Gardens of the Righteous — Page 118
118. GARDENS OF THE RIGHTEOUS possessed wealth I would have acted like the other one; that is his resolve. His reward is the same as that of the other. Three, a person upon whom Allah bestows wealth but no knowledge and he squanders his wealth ignorantly, does not mind his duty to his Lord in respect of it, does not discharge the obligations of kinship and does not acknowledge the rights of Allah in it. Such a one is in the worst position. Four, a person upon whom Allah bestows neither wealth nor knowledge, and he says: Had I possessed wealth I would have acted like this one. This is his resolve. They are both equal in sinfulness (Tirmidhi). 561. Ayesha relates that they slaughtered a goat and distributed most of its meat. Then the Holy Prophet asked: Is any of it left? She answered:. Nothing is left of it except a shank. He said: All of it is saved except the shank (Tirmidhi). 562. Asma' bint Abu Bakr relates that the Holy Prophet said to her: Do not hold back, else Allah will hold back from you. Another version is: Spend and do not accummulate, and do not keep back what is spare, else Allah will hold back from you (Bokhari and Muslim). 563. Abu Hurairah relates that he heard the Holy Prophet say: The case of a miser and a generous one is like that of two persons who are clad in steel armour from their breasts up to their collar bones. When the generous one spends, his armour expands till it covers his fingers and his toes. When the miser makes up his mind to spend something every ring of the armour sinks into his flesh. He tries to loosen it but it is not loosened (Bokhari and. Muslim). 564. Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet said: If a person gives away in charity to the value of even a date out of his lawful earnings (and. Allah accepts only that which is pure) Allah accepts it with His right hand and fosters it for him, as one of you tends a foal, till it becomes like a mountain (Bokhari and Muslim). 565. Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet said: While a man was walking through a barren tract of land he heard a voice proceeding from a cloud saying: Water the garden of So and So. Thereupon the cloud advanced in a certain direction and rained its water over a rocky piece of land. The streamlets flowed into a large channel. This man followed the channel till it encircled a garden and he saw the owner of the garden standing in its midst working with his spade spreading the water. He asked him: Servant of Allah, what is your name? He told him his name, which was the same that he had heard from the cloud. The owner of the garden then asked him: Servant of. Allah, why did you ask me my name? He answered: I heard a voice from the cloud from which this water has come, saying: Water the garden of So and So; and I would like to know what do you do with it. He said: Now that you ask me I will tell you. I estimate the produce of the garden, then give away one third in charity, use one third for my family and self and restore one third to the garden (Muslim).