BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHIM Who Tried to Steal the Zakat? with a quiz Adapted for Children from an authentic hadith Transmitted by Abu Hurayrah by (Anne Stephens) Khadeijah A. Darwish Copyright © 1984-2013 Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com. All rights reserved. Free give away not for sale or resale WHO TRIED TO STEAL THE ZAKAT? Ramadan had just ended and that year Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, had appointed Abu Hurayrah to be the custodian of the Zakat, which is the charity every adult Muslim must pay at the end of Ramadan before the Eid prayer. Such an appointment was, and still is, one of great honor and trust. Now that the Eid prayer had been offered and the zakat collected it was taken to a room where it would remain until it was time for the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, to distribute it amongst the poor. That night when all was quiet and the townspeople slept Abu Hurayrah took up his position outside the room. Suddenly, Abu Hurayrah heard a suspicious noise coming from inside the room so he leapt to his feet to investigate. As he opened the door, much to his surprise, he found a thief filling his bag with the zakat. Abu Hurayrah wasted no time, he rushed over and grabbed hold of intruder and exclaimed: "I will take you to the Messenger of Allah!" But, the thief pleaded with him not to do that saying: "I am in great need and have a very large family to feed." Times had been hard and Abu Hurayrah, who was no stranger to poverty, felt sorry for him so he decided to let the intruder go. The next morning, much to Abu Hurayrah's astonishment, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked: "What did you do with the intruder you caught last night?" Abu Hurayrah told him about the intruder and his circumstances, then told him that he had taken pity on him and let him go. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurayrah: "He lied to you; he will return" and Abu Hurayrah knew that the thief would indeed return, so that night he kept watch for him. Sure enough, as soon as everyone was asleep the thief returned and started to fill his bag yet again. Abu Hurayrah reached out and grabbed him saying: "I am going to take you to the Messenger of Allah!" But once again the thief begged him for the sake of his family not to do so and promised not to return if he let him go. The following morning the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked what had happened that night whereupon Abu Hurayrah told him that the thief had indeed returned as he said he would. He told him how the thief had pleaded with him not to take him to him on account of the urgent need of his family and that he had given his promise never to return if he let him go, so he let him go. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurayrah that the thief had lied and would return that very night despite his promise not to return. That night, Abu Hurayrah sat quietly in wait for the thief. Sure enough as soon as everyone was asleep the thief broke his promise and crept into the room with the intention to steal. Abu Hurayrah jumped out from his hiding place, grabbed hold of the thief and exclaimed: "You promised me you would not return yet you came back!" The thief did not expect to be caught and pleaded with him once more, but this time he said: "Let me go and I will tell you some words which will be good for you." Abu Hurayrah asked: "What might they be?" The thief answered: "When you go to bed recite the verse of the Throne (Koran, Chapter 2 verse 255) because it contains the protection of Allah, and satan is unable to approach you until the morning." So once again Abu Hurayrah let him go. The next morning the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked Abu Hurayrah what had happened during the night whereupon Abu Hurayrah repeated what the thief had told him. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurayrah that this time the thief had spoken truthfully, however, the fact remained he was still a liar. Then he asked, "Abu Hurayrah, do you know with whom you spoke during these three nights?" Abu Hurayrah had no idea and replied, "No" whereupon the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, informed him that the intruder had been none other than satan! The End Ask your parents to teach you the verse of the Throne which you can find in the Koran, Chapter 2 verse 255, then say it just before you go to sleep, and Allah will protect you. When you are older you can read the Hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah in Imam Nawawi's book of authentic Hadith "The Gardens of Righteousness" QUIZ TIME! What is an authentic hadith? Is it A saying from the Koran A saying of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him A story What was the name of the companion appointed to guard the zakat? Omar Abu Bakr Abu Hurayrah What excuse did the thief give? He had a large family He wanted to give the money away He had lost something in the room and was looking for it What did Abu Hurayrah do? He took him to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him He told him to take some of the zakat He felt sorry for him and let him go What is the name given to the protection verse? Al Fatiha The Throne verse Al Iklas Joseph Who was the intruder? A stranger A poor man satan Abu Hurayrah QUIZ TIME ANSWERS b c a c b c