Narrated `Adi ibn Haatim(may Allah be pleased with him): While I was sitting with Allah's Messenger ﷺ,two persons came to him; one of them complained about his poverty and the other complained about the prevalence of robberies. Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, "With regards to stealing and robberies, there will shortly come a time when a caravan will go to Makkah (from al-Madinah), without any guard. And regarding poverty, The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till one of you wanders about with his charity and will not find anybody to accept it. Each one of you will stand in front of Allah, and there will be neither a barrier nor an interpreter between him and Allah, and Allah will ask him, “Did not I give you wealth?” He will reply in the affirmative. Allah will further ask, “Did not I send a Messenger to you?” And again, that person will reply in the affirmative. Then, he will look to his right, and he will see nothing but Hellfire, and then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hellfire. And so, each one of you should save himself from the fire, by giving even half of a date-fruit (in charity). And if you do not find a half datefruit, then (you can do it through saying) a pleasant word..
Commentary :
The Prophet ﷺ would always urge his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to hasten to good deeds, encouraging them to do good deeds and warning them against sins, by reminding them of what Allah has made for people in the Hereafter i.e., Paradise and Hellfire.
In this hadeeth, ‘Adi ibn Haatim(may Allah be pleased with him) reports that while he was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, two men approached him to raise their concerns about two issues. The first one complained about poverty,and the other expressed his concern regarding road robberies. The Prophet ﷺ assured the latter that safety will prevail,as it will not be long until caravans will travel without requiring any guard alongside them to provide protection. This happened after Islam spread everywhere. He ﷺ explained to the former that the Day of Judgment will not be established until poverty disappears, and people become affluent, as it will be one of the signs of the Hour. It has been said this will happen during the time of al-Mahdee and Jesus (peace be upon him), after he descends to earth. At that time, wealth will be so abundant, that people will find no one to accept their charity and zakat. It has been said this it will be so because people would opt for the Hereafter, and give up on worldly pleasures, thus, they would be satisfied with whatever Allah provides for them each day, and refrain from saving any money for tomorrow.
Then, the Prophet ﷺ explained that on the Day of Judgment, each person will stand before Allah, Most High, without having any barriers between him and Allah, Exalted be He, who will talk to them directly, without any medium or interpreter. At that point, Allah will ask each one, “Did not I give you wealth?”, “Did not I send a Messenger to you?” The person who withheld his zakat will reply in the affirmative, and acknowledge that Allah sent a Messenger, who conveyed to the people that Allah made zakat one of the pillars of Islam, and that the poor have a right on their money,which should be fulfilled. Then, this person will look to his left and right, and will see nothing but Hellfire. At that moment, he will become certain that he will be punished for his miserliness.
Thereafter, the Prophet ﷺ ordered each and every Muslim to shield himself from Hellfire,by giving charity, even if it was as little as half of a date-fruit. And if they do not find a half date fruit, thenthey should speak good to people, to bring happiness to their hearts. This proves that speaking good words is a form of charity that protects from the Hellfire, and evil words bring about punishment in Hellfire. For this reason, the Muslim should never belittle any charity even if it is extraordinarily little, because it will benefit the person who gave it in charity,as well as the person who will receive it.
This hadeeth warns us from postponing the giving of zakat, because doing so may make the person find no one to take it from him later.
It also serves as evidence that testifies to the Prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ.
Furthermore, it shows that even a little charity is accepted by Allah, Most High, and that we should never look down upon any little charity and urge people to never underestimate any good deed or word, regardless of how little it is.
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