Authentic Hadith pertaining to GENEROSITY & SPENDING IN A GOOD CAUSE Extracted from Imam Nawawi’s Reference “The Gardens of Righteousness” translated and presented by Shaykh Ahmad Darwish, Anne (Khadeijah) Stephens Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com ©1984-2012 Darwish Family. All rights reserved BOOK 56 Allah, the Exalted, says: “..... Whatever you expend He will replace it. He is the Best of providers.” 34:39 Koran “..... Whatever good you spend is for yourselves, provided that you give it desiring the Face of Allah. And whatever good you spend shall be repaid to you in full, you shall not be harmed.” 2:272 Koran SPEND IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE RICH AND THE WISE |H 545 “There are only two categories of people worthy of envy, they are: a man to whom Allah has given wealth so he spent it on the truth; and a man to whom Allah has given wisdom with which he judges and teaches.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Mas'ud who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. OUR BEST DEEDS |H 546 “Which of you loves the property of his heir more than his own? His Companions replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, there are none among us that do not love his own property better.’ The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said, ‘His property is that which he has forwarded; that which he holds back belongs to his heir.’" Bukhari with a chain up to ibn Mas'ud who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked this. MERITS OF SPENDING IN THE NAME OF ALLAH |H 550 “Allah, the Exalted, says, ‘Spend, son of Adam, you will also be spent upon.'” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. SURPLUS OF MONEY |H 553 “O son of Adam, if you were to spend that which is left over it will be better for you. If you withhold it, it will be evil for you. You will not be blamed for keeping that which you need. Begin by spending it upon your dependents.” Tirmidhi with a chain up to Abu Umamah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. WEALTH IS NOT DECREASED BY GIVING CHARITY |H 558 “Wealth is not decreased by giving charity. Allah increases the honor of one who forgives, and the one who humbles himself for the sake of Allah so much that He raises them in rank.” Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. DISTRIBUTION OF MEAT |H 560 “A goat was slaughtered and most of its meat distributed. Then the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked: ‘Is any of it left?’ Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, replied, ‘Nothing is left of it except a shank.’ He said, ‘All of it is saved except the shank.’” Tirmidhi with a chain up to the Mother of Believers, Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, who related this hadith. ALLAH INCREASES YOUR CHARITY |H 563 “If a person gives in charity - even as little as a date from his lawfully gained earnings and Allah only accepts that which is pure – Allah accepts it with His Right Hand and nurtures it for him as one of you would tend a calf, until it becomes like a mountain.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. BLESSINGS FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE |H 564 “A man was walking through a barren piece of land when he heard a voice coming from a cloud saying, ‘Water the garden of so and so.’ Thereupon the cloud floated in a certain direction and showered its rain over a rocky piece of land. Streams of water began to flow into a large canal, so the man followed the canal and found it circling a garden. There he saw the owner of the garden standing in its midst using his spade to spread the water. The man asked him, ‘Worshiper of Allah, what is your name?’ So he told him his name, which was the same as he had heard from the cloud. The owner of the garden then asked the man: ‘Worshiper of Allah, why did you ask me my name?’ The man replied, ‘I heard a voice coming from the cloud from which this water fell, saying: Water the garden of so and so, may I know what you do with it?’ He answered, ‘As you have asked me, I will tell you. When the produce of the garden is ready I give one third of it in charity. I use one third for my family and myself and use the remaining third to sow another crop.’” Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. DO NOT BE THE RICHEST MAN IN THE GRAVEYARD |H 561 “Do not withhold anything, or else Allah will withhold from you. Spend (in charity) and do not accumulate. Do not keep what remains, or else Allah will withhold from you.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Asma' the daughter of Abu Bakr who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this to her GENEROSITY PROTECTION FROM THE FIRE |H 140 “Shield yourselves from the Fire, even if it is by giving (as little as) half a date in charity.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Adiyy son of Hatim who related that he heard the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, say this. BEST ACTIONS |H 551 “A man asked the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, ‘What action is best in Islam?’ He answered: ‘Feeding people and greeting everyone with the greeting of peace whether you know them or not.’" Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abdullah the son of Amr son of Al 'As who related this. FORTY KINDS OF GOOD DEEDS |H 552 “There are forty types of good deeds. Of the highest is the loan of a she-camel yielding milk. Whichever of these deeds are practiced in hope of receiving its reward and relying on the fulfillment of its promise will lead its practitioner to Paradise.” Bukhari with a chain up to Abdullah, the son of Amr son of Al 'As who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. GIVER AND RECEIVER |H 554 “The upper hand is better than the lower.” Muslim added this. THE GENEROSITY OF THE PROPHET Praise and peace be upon him EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHET, praise and peace be upon him |H 548 “The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, never refused anyone who asked him for something.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Jabir who related this. FOR THE LOVE OF ISLAM |H 555 “Whenever a person asked the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, to give him something, he would give it to them. A man who came to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, gave him a flock of sheep that roamed in a valley. When the man returned to his people he told them: ‘O my people, accept Islam because Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, gives away on such a scale that no fear of poverty is left.’ Then, within a short while, Islam became dearer to even the person who embraced Islam for worldly gain, more than the world and all that is in it.” Muslim with a chain up to Anas who related this hadith. THE PROPHET WAS NEVER MISERLY, praise and peace be upon him |H 556 The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, had distributed some property when Omar said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, the others were more deserving than these.’ He replied, ‘They have the option to either ask me openly for it - and I would give them - or, they might charge me with miserliness, and I am not a miser.’" Muslim with a chain up to Omar who related this hadith. THE PROPHET, praise and peace be upon him AND THE BEDOUINS |H 557 “After the battle of Hunain, Jubair was walking with the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, when a group of Arab Bedouins encircled him and began asking him (for things). They forced him under a tree and his cloak was snatched from him. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, stopped and said, ‘Return my cloak to me, if I had favors in the same numbers of these trees I would have distributed it all among you. You will not find me a miser, liar or a coward.’" Bukhari with a chain up to Jubair, the son of Muti'm who related this hadith. DEEDS FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH THREE GUARANTEED THINGS |H 559 “There are three things I swear upon: The wealth of a worshiper is never decreased by charity. Allah increases the honor of whosoever endures a wrong with patience. There is no worshiper that opens the door of begging that Allah does not open for him a door of poverty. He added: Remember well what I am going to tell you. The world is comprised up of four kinds of people: The first is the person whom Allah has favored with wealth and knowledge, and is mindful of his duty to His Lord with them. He strengthens the ties of kinship and practices the rights of Allah in them. Such a person is in the best position. The second is the person whom Allah has favored with knowledge but not wealth and is sincere and says, ‘Had I possessed wealth I would have done the same as the first.’ His reward will be the same as the other. The third is the person whom Allah has favored with wealth but not knowledge and squanders his wealth ignorantly. This person is the one who is not mindful of his duty to his Lord in respect of his favor and who neither discharges his obligations of family ties nor practices the rights of Allah in it. Such a person is in the worst position. The fourth is the person whom Allah has neither favored with wealth nor knowledge, and says, ‘If I possessed wealth I would have been like that person.’ This is his intention. They are both equal in sinfulness.” Tirmidhi with a chain up to Amr, the son of Sa'ad Anmari who related that he heard the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, say this. DEFINITION OF A MISER AND A GENEROUS PERSON GENEROSITY AND MISERLINESS |H 295 “Everyday two angels descend. One of them says, ‘May Allah, increase those who spend.’ The other says, ‘May Allah, ruin the miser.’" Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. LIKENESS OF A MISER AND A GENEROUS PERSON |H 562 “The case of a miser and a generous person is similar to that of two people clad in steel armor from their chest up to their collar bone. When the generous person spends, his armor expands until it covers his fingers and his toes. When the miser concedes to spend something, every link of the armor sinks into his flesh. He tries to loosen it, but it does not become loose.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that he heard the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, say this. AVOID BEING MISERLY |H 565 “Avoid harm doing. On the Day of Resurrection harm will be darkness. Safeguard yourselves against miserliness, for miserliness has ruined nations before you. It incited them to murder and to treating the unlawful as lawful.” Muslim with a chain up to Jabir who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. INDEX GENEROSITY & SPENDING IN A GOOD CAUSE BOOK 56 KORAN SPEND IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE RICH AND THE WISE OUR BEST DEEDS MERITS OF SPENDING IN THE NAME OF ALLAH SURPLUS OF MONEY WEALTH IS NOT DECREASED BY GIVING CHARITY DISTRIBUTION OF MEAT ALLAH INCREASES YOUR CHARITY BLESSINGS FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE DO NOT BE THE RICHEST MAN IN THE GRAVEYARD GENEROSITY PROTECTION FROM THE FIRE GENEROSITY AND MISERLINESS BEST ACTIONS FORTY KINDS OF GOOD DEEDS GIVER AND RECEIVER THE GENEROSITY OF THE PROPHET Praise and peace be upon him EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHET, praise and peace be upon him FOR THE LOVE OF ISLAM THE PROPHET WAS NEVER MISERLY, praise and peace be upon him THE PROPHET, praise and peace be upon him AND THE BEDOUINS DEEDS FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH THREE GUARANTEED THINGS DEFINITION OF A MISER AND A GENEROUS PERSON GENEROSITY AND MISERLINESS LIKENESS OF A MISER AND A GENEROUS PERSON AVOID BEING MISERLY