180 – Abu Musa al-Ashʿari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, “The Muslim, trustworthy treasurer who executes the instructions he has been given—handing out the property in full, without diminution, and with a willing, cheerful heart to the person for whom it was designated—is counted as one of the two who give charity.” Agreed upon.

In another wording: “who gives what he has been ordered to give.” The word translated here as “those who give charity” (al-mutaṣaddiqīn) is read with a fatḥa on the qāf and a kasra on the nūn when it signifies the dual, and with the opposite vowels when it signifies the plural; both readings are correct.

Explanation

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—quotes this narration of Abu Musa al-Ashʿari in which the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) says: “The Muslim, trustworthy treasurer who carries out what he is ordered to do, giving the property in full, willingly and contentedly to the person for whom it was assigned, is one of the two givers of charity.” Agreed upon.

In this sentence “the treasurer” is the subject, while “one of the two who give charity” is the predicate. Hence the treasurer who possesses these four qualities—being Muslim, trustworthy, executing the orders given to him, and doing so with a willing heart—is himself regarded as a charitable donor.

He must be Muslim, to the exclusion of a disbeliever; for if the treasurer were a disbeliever, even though he might be trustworthy and carry out the orders handed to him, he would receive no reward. Disbelievers earn no recompense in the Hereafter for the good deeds they have done. Allah the Exalted says: “And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them scattered dust” (al-Furqān 25:23). He also says: “Whoever among you turns back from his religion and dies …” (al-Baqarah 2:217).