Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 151
151 Explanatory Notes The Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) made the foregoing observation when his close companion, Hadrat Saad bin Ab i Waqq as (May Allah be pleased with him) fell ill during the course of his journey to Mecca. Fearing that his end was near, he expressed to the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a desire to bequeath the whole of his property in the way of Allah. The Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that it was far too much and that he could not permit that. Thereupon Hadrat Saad proposed to bequeath away two-thirds of his property. The Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) did not permit that much either. Then, in the end, Hadrat Saad (May Allah be pleased with him) begged leave to give away one-third of his property. The Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) permitted him to do so and observed that it was better if he left behind his heirs in good circumstances rather than in straitened circumstances whereby, they were forced to beg for help from others. This wise observation shows that Islam advises foresight and recognises the importance of material means in emergent conditions. It does not permit a well-to-do Muslim to donate the whole of his property to the Divine cause and to ignore the rights of His creatures by depriving his heirs of a share, forcing them to take to begging after his death. It is a pity, however, that Muslims of today take an erroneous view of trust in God [ tawakkul ]; in their view, it amounts to leaving the matter in the hands of God, refraining from making any effort themselves in this behalf. The Islamic trust in God is in no way susceptible to this interpretation. True Islamic trust in God, on the contrary, consists of taking all the necessary steps within one’s means