63 – Chapter on Competing for the Hereafter and the Censure of Undue Tabarruk

Allah the Exalted says, “And for that let the competitors compete.” (Al-Mutaffifin 26)

1/569 – Sahl ibn Saʿd—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was offered a drink. After he had taken a sip, a boy was seated to his right and some elders to his left. The Prophet ﷺ said to the boy, “Do you permit me to give it to these men?” The boy replied, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I will not give up my share of you to anyone.” So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed the cup in the boy’s hand. Agreed upon.

[Explanation]

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—concluded the previous chapter on the virtue of altruism with the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ashʿari—may Allah be pleased with him—and his fellow Ashʿarites from Yemen. They used to assist one another: whenever any wealth reached them, they would pool it and divide it equally. The Prophet ﷺ said, “They are of me and I am of them,” as an encouragement for their practice.

This hadith forms the basis for the cooperative funds that some people establish today. A tribe, for example, may agree to set up a box into which they deposit whatever amount of money Allah wills—either according to a fixed percentage or through individual effort and nomination—so that