In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the
Merciful
Abdullah bin Umar reported: The Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Every
one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of the
people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects: a man is the guardian
of his family and is responsible for his subjects, a woman is the guardian of
her husband’s home and of his children and is responsible for them, and the
slave of a man is a guardian of his master’s property and is responsible for
it. Surely, every one of you is a shepherd and responsible for his flock.
One of the ways we can be responsible is to
provide for others and to instill within ourselves a strong work ethic. It is
far better for a Muslim to earn his own living and provide for his family than
to rely upon the charity of others.
Az-Zubair ibn Awwam reported: The Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Providing charity for others is far better
than receiving charity yourself. Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The
upper hand is better than the lower hand, the upper hand being the one that
gives and the lower hand being the one that receives” (Sahih Muslim 1033)
The Prophets were the best examples of
self-sufficiency, hard work, and responsibility. For example, the Prophet
David, upon him be peace, would never eat a meal unless he earned it himself.
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, said:
David would work with his own hands even
though he was king of the Israelites. He could have lived a life of luxury and
ease, but rather he set for us an excellent example of responsibility and hard
work.
Likewise, the Prophet Zechariah, upon him be
peace, earned his living as a humble carpenter.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Prophet Muhammad would also serve himself and
perform chores for his family, rather than having others work for him.
In this regard, the Prophet would frequently
ask Allah for the means to be self-sufficient.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
For those who are struggling to meet their
needs, it is a virtue to give them charity but it is even better to give them
the means to support themselves, as in the popular saying, “Feed a man a fish
and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.”
On one occasion, a man came to the Prophet
begging him for charity but the Prophet gave him the means to work for himself.
Anas ibn Malik reported: A man from the Ansar
came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and begged
from him. The Prophet asked:
He replied, “Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of
which we wear and a part of which we spread on the ground, and a wooden bowl
from which we drink water.” The Prophet said:
He then brought these articles to him and he
took them in his hands and asked:
A man said, “I will buy them for one coin.”
He said twice or thrice:
A man said, “I will buy them for two coins.”
He gave these to him and took the two coins and, giving them to the helper, the
Prophet said:
The Prophet fixed a handle on it with his own
hands and said:
The man went away and gathered firewood and
sold it. When he had earned ten coins, he came to him and bought a garment with
some of them and food with the others. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, then said:
Begging without a valid excuse is a major sin
in Islam and there is no blessing in the charity one receives from such begging.
Mu’awiya reported: The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Begging for charity is only permissible in
cases of dire need such as overcoming a large debt, experiencing a calamity, or
suffering in extreme poverty.
Qabisa ibn Mukhariq reported: The Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“O
Qabisa, begging is not lawful except for one of three cases: a man who is in
heavy debt, so begging is permissible for him until he pays it, after which he
must stop; a man whose property is destroyed by a calamity, so begging is
permissible for him until he can support himself; and a man who is afflicted by
poverty attested to by three astute members of his people, so begging is
permissible for him until he can support himself. O Qabisa, besides these three
begging is forbidden and the beggar consumes what is forbidden “(Sahih Muslim 1044).
For this reason, the Prophet taught the
companions not to ask others for charity. In fact, this was part of the pledge
of allegiance some of the companions made to the Prophet.
Awf ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Someone said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have
already given you our pledge, so what are we pledging to now?” The Prophet said:
The companions were so careful to obey this
command that they would not ask for help even in small matters. Awf ibn Malik
said:
It is not necessary for Muslims to go so far,
but this demonstrates how seriously the companions took this command.
Musa ibn Anas reported:
The Prophet would even give charity even to
beggars who were rude and disrespectful.
Anas ibn Malik reported:
In summary, Muslims should develop a strong
and responsible work ethic. We should do our best to provide for ourselves and
others, rather than relying upon the charity of others. We should not beg
unless it is absolutely necessary, but even then we should answer the request
of the beggar.