guests of Islam who had no families, nor money, nor anybody to depend upon, and whenever an object of charity was brought to the Prophet, he would send it to them and would not take anything from it, and whenever any present was given to him, he used to send some for them and take some of it for himself. The order of the Prophet upset me, and I said to myself,<\/p>\n \u201cHow will this little milk be enough for the people of As-Suffa?\u201d I thought that I was more entitled to drink from that milk in order to strengthen myself, but behold! The Prophet came to order me to give that milk to them. I wondered what would remain of that milk for me. Yet, I could not but obey Allah and His Apostle so I went to the people of Suffa and called them, and they came and asked the Prophet\u2019s permission to enter. They were admitted and took their seats in the house.<\/p>\n The Prophet said,<\/p>\n \u201cO Aba-Hirr!\u201d<\/i> I said,<\/p>\n \u201cLabbaik, O Allah\u2019s Apostle!\u201d He said,<\/p>\n \u201cTake it and give it to them.\u201d<\/i> So I took the bowl (of milk) and started giving it to one man who would drink his fill and return it to me. Whereupon I would give it to another man who, in his turn, would drink his fill and return it to me, and I would then offer it to another man who would drink his fill and return it to me. Finally, after the whole group had drunk their fill, I reached the Prophet who took the bowl and put it on the palm of his hand, looked at me, smiled and said.<\/p>\n \u201cO Aba Hirr!\u201d<\/i> I replied,<\/p>\n \u201cLabbaik, O Allah\u2019s Apostle!\u201d He said,<\/p>\n \u201cThere remain you and I.\u201d<\/i> I said,<\/p>\n \u201cYou have said the truth, O Allah\u2019s Apostle!\u201d He said,<\/p>\n \u201cSit down and drink.\u201d<\/i> I sat down and drank. He said,<\/p>\n \u201cDrink,\u201d<\/i> and I drank. He kept on telling me repeatedly to drink, till I said,<\/p>\n \u201cNo. by Allah Who sent you with the Truth, I have no more space for it (in my stomach).\u201d<\/i> He said,<\/p>\n \u201cHand it over to me.\u201d When I gave him the bowl, he praised Allah, pronounced Allah\u2019s name\u00a0 and drank the remaining milk. (Bukhari, Riqaq, 17)<\/p>\n In this tradition we see not only the extent of the Prophet\u2019s care for the needy but also one of his miracles, for he (pbuh) was able to satisfy the hunger of all Companions of Suffa by milk that was enough only for one person. Such miracles were among the signs of his prophethood.<\/p>\n The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) also encouraged his Companions to help the needy. Abu Sa\u2019id al-Khudri (r.a.) reported:<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we were with the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) on a journey, a person came upon his camel. He began to look to his right and left hoping to receive help. Thereupon, Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) said:<\/p>\n \u201cHe who has an extra mount should give that to the one who has no mount, and he who has a surplus of provisions should give them to he who has no provisions,\u201d <\/i>and he made mention of so many kinds of wealth until we were of the opinion that none of us has any right over the surplus. (Muslim, Luqata, 18)<\/p>\n Mundhir b. Jarir (r.a.) reported on the authority of his father:<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in the early hours of the morning, there came some people who were barefooted, naked, wearing striped woolen clothes, or cloaks, with their swords hung around their necks. Most of them, nay, all of them, belonged to the tribe of Mudar. The color of the face of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) changed when he saw them in poverty. He then entered his house and came out and commanded Bilal to pronounce the Adhan (the call for prayer). He pronounced the Adhan and Iqama, and the Holy Prophet observed prayer along with his Companions and then addressed them reciting verses from the Holy Qur\u2019an:<\/p>\n \u201cO people! be careful of (your duty to) your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship; surely Allah ever watches over you.\u201d <\/b>(al-Nisa 4; 1) (He then recited) a verse of Sura Hashr:\u201d \u201cO you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah, and let every soul consider what it has sent on for tomorrow\u2026\u201d<\/b> (al-Hashr 59; 18)<\/p>\n (Then the audience began to vie with one another in giving charity.) Some donated a dinar, others a dirham, still others clothes, some donated a sa\u2019 of wheat, some a sa\u2019 of dates; until he (the Holy Prophet) said: (Bring it) even if it is half a date.<\/p>\n Then, a person from among the Ansar came there with a money bag which his hands could scarcely lift; in fact, he could not (lift). Then the people followed continuously, till I saw two heaps of edibles and clothes, and I saw the face of the Messenger (pbuh) glistening, like gold (on account of his joy). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:<\/p>\n \u201cHe who sets a good precedent in Islam, there is a reward for him for this act of goodness and also the reward of those who subsequently followed this act of goodness (or acted in accordance with it), without any deduction from his rewards; and he who sets in Islam an evil precedent, there is upon him the burden of that, and the burden of those who acted upon it subsequently, without any deduction from their burden.\u201d<\/i> (Muslim, Zakat, 69)<\/p>\n In addition to giving charity to the needy, Allah\u2019s Apostle (pbuh) also encouraged the giving of loans. The Prophet (pbuh) even stated that Allah the Almighty will forgive the sins of those who forgive the debts of those who are not able to repay it.<\/p>\n According to a report narrated by Abu Huraira (r.a.) Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) said that:<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a person who gave loans to the people. He used to say to his men: <\/i><\/p>\n \u201cWhen an insolvent person comes to you show him leniency so that hopefully Allah may overlook our faults. Finally he died and met Allah the Almighty and Allah overlooked his faults (forgave him).\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Anbiya, 54; Muslim, Musaqat, 31)<\/p>\n Below is another tradition related to this effect:<\/p>\n \u201cA person from people who lived before you was called to account by Allah on the Day of Judgment and no good was found in his account except this that He had been a rich man and had financial dealings with people. He had commanded his servants to show leniency to those in financial straights.\u00a0 Thereupon, Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, said: We have more right to forgive, so overlook (his faults).\u201d<\/i> (Muslim, Musaqat, 31)<\/p>\n