30 Benefits from The Hadith on ‘spend on yourself and your family’.

A person from the Banu ‘Udhra set a slave free after his death. This news reached the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Upon this he said: Have you any property besides it? He said: No. Upon this he said: Who would buy (this slave) from me? Nulaim b. Abdullah bought it for eight hundred dirhams and (this amount was) brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who returned it to him (the owner),

and then said: Start with your own self and spend it on yourself, and if anything is left, it should be spent on your family, and if anything is left (after meeting the needs of the family) it should be spent on relatives, and if anything is left from the family, it should be spent like this, like this.

And he was saying: In front of you, on your right and on your left.

(Sahih Muslim 997a)

Some benefits from this Hadith are:

1. That a person from Banu ‘Udhra decided something, and made a will, and this news reached the Prophet, this shows that the Prophet ﷺ was usually informed of the important events and deaths in and around Madinah.

2. The man from Banu ‘Udhra had a slave in his lifetime. This shows that it was permissible to own slaves during the days of the Prophet ﷺ.

3. If human beings can be enslaved, under certain strict conditions, it is all the more permissible to cage animals and birds, subjected that they’re maintained and fed well without being harmed or abused.

4. So this man, decided to set his slave free after his death. This shows that this man wanted to do a very rewarding act which is encouraged in Islam. Setting a bonded slave free is Mustahab (highly recommended).

5. The Prophet ﷺ enquired about what property he left behind, this is from the concern of the Prophet ﷺ for the man’s family. This shows us the nature that has to be imbibed by the leader of a nation.

6. The man replied that he had no other property except for this slave. This shows the greatness of the sincerity of that man, who was about to give away all of his wealth in the path of Allah even though he had nothing else.

7. The Prophet ﷺ questioned him about his property. This shows that it is permissible to save and accumulate wealth for the future.

8. There were many Sahaba who donated everything they had in the cause of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. This Sahabi wanted to be one of them.

9. The Prophet decided to sell the slave. This shows that the Prophet ﷺ used to buy and sell slaves. Thus there is nothing Islamically wrong in that.

10. The Sahabi, who actually owned the slave, allowed the Prophet ﷺ to deal with his affair. This shows that even though he wasn’t obliged to obey the Prophet ﷺ in with regards to his property, he allowed the Prophet to decide.

11. We must be reminded that it is not obligatory to accept every suggestion of the Prophet ﷺ. But obeying the suggestions of the Prophet ﷺ when it is not obligatory,is more rewarding than not giving in to them.

12. The slave was brought by Nu’aim bin Abdullah. Nu’aim is a beautiful name which means ‘soft and smooth’ and ‘affluence’. There were atleast 20 Sahaba with the name Nu’aim according to the book ‘Usud Al-Ghabah Fee-Ma’rifatis Sahaba’ by Shaikh Izzuddin ibn Al-Atheer (d.630 AH).

13. Nu’aim bin Abdullah immediately bought the slave for 800 Dirhams. This shows how valuable a good slave was in those days. [1 Dirham in those days was a silver coin made of 2.975 grams of silver and 1 Dinar was made of 4.25 grams of pure gold.]

14. This also shows that different slaves have different prices fixed to them based on their beneficial qualities. Not all slaves are equal in their market value.

15. Some intended good deeds can be ‘undone’ if a better good deed is directed to.

16. The leader of the Muslims, may guide, advise or order the masses or individuals to do things, based on particular contexts. The leader of the Muslims may allow or disallow slavery according to what is beneficial to the situation.

17. Nu’aim bin Abdullah didn’t bargain with the seller (the Prophet ﷺ), this shows that if the seller is trustworthy you need not bargain with him for the price of his goods. And who is more trustworthy than the Prophet ﷺ himself!

18. The only reason the Prophet ﷺ stopped the Sahabi from doing the great good deed of setting the slave free was to direct him to what is better, more beneficial and rewarding than freeing a slave, i.e. not leaving behind your children and dependants poor.

19. A caller to Allah, may stop someone from a great good deed, to direct him to a more virtuous, greater good deed. This is also from the ways of calling to Khair and Ma’roof (goodness and piety).

20. This Hadith shows that good deed are also categorized based on their rewards and benefits. Not all good deeds are equal.

21. It is Mustahab (recommended) to accumulate wealth intending not to make your dependants poor or needy. The upper hand (which gives) is better than the lower hand(which takes) [Hadith].

22. The Prophet ﷺ advised him on the manner to spend his wealth. This is a proof of his Prophethood, that he ﷺ did not leave his Ummah without guidance in the important affairs of life.

23. The Prophet ﷺ did not begin by asking it for himself, unlike the false claimants of prophethood, charlatans and god-men who always ask people to begin charity from them.

24. This is the right methodology of asking people to do charitable acts. Unlike the modern callers to Islam, who seldom apply this Hadith and always compete for the largest piece in the cake. Many a times people neglect their own near relatives and contribute to ‘Dawah Organisations’, even though the later are more needy and giving them is more rewarding.

25. Whenever someone comes to us with an intent to contribute some wealth in charity, we must advise him using this Hadith and encourage him to spend on his closest relatives and likewise. This is thus a Sunnah.

26. So the order of spending is, first on yourself, then your immediate family (parents, wives and children), if something remains,then the near relatives, so on and so forth (we may consider neighbours and close companions after this).

27. There is no mention in this Hadith or any other Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ discouraged ‘slave trade’ or ‘slavery’.

28. Thus whosoever says that ‘Islam came to abolish slavery’ is an apologetic who is either speaking out of ignorance or is wilfully lying to the non-Muslims in order defend Islam from allegations that it supports slavery. Islam is not in need of falsehood to defend itself. Islam has put many restrictions and conditions on ‘the system of slavery’ and it is the best system since it is sent by Allah upon His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

29. This Hadith is a proof for choosing better of the two good things. Freedom from slavery would benefit only 1 human being, but selling him for a price would benefit a handful of Muslims, thus the greater benefit is opted for.

30. This Hadith is a proof for the principle ‘Choosing the lesser of the two harms’. Islamic slavery in the context of this Hadith is not a harm, yet, a human being generally dislikes for himself to be a slave, so he considers this a ‘harm’ upon himself. The other harm is that the companion’s family is made needy and poor, this is a greater harm.

So if one man’s freedom (small harm) is curtailed to benefit a group of people and keep them away from poverty (a greater harm), the latter is avoided and the former is chosen.

And Allah knows the best…

17th September 2019, 17th Muharram 1441.