Riyāḍ uṣ-Ṣāliḥīn · Chapter 62 of 372
Selflessness and Sympathy
The Book of Miscellany – Chapter 62 : Ahadith 564 – 568
Imam Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)
🎧 Listen to all hadiths in Arabic Ch 62 H 564 – 568
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Allah, the Exalted says:
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلۡإِيمَٰنَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ يُحِبُّونَ مَنۡ هَاجَرَ إِلَيۡهِمۡ
“And give them (Emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that.”
[Al-Ḥashr 59:9]
وَيُطۡعِمُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ مِسۡكِينٗا وَيَتِيمٗا وَأَسِيرًا
“And they give food, in spite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to the poor, the orphan, and the captive.”
[Al-Insān 76:8]
564 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said; “I am hard pressed by hunger.” He ﷺ sent a word to one of his wives who replied: “By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, I have nothing except water.” Then he sent the same message to another (wife) and received the same reply. He sent this message to all of them (i.e., his wives) and received the same reply. Then he ﷺ said, “Who will entertain this (man) as guest?” One of the Ansar said: “O Messenger of Allah, I will.” So he took him home and said to his wife: “Serve the guest of Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
Another narration is: The Ansari asked his wife: “Have you got anything?” She answered: “Nothing, except a little food for the children.” He said: “Keep them busy with something, and when they ask for food put them to sleep. When the guest enters, extinguish the light and give him the impression that we are also eating.” So they sat down and the guest ate and they passed the night hungry. When he came to the Prophet ﷺ in the morning, he said to him, “Allah admired what you did with your guest last night.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
565 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The food for two suffices for three; and the food for three suffices for four persons.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In Muslim, Jabir (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The food for one person suffices for two; the food for two suffices for four, and the food fof four suffices for eight persons.”
566 Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Once we were on a journey with Messenger of Allah ﷺ when a rider came and began looking right and left. Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever has an extra mount should offer it to him who is without it, and whoever has surplus food should give it to him who has nothing;” and he continued mentioning other properties until we thought that none of us had any right to surplus of his own property.[Muslim].
567 Sahl bin Sa`d (radiyallahu anhu) reported: A woman brought a woven piece of cloth to Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said to him: “I have woven this sheet with my own hands for you to wear.” He accepted it as he was in need of it. He later came out wearing it as a lower garment. Someone said: “How nice it is! Kindly give it to me.” Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Very well.” He remained in our company for some time, then he went back, folded it and sent it to the man. The people said (to that man): “You did not do well. Messenger of Allah ﷺ wore it and he was in need of it, and you asked him for it when you are well aware that he ﷺ never refuses a request.” He said: “I swear by Allah that I did not ask it for wearing. I asked him for it so that it might be my shroud after my death.” Sahl (the narrator of this Hadith) said: And in fact it was used as his shroud.[Al-Bukhari].
568 Abu Musa (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When the Ash`ariyun run short of food in the Jihad or when they are at home in Al-Madinah, they collect all the provisions they have in a sheet and then divide it equally among themselves. They are of me and I am of them.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].