Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (7/380)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

Islam or afterward. Thus, of all the Companions, he has the strongest claim to the words:

“Nor is he indebted to anyone for a favor that must be repaid.”

He was therefore the person to whom this verse most fittingly applied.

As for Alī (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had bestowed a worldly favor upon him. Ahmad’s Musnad relates that whenever Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) dropped his whip, he would not say to anyone, “Hand it to me,” but would say, “My closest friend commanded me not to ask people for anything.” (1)

The Musnad, al-Tirmidhī, and Abū Dāwūd also record a hadith narrated by Umar. Umar said:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed us to give charity. It so happened (2) that I had some wealth at the time, so I said, ‘Today I will outdo Abū Bakr, if ever I can outdo him.’ I therefore brought half of my wealth. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, ‘What have you left for your family?’ I replied, ‘The same amount.’ Then Abū Bakr came with everything he had, and the Messenger asked him, ‘What have you left for your family?’ He replied, ‘I have left them Allah and His Messenger.’ I said, ‘I will never again try to outdo you in anything.’” (3)

Thus, Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) brought all his wealth. Despite this, he did not live on anything received from others—neither charity, a gift, nor anything pledged by a vow. Rather, he engaged in trade and lived on his own earnings (4), and when

(1) The hadith, with substantially the same wording, is found in *al-Musnad* (al-Maārif ed.), 1/180–181 (no. 65), on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, who said: “Sometimes the halter would fall from the hand of Abū Bakr al-Siddīq. He would strike his she-camel’s foreleg and make her kneel. They asked him, ‘Why did you not ask us to hand it to you?’ He replied, ‘My beloved, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him), commanded me not to ask people for anything.’” The editor (may Allah have mercy on him) states: “Its chain of transmission is weak because it is disconnected.” Numerous hadiths have also been transmitted from several Companions in which the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) instructed them to do the same. See *Muslim*, 2/721, “Book of Zakat,” chapter “The Disapproval of Asking People”; and *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 5/181. (2) N, M, and S read: “and that coincided [with a time when I had some wealth].” (3) This hadith was cited earlier at 2/52. (4) M reads: “his livelihood.”

الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَا بَعْدَهُ فَهُوَ أَحَقُّ الصَّحَابَةِ: {وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِنْدَهُ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ تُجْزَى} فَكَانَ أَحَقَّ النَّاسِ بِالدُّخُولِ فِي الْآيَةِ. وَأَمَّا عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَكَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ نِعْمَةٌ دُنْيَوِيَّةٌ، وَفِي الْمُسْنَدِ لِأَحْمَدَ أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَانَ يَسْقُطُ السَّوْطُ مِنْ يَدِهِ فَلَا يَقُولُ لِأَحَدٍ: نَاوِلْنِي إِيَّاهُ، وَيَقُولُ: إِنَّ خَلِيلِي أَمَرَنِي أَنْ لَا أَسَالَ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا (١) . وَفِي الْمُسْنَدِ، وَالتِّرْمِذِيِّ، وَأَبِي دَاوُدَ حَدِيثُ عُمَرَ، قَالَ عُمَرُ: " أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ نَتَصَدَّقَ، فَوَافَقَ (٢) ذَلِكَ مَالًا عِنْدِي، فَقُلْتُ الْيَوْمَ أَسْبِقُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ، إِنْ سَبَقْتُهُ يَوْمًا، فَجِئْتُ بِنِصْفِ مَالِي، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " مَا أَبْقَيْتَ لِأَهْلِكَ "، فَقُلْتُ: مِثْلُهُ، قَالَ: وَأَتَى أَبُو بَكْرٍ بِكُلِّ مَا عِنْدَهُ فَقَالَ: " مَا أَبْقَيْتَ لِأَهْلِكَ؟ "، قَالَ: أَبْقَيْتُ لَهُمُ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ، فَقُلْتُ: لَا أُسَابِقُكَ إِلَى شَيْءٍ أَبَدًا " (٣) . فَأَبُو بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ جَاءَ بِمَالِهِ كُلِّهُ، وَمَعَ هَذَا فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَأْكُلُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ لَا صَدَقَةً، وَلَا صِلَةً، وَلَا نَذْرًا، بَلْ كَانَ يَتَّجِرُ، وَيَأْكُلُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ (٤) ، وَلَمَّا

(١) الْحَدِيثُ بِمَعْنَاهُ فِي الْمُسْنَدِ (ط. الْمَعَارِفِ) ١/١٨٠ ـ ١٨١ (رَقْمُ ٦٥) عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ قَالَ: كَانَ رُبَّمَا سَقَطَ الْخِطَامُ مِنْ يَدِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ، قَالَ: فَيَضْرِبُ بِذَارِعِ نَاقَتِهِ فَيُنِيخُهَا، قَالَ: فَقَالُوا لَهُ: أَفَلَا أَمَرْتَنَا نُنَاوِلُكَهُ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ حَبِيبِي رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ لَا أَسْأَلَ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا. قَالَ الْمُحَقِّقُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: " إِسْنَادُهُ ضَعِيفٌ لِانْقِطَاعِهِ ". وَجَاءَتْ أَحَادِيثُ كَثِيرَةٌ عَنْ عَدَدٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ فِيهَا أَمْرٌ مِنَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ، انْظُرْ: مُسْلِمًا ٢/٧٢١ (كِتَابُ الزَّكَاةِ، بَابُ كَرَاهَةِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ لِلنَّاسِ) ; الْمُسْنَدَ (ط. الْحَلَبِيِّ) ٥/١٨١ (٢) ن، م، س: وَوَافَقَ (٣) سَبَقَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ فِيمَا مَضَى ٢/٥٢ (٤) م: مَكْسَبِهِ