is taken from the unbelievers. Allah, exalted is He, says: “Whatever the Messenger gives you”—that is, whatever share of this wealth he assigns to you—“take it and do not refuse it; and whatever he forbids you, then abstain,” meaning: do not take it.

For this reason the Messenger ﷺ once dispatched ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, to supervise the charity collections. When he returned, the Prophet ﷺ handed him something from it. ʿUmar said, “Messenger of Allah, give it in charity to someone poorer than I.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Whatever of this money comes to you when you are neither eager for it nor asking for it, accept it; but what does not come to you, do not let your heart pursue.” Thus, whatever the Messenger ﷺ gives us, we accept, and whatever he forbids us, we leave.

Although the verse was revealed in the context of apportioning the fayʾ, it also applies to all rulings of the shariʿah: whatever the Prophet ﷺ has declared lawful we acknowledge and act upon as lawful, and whatever he has forbidden we refrain from, leave alone, and do not approach. Hence, even though it appears amid the discussion of fayʾ, the verse is general and embraces both matters.

The author next cited the Almighty’s words: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day” (al-Aḥzāb 33:21). The term uswah means a model to emulate, while ḥasanah denotes what is good, the opposite of evil. The Prophet ﷺ is our exemplar and role model; in him we find a wholesome pattern to follow, and every matter in which you imitate the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is good and commendable.

And His statement, “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.”