The Book of Zakah

Abu Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a man spends something on his family, seeking reward from Allah for it, it will be recorded for him as charity."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The example of a miser and a generous person is that of two men wearing two iron cloaks covering their breasts up to their collar bones. Whenever the generous person gives something away, his iron cloak expands until it becomes so wide that it will cover his fingertips and obliterate his traces. But whenever the miser thinks of spending, every ring of the iron cloak sticks to its place (against his body) and he tries to expand it, but it does not expand.”

‘Adyy ibn Hātim (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is none among you except that Allah will speak to him, with no interpreter between Him and him. He will look to his right and see nothing except what he has sent forth, and he will look to his left and see nothing except what he has sent forth. And he will look ahead of him and see nothing except Hellfire in front of him. So, protect yourselves from Hellfire even with half a date."

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) shortly after dawn when there came to him some people clad in woolen rags, or covered with sleeveless blankets; and with swords hanging down from their necks. Most of them, rather all of them, belonged to the Mudar tribe. The Prophet's face changed when he saw them starving. Then he went into his house and came out; then he commanded Bilāl to proclaim the Adhān. So he proclaimed the Adhān and recited Iqāmah and the Prophet led the prayer. Then he delivered a sermon saying: (O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer) [Sūrat An-Nisā':1]. He also recited a verse at the end of Sūrat al-Hashr: (O you who believe, fear Allah and keep your duty to Him. And let every one look what he has sent forth for the tomorrow.) Thereafter, every man gave in charity dinar, dirham, clothes, measure-fulls of wheat and measure-fulls of dates till he said: "(Give in charity) be it half a date." Then a man from the Ansār came with a bag which was difficult for him to hold in his hand. Thereafter, the people came successively (with charity) till I saw two heaps of food and clothes. I noticed that the Messenger's face was glowing like that of the bright moon or glittering gold. Then he said: "Whosoever introduces a good practice in Islam, there is for him its reward and the reward of those who act upon it after him without anything being diminished from their rewards. And whosoever introduces an evil practice in Islam will shoulder its sin and the sins of all those who will act upon it, without diminishing in any way their burden."

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Āmir al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who recites the Qur’an openly is like he who gives charity openly, and he who recites the Qur’an secretly is like he who gives charity secretly."

Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The needy is not the one who can be turned away with a date-fruit or two, or a morsel or two. But, the needy is the one who abstains from begging."

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who looks after a widow or a needy person is like one who performs Jihad in the cause of Allah, or one who regularly observes voluntary prayer at night and fasting during the day."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) sent to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) from Yemen a piece of gold, that still had some of its dirt on it, in a tanned leather pouch. He said: He distributed it among four men: ‘Uyaynah ibn Badr, Aqra‘ ibn Hābis, Zayd al-Khayl, and the fourth one was either ‘Alqamah or ‘Āmir ibn at-Tufayl. A man from among his Companions said: We were more entitled to this than those. He said: This reached the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "Do you not trust me, whereas I am the trustee of the One Who is in the heavens? News from the heavens comes to me morning and evening." He said: Then a man with sunken eyes, prominent cheeks, an elevated forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head, and his lower garment tucked up stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah, fear Allah. He said: "Woe to you! Am I not the worthiest among the people of the earth to fear Allah?" He said: Then the man left. Khālid ibn al-Walīd said: O Messenger of Allah, should I not strike his neck? He said: "No, perhaps he observes the prayer." Khālid said: And how many are those who pray, saying with their tongues what is not in their hearts. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have not been commanded to pierce people's hearts or to split their bellies." He said: Then he looked at him as he was going away and said: "From the offspring of this man will emerge a people who recite the Book of Allah with fresh voices, yet it will not go beyond their throats. They will depart from the religion as an arrow passes through its target." And I believe he said: "If I live to see them, I will certainly kill them as the people of Thamūd were killed."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One day the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sat on the pulpit, and we sat around him. He said: "Verily, among the things I fear the most for you after me is the splendor and adornment of this worldly life when they become plentifully available to you." A man said: O Messenger of Allah, can good bring forth evil? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent, and it was said to him: What is the matter with you? You are talking to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he is not talking to you. We noticed that he was receiving revelation. He said: He wiped off his sweat and said: "Where is the questioner?" It seemed as if he liked his question. He said: "Verily, good does not bring forth evil, but some of what grows in spring kills or is about to kill except for the eater of Khadrā’ (kind of plant) that eats until both its flanks expand, then it faces the sun and defecates and urinates and starts to graze again. This wealth is, indeed, green and sweet. A good companion of the Muslim, it is from which he gives to the needy, the orphan, and the wayfarer—or as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said. Whoever takes it unlawfully is like the one who eats but is never satiated, and it will be a witness against him on the Day of Judgment."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Some people from the Ansār asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for charity and he gave them. They asked him again, and he gave them until there was nothing left. Thereupon, he said to them: "Whatever good I have, I will not withhold from you. Whoever tries to be chaste, Allah will make him chaste; whoever tries to be self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient; whoever tries to be patient, Allah will make him patient. No one is granted a gift better and ampler than patience."

Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmān Mu‘āwiyah ibn Abi Sufyān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not be importunate in asking (for something), for by Allah, if one of you asked me for something and I gave it to him while I am reluctant, there will be no blessing in what I gave him."

‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Adiyy ibn al-Khiyār reported: Two men informed me that they came to the Prophet (ﷺ) during the Farewell Pilgrimage while he was distributing charity. They asked him for some of it. He raised his gaze and lowered it, observing that we were two strong men. He said: "If you wish, I will give you, but there is no share in it for the rich, nor for the strong and capable of earning."

Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for some money, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me, and then he said: "O Hakīm, this money is like a sweet, fresh fruit; whoever takes it without greediness, he is blessed with it, and whoever takes it with greediness, he is not blessed with it, and he is like a person who eats but is never satiated; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand." Hakīm added: I said: O Messenger of Allah, by the One Who sent you with the truth, I shall never accept anything from anyone after you until I depart this world. Then Abu Bakr would call Hakīm in order to give him, and he would refuse to take anything. Then ‘Umar called him to give it to him, but he would refuse to accept it. Upon that, ‘Umar said: O Muslims, I offer Hakīm his share from this booty that Allah entitled him to, and he refuses to take it. So, Hakīm never took anything from anybody after the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) till he died (may Allah have mercy upon him).

Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for some money, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me, and then he said: "O Hakīm, this money is like a sweet, fresh fruit; whoever takes it without greediness, he is blessed with it, and whoever takes it with greediness, he is not blessed with it, and he is like a person who eats but is never satiated; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand." Hakīm added: I said: O Messenger of Allah, by the One Who sent you with the truth, I shall never accept anything from anyone after you until I depart this world. Then Abu Bakr would call Hakīm in order to give him, and he would refuse to take anything. Then ‘Umar called him to give it to him, but he would refuse to accept it. Upon that, ‘Umar said: O Muslims, I offer Hakīm his share from this booty that Allah entitled him to, and he refuses to take it. So, Hakīm never took anything from anybody after the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) till he died (may Allah have mercy upon him).

Hakīm ibn Hizām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for some money, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me. Then I asked him again, and he gave it to me, and then he said: "O Hakīm, this money is like a sweet, fresh fruit; whoever takes it without greediness, he is blessed with it, and whoever takes it with greediness, he is not blessed with it, and he is like a person who eats but is never satiated; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand." Hakīm added: I said: O Messenger of Allah, by the One Who sent you with the truth, I shall never accept anything from anyone after you until I depart this world. Then Abu Bakr would call Hakīm in order to give him, and he would refuse to take anything. Then ‘Umar called him to give it to him, but he would refuse to accept it. Upon that, ‘Umar said: O Muslims, I offer Hakīm his share from this booty that Allah entitled him to, and he refuses to take it. So, Hakīm never took anything from anybody after the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) till he died (may Allah have mercy upon him).

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: 'I donated a horse for Jihad. The man who had the horse neglected it, so I wanted to buy it back, thinking that he would sell it for a cheap price. I asked the Prophet about this, and he said: "Do not buy it back and do not take back your charity, even if he gives it to you for one dirham, for the one who takes back his gift is like the one who takes back his vomit."

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: 'I donated a horse for Jihad. The man who had the horse neglected it, so I wanted to buy it back, thinking that he would sell it for a cheap price. I asked the Prophet about this, and he said: "Do not buy it back and do not take back your charity, even if he gives it to you for one dirham, for the one who takes back his gift is like the one who takes back his vomit."