When the Poor Compete with the Rich

When the Poor Compete with the Rich 

By Ibn Daqiq Al-`Id

 

 

On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that some people from amongst the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be pleased with them all) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), ''O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give [much] in charity by virtue of their wealth.” Whereupon, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,

 

“Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity? Truly every tasbehah [saying: subhanallah] is a charity, and every takbirah [saying: Allahu akbar] is a charity, and every tahmidah [saying: Alhamdulillah] is a charity, and every tahlilah [saying: la ilaha illa Allah] is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the bud` [lawful sexual act] of each one of you there is a charity.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his carnal desire will he have some reward for that?!” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner then he will be deserving of a reward.'' (Muslim)

Explanation of the Hadith

Ordering the good and forbidding the evil is a fard kifayah (communal obligation), and at times it may become obligatory upon every individual.

In Arabic the word used for affluent is 'duthur' which implies a large amount of wealth. This hadith is an explanation of the virtue of reciting tasbih and all of the other forms of dhikr (remembrance) of Allah, and of ordering the good and forbidding the evil, and of ensuring that one has the intention of pleasing Allah even in the mubah (permissible) actions, for by having such pure intentions they turn into actions of obedience, deserving of reward.

Also, this hadith is a proof that it is permissible to ask a scholar about the evidence for some of the things in the scholar's fatwa that are not apparent to the questioner, as long as it is clear that the scholar does not dislike this and the questioning is done in a respectful fashion.

The Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) statement "And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity" is an indication that every single type of ordering the good or forbidding the evil carries the ruling of being a charity. Indeed, it is greater than the tasbih and the other forms of dhikr mentioned after it, because ordering the good and forbidding the evil is a fard kifayah (communal obligation), and at times it may become obligatory upon every individual, and this is opposite to the case of the adhkar (plural of dhikr) mentioned previously, which are only nawafil (voluntary deeds). The reward of performing the obligatory deeds is much greater than that of the voluntary deeds, as the statement of Allah in a qudsi hadith indicates: "And My servant does not come closer to Me by anything more beloved to Me than the deeds that I have obligated upon him." (Al-Bukhari) Some scholars have said that the reward for the obligatory deeds is greater than that for the voluntary deeds by seventy levels, as is indicated by some hadiths.

In the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) statement "and in the bud` (sexual act) of each one of you there is a charity" the word "bud`" is a general term that encompasses the meaning of intercourse and also the private parts themselves, and both of them correctly convey the intended meaning here. It has already been mentioned that the permissible actions, i.e., not obligatory nor recommended - become like acts of obedience, which are rewarded for, through the presence of the correct intention. So the act of intercourse also becomes an act of worship, if by it a person intends to fulfill the rights of his wife, and to live with her in a good way, or to seek a pious child, or as a protection for himself or his wife from illegal desires, or other than these from the praiseworthy purposes.

Everyone can perform acts of charity no matter what his station in life.

The poor’s statement "O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his carnal desire will he have some reward for that ?" and the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reply "Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment ?" until the end of the hadith, it indicates the permissibility of qiyas (using analogy to derive rulings) and none are opposed to this except the zahiriyyah (Literalists, referring to the school of Dawud az-Zahiri).

Summary:

• We should have concern for attaining the reward of Allah.
• Comparing oneself to another to see how many good deeds we are performing is permissible and recommended.
• Looking towards one who is rich so that we may do good things like him is desirable.
• Being rich is not a bad thing in and of itself.
• Everyone can perform acts of charity no matter what his station in life.
• Remembering Allah with words is a charity.
• A conjugal relation with ones’ wife is a charity.
• One is rewarded for abstaining from the unlawful, and instead adopting a way which is lawful.