The Story of Abu Ghayth
The Story of Abu Ghayth
“From the signs of truthfulness is fear
of Allah and asceticism in life; for the truthful with conviction fears
consuming from what is impermissible and bears poverty and hardship for
the sake of Islam. If he commits sin then he does not sleep until he
returns to his Lord and repents, in order to free himself from the sin,
and its burden.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari: I was in Makkah during the season of Hajj and I saw a man from Khurasaan calling out to the people: “Oh
pilgrims, oh people of Makkah – from those who are present and those
far off, I have lost a pouch that contains a thousand dinars. So whoever
returns the pouch, Allah will reward them with good, save them from the
hell fire, and His bounty and favors will be acquired on the Day of
Accounting (Day of Judgment).”
An old man from the people of Makkah
approached him and said: “Oh Khurasaani, our city is in a very tough
condition, and the days of Hajj are few, and its season is appointed,
and the doors of profit-making are closed. This money might fall in the
hands of a believer who is poor and old in age. Maybe he plans to give
it if you make a promise that you will give him a little bit of money
that is Halal (permissible) for him to use.”
The Khurasaani said: “How much does he want?”
The old man said: “He wants one-tenth of the money (a hundred dinars).”
The Khurasaani said: “No. I will
not grant him the money and instead I will take my case to Allah, and
complain to Him on the day we meet Him, and Allah is sufficient for us
and the best one to trust in.”
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: “I realized
that it was the old man is poor, and he was the one who took the pouch
of dinars and wishes to have a little portion of it. So I followed him
until he returned to his home. My assumptions were confirmed. I heard
him calling onto his wife:”Oh Lubabah.”
She said: “I am at your service, O Abu Ghayth.”
The old man said: I found the owner of
the dinars calling for it, and he does not intend to give any reward to
the person who finds it. I said to him “Give us a hundred dinars and he
refused and said he would take his case to Allah. What should I do O
Lubabah? I must return it, for I fear my Lord, and I fear that my sin is
multiplied.
His wife said to him: Oh Man! We have
been struggling and suffering from poverty with you for the last 50
years, and you have 4 daughters, 2 sisters, my mother and I, and you are
the ninth. Keep all the money and feed us for we are hungry, and clothe
us for you know better our situation. Perhaps Allah, the All-Mighty,
will make you rich afterwards and you might be able to give the money
back after you fed your children, or Allah will pay the amount you owe
on the day when the kingdom will belong to the King (Allah).
He said to her: Will I consume Haram
after 86 years of my life, and burn my organs with fire after I have
been patient with my poverty, and become worthy of Allah anger, even
though I am close to my grave?! No, By Allah, I will not do so!
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: I left with
amazement concerning his condition and that of his wife. At a later
point during the day, I heard the owner of the pouch calling out…
Saying: “O people of Makkah, O
pilgrims, who ever of you find a pouch containing a thousand dinars, let
him return it and they shall surely find great reward with Allah.”
The old man said: Oh Khurasaani, I have
addressed you the other day and advised you that our land is low on
cultivation, so reward the person who found the pouch so that he is not
tempted to break the laws of Allah. I have advised you to pay the person
who finds it a hundred dinars but you refused. If your money falls into
hands of a person who fears Allah the All-Mighty, will you give him 10
dinars at least, instead of a 100?
The Khurasaani said: I will not do so,
and I will complain to Allah on the day I meet him, and Allah is
sufficient for us and the best one to trust in.”
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: The people dispersed and left. Later on during the hours of the day, once again, the Khurasaani made the same call, saying: “O people of Makkah, O pilgrims, who ever of you find a pouch containing a thousand dinars, let him return it and they shall surely find great reward with Allah.”
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: The people dispersed and left. Later on during the hours of the day, once again, the Khurasaani made the same call, saying: “O people of Makkah, O pilgrims, who ever of you find a pouch containing a thousand dinars, let him return it and they shall surely find great reward with Allah.”
The old man came again and said: O
Khurasaani, I said to you the day before yesterday to reward the finder a
hundred dinars and you refused. Then I advised you to give him ten
dinars and you refused, so will you give only one dinar so that he can
buy with half of it things he needs and with the other half, sheep milk,
so that he can give to the people and feed his children?
The Khurasaani said: I will not
do so, and I will complain to Allah on the day I meet him, and Allah is
sufficient for us and the best one to trust in. ” The old man
angrily said: Come you, and take your money so that I can sleep at
night, for I have not had a good mood ever since I found this money.
Ibn Jarir said: So the old man went with
the owner of the money and I followed them until the old man entered his
house, dug a hole and pulled out the money and said: Take your money
and ask Allah to forgive me and bless me from His bounty.
The Khurasaani took the money and
intended to leave, but when he reached the door he said: O old man, my
father died, May Allah have mercy on him, and left behind three thousand
dinars and said to me: Take out a third of this money and give it to a
person from the people who is most deserving of it. Therefore I tied it
in a pouch so that I may spend it on someone who is worthy of it. By
Allah, I have not seen a person, since I left Khurasaan until now, who
is more worthy of it then you. So take it, May Allah’s blessing be upon
you, and May He reward for the trust you kept, and your patience during
poverty. The Khurasaani man left without the money.
The old man wept and prayed to Allah, saying: May Allah bless the owner of the money in his grave, and May Allah bless his son.
Ibn Jarir said: I left after the
Khurasaani but Abu Ghayth (the old man) followed me and brought me back.
He asked me to sit down, and said: I have seen you following me since
the first day; you have come to know of our situation yesterday and
today. I have heard that the Prophet said: “If you are gifted from the
provision of Allah, without begging or asking, then accept it and do not
reject it.” So this is a gift from Allah to all those attending.
The old man called: O Lubabah, O so and
so, O so and so. He called on his daughters and his sisters and wife and
her mother, and sat down and made me sit down. We were 10. He opened
the bag, and said spread your clothing over your laps.
So I (Ibn Jarir) did, but the girls did
not have proper clothing that would enable them to do that, so they
extended their hands. The old man gave dinar by dinar in order until he
reached me (Ibn Jarir) and said: “Here is a dinar.” The process
continued until the bag was empty and I received a hundred dinars.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: So joy filled
my heart because of the provision they received more then the joy I had
because I received a hundred dinars.
When I was leaving the old man said: O
young man. You are blessed; keep this money with you for it is halal.
And know that I use to wake up for Fajr prayer with this wet shirt.
After I was done I would take it off, and give it so that my daughters
can pray – one by one. Then I would go to work between Dhuhr prayer and
Asr prayer and then I would come back at the end of the day with what
Allah has given me from dates and dry pieces of bread. Then I would take
off my clothes for my daughters and they would pray Dhuhr prayer and
Asr prayer, and the same would happen for the Maghrib and Isha prayers.
And we did not ever expect to see this kind of money. So may Allah make
us make good use of them, and may Allah bless the person in his grave
and multiply the reward for him.
Ibn Jarir said: So I greeted him goodbye,
and took the hundred dinars and used them to write knowledge for two
years! I used it to buy paper and pay rent and after sixteen years I
returned to Makkah and inquired about the old man. I was told that he
died a few months after the incident that occurred between us. His wife
died, along with her mother, and his 2 sisters. The only ones that
remained were the daughters whom, when I asked about, found that they
were married to kings and Princes. I dropped by and they honored me as a
guest and treated me kindly until they died also. So May Allah bless
them in their graves.
That will be an admonition given
to him who believes in Allah and the Last Day. And whosoever fears Allah
and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).
And He will provide him from
(sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah,
then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose.
Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. (At-Talaq 65: 2-3)
Source; Haqislam
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