Chapter: On the Virtues of Poverty and the Poor
باب فی فضل الفقر وفضل الفقراء — احتیاج اور درویشوں کی فضیلت
بَابٌ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَفَضْلِ الْفُقَرَاءِ — Chapter on poverty and the excellence of the poor (On need and the excellence of the needy)
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدٰوةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيْدُوْنَ وَجْهَهٗ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنٰكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيْدُ زِيْنَةَ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ اَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهٗ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوٰىهُ وَكَانَ اَمْرُهٗ فُرُطًا. [reading uncertain]
(al-Kahf 18:28)
Vocabulary: wa-ṣbir nafsaka — and (O addressee!) keep yourself, compel your self to stay; maʿa alladhīna — with those people; yadʿūna rabbahum — who call upon their Lord; bi-l-ghadāti wa-l-ʿashiyyi — morning and evening; yurīdūna wajhahū — they seek His pleasure; [literally] they intend His Face — the part is spoken and the whole is meant: "face" is said and the Essence is meant; wa-lā taʿdu ʿaynāka ʿanhum — and do not turn your eyes away from them, that is, do not leave them and turn your attention to others; turīdu zīnata al-ḥayāti al-dunyā — while you desire the adornment and finery of worldly life, the comforts and luxuries of the world; wa-lā tuṭiʿ — and do not obey, do not follow; man aghfalnā qalbahū — whom We have made heedless, whose heart We have made heedless; ʿan dhikrinā — of Our remembrance; wa-ttabaʿa hawāhu — and he followed his own desire; wa-kāna amruhū furuṭā — and his affair was one of excess (ifrāṭ), going beyond the limit.
Translation: Allah Most High says: And compel yourself to stay with those people who call upon their God morning and evening, and whose aim and purpose is the pleasure of God; and do not turn your gaze away from them while you desire the adornment and finery of worldly life (and intend it). And do not obey such a one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, and who has become subject to his own desire and lust, and whose affair has gone beyond the limit (has reached the limit of excess and extravagance).
عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رُبَّ أَشْعَثَ مَدْفُوْعٍ بِالْأَبْوَابِ لَوْ أَقْسَمَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ لَأَبَرَّهٗ.
(Reported by Muslim; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: ashʿath — dishevelled, in a distressed state; madfūʿ bi-l-abwāb — pushed away from doors; law aqsama — if he were to swear.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: Many a person in a dishevelled state, pushed back from doors — if he were to swear by Allah, Allah would make his oath come true.
عن مصعب بن سعد قال رأى سعدٌ أنّ له فضلاً على من دونه فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هَلْ تُنْصَرُوْنَ وَتُرْزَقُوْنَ إِلَّا بِضُعَفَائِكُمْ.
(Reported by al-Bukhārī; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: dūnahū — lower than him; tunṣarūna wa-turzaqūna — help is given [to you] and provision is given [to you].
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Muṣʿab ibn Saʿd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Saʿd, on seeing [it], thought that he had superiority over those of lower rank than himself [reading uncertain]; so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: You are given help and provision only on account of your weak ones (through their means).
عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قُمْتُ عَلٰى بَابِ الْجَنَّةِ فَكَانَ عَامَّةُ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا الْمَسَاكِيْنُ وَأَصْحَابُ الْجَدِّ مَحْبُوْسُوْنَ غَيْرَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ أُمِرَ بِهِمْ إِلَى النَّارِ وَقُمْتُ عَلٰى بَابِ النَّارِ فَإِذَا عَامَّةُ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا النِّسَاءُ.
(Agreed upon — al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
Vocabulary: maḥbūsūn — held back, detained.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Usāma ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: I stood at the gate of Paradise (and saw) that the generality of those entering it were the poor (masākīn), and the people of rank and grandeur had been held back (were in custody) — except that the people of the Fire had been ordered to go towards the Fire; and when I stood at the gate of Hell, the generality of those entering it were women.
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ فُقَرَاءَ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ يَسْبِقُوْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ بِأَرْبَعِيْنَ خَرِيْفًا.
(Reported by Muslim; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: yasbiqūna al-aghniyāʾ — they will outstrip the wealthy; bi-arbaʿīna kharīfan — by forty years.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: The poor of the Muhājirūn (the Emigrants) will go ahead of the wealthy towards Paradise on the Day of Resurrection by forty (40) years.
وَعَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ مَرَّ رَجُلٌ عَلٰى رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لِرَجُلٍ عِنْدَهٗ جَالِسٍ مَا رَأْيُكَ فِيْ هٰذَا، فَقَالَ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَشْرَافِ النَّاسِ هٰذَا وَاللّٰهِ حَرِيٌّ إِنْ خَطَبَ أَنْ يُنْكَحَ وَإِنْ شَفَعَ أَنْ يُشَفَّعَ قَالَ فَسَكَتَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثُمَّ مَرَّ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ لَهٗ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا رَأْيُكَ فِيْ هٰذَا. فَقَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! هٰذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ فُقَرَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ هٰذَا حَرِيٌّ إِنْ خَطَبَ أَنْ لَا يُنْكَحَ وَإِنْ شَفَعَ أَنْ لَا يُشَفَّعَ وَإِنْ قَالَ أَنْ لَا يُسْمَعَ لِقَوْلِهٖ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هٰذَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ مِلْءِ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَ هٰذَا.
(Agreed upon — al-Bukhārī and Muslim; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: marra rajulun — a man passed; mā raʾyuka — what is your opinion, what do you think; in khaṭaba — if he sends a proposal [of marriage]; an yunkaḥa — that he be given in marriage; wa-in shafaʿa — and if he intercedes; yushaffaʿu — his intercession will be accepted; milʾ al-arḍ — an earth-full, that is, the whole world.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Sahl ibn Saʿd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man passed by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he ﷺ said to a man who was sitting with him: What is your opinion about this man? That man said: He is the most noble of men among the people, and by God he is worthy that, if he sends a proposal to anyone, he
be given in marriage, and if he intercedes, his intercession be accepted. The narrator said: Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ became silent. Then another man passed, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: What is your opinion about this man? He said: O Messenger of Allah, this man is one of the poor among the Muslims. He is such that, if he sends a proposal, he would not be given in marriage; and if he intercedes, his intercession would not be heard; and if he says anything, his word would not even be listened to. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: This man is better than an earth-full of people like that one.
عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ سَبْعِيْنَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الصُّفَّةِ مَا مِنْهُمْ رَجُلٌ عَلَيْهِ رِدَاءٌ إِمَّا إِزَارٌ وَإِمَّا كِسَاءٌ قَدْ رَبَطُوْا فِيْ أَعْنَاقِهِمْ فَمِنْهَا مَا يَبْلُغُ نِصْفَ السَّاقَيْنِ وَمِنْهَا مَا يَبْلُغُ الْكَعْبَيْنِ فَيَجْمَعُهٗ بِيَدِهٖ كَرَاهِيَةَ أَنْ تُرٰى عَوْرَتُهٗ.
(Reported by al-Bukhārī; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: laqad raʾaytu — I have seen; aṣḥāb al-ṣuffa — the People of the Ṣuffa, those who sat on the raised platform [of the Prophet's mosque]; ridāʾ — a sheet [worn over the shoulders]; izār — a waist-wrap; qad rabaṭū — they had tied; fī aʿnāqihim — at their necks; karāhiya — dislike; an turā ʿawratuhū — lest his ʿawra (the part of the body that must be covered) be seen.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I have seen seventy (70) men of the People of the Ṣuffa who had only one sheet each — either take it to be a waist-wrap or take it to be a covering sheet — which they would tie at their necks. Of those sheets, some were such that they reached half-way down the shin, and some were such that they reached the ankles; so they would gather them together with their hand so that their ʿawra would not be seen.
عن ابى هريرة رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يدخل الفقراءُ الجنةَ قَبْلَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ بِخَمْسِ مائة عام نِصْفِ يَوْمٍ.
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī; Mishkāt.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: The poor will enter Paradise five hundred (500) years before the wealthy, which is half a day.
[Marginal note, printed vertically beside this hadith:] لِقَوْلِهٖ تَعَالٰى: وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِمَّا تَعُدُّوْنَ فَنِصْفُهٗ خَمْسُ مِائَةٍ. (مرقاة) — Because of His saying, Most High: "And indeed a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of what you count" [(al-Ḥajj 22:47) — reference not printed, supplied by the translator]; so half of it is five hundred. (Mirqāt) [reading uncertain]
عن انس رضى اللّٰه عنه ان النبى صلى اللّٰه عليه و سلم قال اَللّٰهُمَّ أَحْيِنِيْ مِسْكِيْنًا وَاحْشُرْنِيْ فِيْ زُمْرَةِ الْمَسَاكِيْنِ فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ لِمَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! قَالَ إِنَّهُمْ يَدْخُلُوْنَ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ بِأَرْبَعِيْنَ خَرِيْفًا يَا عَائِشَةُ! لَا تَرُدِّي الْمِسْكِيْنَ وَلَوْ بِشِقِّ تَمْرَةٍ يَا عَائِشَةُ أَحِبِّي الْمَسَاكِيْنَ وَقَرِّبِيْهِمْ فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُقَرِّبُكِ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ. [reading uncertain]
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān, and reported by Ibn Mājah; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: aḥyinī miskīnan — keep me alive as a miskīn (one in need); wa-ḥshurnī — and raise me at the Gathering [of the Last Day], keep me in the Gathering; fī zumrat al-masākīn — in the company of the needy; lā taruddī — do not send back, do not turn away; bi-shiqqi tamratin — half a date; aḥibbī al-masākīna wa-qarribīhim — love the needy and bring them near; yuqarribuki — He will bring you near.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: O Allah, keep me alive as a miskīn, and in the state of
poverty give me death, and raise me in the company of the needy. Then Bībī ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Why, O Messenger of Allah? He said: They will enter Paradise forty (40) years before the wealthy. O ʿĀʾisha, do not turn away any needy one, even if [only] with a piece of a date. O ʿĀʾisha, love the needy and bring them near you, so that Allah brings you near on the Day of Resurrection.
عن ابى الدرداء رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ اِبْغُوْنِيْ فِيْ ضُعَفَائِكُمْ فَإِنَّمَا تُرْزَقُوْنَ أَوْ تُنْصَرُوْنَ بِضُعَفَائِكُمْ.
(Reported by Abū Dāwūd.)
Vocabulary: ibghūnī — seek me, look for me; turzaqūna aw tunṣarūna — you are given provision and help is given [to you].
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Dardāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Seek me among the weak, for you are given provision and are helped only by means of your weak ones.
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ رَضِيَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ بِالْيَسِيْرِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ مِنْهُ بِالْقَلِيْلِ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ.
(Mishkāt.)
Translation: Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: Whoever becomes content with Allah over a little provision, Allah becomes pleased with him even over a little deed.
عَنْ أَبِيْ طَلْحَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ شَكَوْنَا إِلٰى رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْجُوْعَ فَرَفَعْنَا عَنْ بُطُوْنِنَا عَنْ حَجَرٍ حَجَرٍ فَرَفَعَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ بَطْنِهٖ عَنْ حَجَرَيْنِ.
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: shakawnā al-jūʿa — we complained of hunger; fa-rafaʿnā ʿan buṭūninā — so we lifted the cloth from our bellies; ḥajar — one stone; ḥajarayn — two stones.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Ṭalḥa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of hunger, and, lifting the cloth from our bellies, showed one stone each [tied there]; then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lifted the cloth from his blessed belly and showed two stones.
عَنْ أَبِيْ ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ أَمَرَنِيْ خَلِيْلِيْ بِسَبْعٍ أَمَرَنِيْ بِحُبِّ الْمَسَاكِيْنِ وَالدُّنُوِّ مِنْهُمْ وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ أَنْظُرَ إِلٰى مَنْ هُوَ دُوْنِيْ وَلَا أَنْظُرَ إِلٰى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقِيْ وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ أَصِلَ الرَّحِمَ وَإِنْ أَدْبَرَتْ وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ لَا أَسْأَلَ أَحَدًا وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ أَقُوْلَ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنْ كَانَ مُرًّا وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ لَا أَخَافَ فِي اللّٰهِ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ وَأَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ أُكْثِرَ مِنْ قَوْلِ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ فَإِنَّهُنَّ مِنْ كَنْزٍ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ.
(Reported by Aḥmad; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: an anẓura — that I look; dūnī — lower than me; fawqī — higher than me; kanz — treasure.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He said that my Beloved commanded me seven things.
He commanded me to love the needy and to remain near them; and that I look at the person who is of lower rank than me, and not look towards the person who is of higher rank than me; and he commanded me to keep treating my relatives well even if they turn their backs on me (that is, turn their faces away); and he commanded me not to ask anyone for anything; and he commanded me to speak only the truth, even though the true word is bitter; and he commanded me that, in the matter of Allah, I should not fear the blame of any blamer nor pay it any regard; and he also commanded me to recite lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh ("there is no power and no strength except through Allah") abundantly, because it is from the treasury beneath the Throne.
عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا بَعَثَ بِهٖ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ قَالَ إِيَّاكَ وَالتَّنَعُّمَ فَإِنَّ عِبَادَ اللّٰهِ لَيْسُوْا بِالْمُتَنَعِّمِيْنَ.
(Reported by Aḥmad; Mishkāt.)
Vocabulary: iyyāka — beware, save yourself; wa-l-tanaʿʿum — and ease and luxury.
Translation: Ḥaḍrat Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent him off towards Yemen, he said: Keep yourself away from a life of tanaʿʿum — of ease and luxury — for the servants of Allah do not live in ease and luxury.
عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ عَبْدَهُ الْمُؤْمِنَ الْفَقِيْرَ الْمُتَعَفِّفَ أَبَا الْعِيَالِ.
(Reported by Ibn Mājah; Mishkāt.)
Translation: ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: Allah Most High loves such a believing servant who is poor, chaste [in refraining from asking], and has a family of children.