The Significance of Fulfilling the Needs of a Muslim

Hadith  36: The Significance of Fulfilling the Needs of a Muslim

By Imam An-Nawawi

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-`ālameen. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam, is His Messenger

It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiyallāhu’anhu) that the Prophet,    (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), said:        

"Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allāh will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter.

Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allāh will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter.

Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allāh will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter.

Allāh will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother.

Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allāh will make easy for him a path to Paradise.

No people gather together in one of the houses of Allāh, reciting the Book of Allāh and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allāh makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence.

Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage."

[This was recorded by Muslim]

Background

In another version of the hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiyallāhu’anhu), that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: he does not wrong him nor does he forsake him when he is in need; whosoever is fulfilling the needs of his brother, Allāh is fulfilling his needs; whosoever removes distress from a believer, Allāh removes from him a distress from a distressful aspect of the Day of Resurrection; and whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allāh will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.” 

[Recorded by Imam Muslim and Imam Al-Bukhari]

The hadith indicates the obligations towards other Muslims are emphasised and the fulfillment of brotherhood is again stressed.

Lessons

1 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whosoever  relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allāh will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter.”

This is indicates that the reward of an act is of a similar nature to the act itself. Or the reward to the act is relevant to the act itself or from the same type. There are many hadiths that emphasize this principle. Grief or distress in this hadith means a great difficulty or hardship a Muslim is facing. In one version of the hadith, it is stated as “whosoever relieves” and in another version “whosoever removes”. There is obviously a difference between the two versions because “to relief” means to minimise the difficulty or distress, whereas “to remove” means to totally eradicate the difficulty or hardship.

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) says: The one who successfully removes a grief or distress that a Muslim is encountering will be rewarded more than the one who helps and tries his best to minimise the consequences of a certain difficulty. This is natural because there are two different situations: The first one is related to the capacity of the person who is able only to minimise the distress. The other situation is not just a matter of capacity but also a willingness to do more to remove the distress totally.

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) also emphasizes that we have to motivate Muslims to help others and to remove the distress or difficulties of one another.

The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says that the reward for the removal or relief of the distress of a Muslim will be rewarded by a removal of a similar distress or difficulty in the Hereafter.

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) states the difference between the two situations where in the first one the hadith mentioned only the relief or removal of the distressful aspect of the Hereafter and not in this world. He says that not everyone is subject to such distress in this world - this is contrasted to al`iesar (unable to repay). He explains that since the difficulties of this life are incomparable to the distress aspects of the Hereafter which nobody can endure as it is beyond human capacity; Allāh Almighty reserves the reward for removing a distress of a distressful aspect of this life until the Day of Judgment.

2 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu  ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allāh will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter.”

Here, it is not wise or appropriate for a Muslim to demand his money back from a poor or needy Muslim who honestly cannot afford to pay him. He should either give him a chance until he is able to repay his money or forgive him. The first choice is an obligation because Allāh Almighty commands us to do so in Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:280: “And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease. But if you give [from your right as] charity, then it is better for you, if you only knew”. The second way of alleviation is that the person who is owed the money might forgive the borrower and try to help him not just by giving him more time but also by reducing the amount of money owed or forgiving him.

The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says in one of his great hadiths: "A man of the previous nations was very rich and people used to borrow money from him. Not only did he lend them money, which is indeed a good deed, but he also asked his sons to alleviate and forgive those who could not repay the money." The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) says that in the Hereafter Allāh Almighty will reward him and forgive his sins because of his generosity. Allāh Almighty says in Surah Al-Furqan, 25:26 that "It will be a very hard day for the disbelievers". This means that there is a situation where a person who is kind to those in need and Allāh Almighty will relief that person by rewarding him a great reward from Allāh's Mercy and Help.

3 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allāh will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter.”

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) says that people can fall into two categories:

1.  Those that are not known for transgression or committing bad deeds. For these people, if by any chance they commit a mistake, it should not be revealed. On the contrary, it should be concealed and not even talked about.

2. Those who are very well known as transgressors or wrongdoers, and who even speak proudly about their shameful and sinful acts. Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) mentions that if there is a need to mention the qualities of these people, we should do so for the benefit of the Muslim community.

The statement in this hadith does not apply to the second category of people. The general rule that we derive from the hadith is that Muslims should not reveal the mistakes of their Muslim brothers to others. Some Muslims today take it as a topic for fun and entertainment to reveal the mistakes of others even on very minor issues. As Muslims we should refrain ourselves from such acts. Consequently, the reward will be that Allāh will conceal our faults from others. In this life we are subject to faults. If we do not conceal the faults of others, Allāh Almighty will put us in a situation where our faults will be exposed to other people and everyone will be talking about them. So the punishment is relevant or of the same nature of the act if it is a bad act.

Another thing that is also worth mentioning is the faults of the ulama' or scholars. Nowadays we can notice a very strange attitude coming from some seekers of knowledge who try to find out and reveal the mistakes of very well-known scholars. This sort of situation is even worse because they are revealing the mistakes of not just regular persons. If it is a matter of academic discussion or research, we should handle it in an appropriate way that upholds the status of our scholars.

4 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: "Allāh will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother."

This is the statement of a principle. Before this statement, the Prophet, (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wasallam), gives us three examples of Allāh helping those who help others.

The Hadith indicates that we should not confine ourselves only to the needy but in all aspects. The Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wasallam) wants to convey to us that we should help our brothers in any way possible.

There are numerous forms of need, such as helping the blind to cross the street or any of the great and charitable acts that are mentioned in the Hadiths 25:

Abu Dzarr Al-Ghifari (Jundub bin Junadah) (radiyallāhu’anhu) reported that some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), said to him:

“O Messenger of Allāh, the rich have taken away all the rewards. They observe the solah as we do, and they keep the fasts as we do, and they give sadaqah (charity) from their surplus riches.”

Upon this the Prophet Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Has Allāh not prescribed for you (a course) by following whom you can also do sadaqah? Verily in every Tasbih (i.e. saying Subhanallāh) there is a sadaqah, every Takbir (i.e. saying Allāhu Akbar) is a sadaqah, every Tahmid (i.e. saying Alhamdulillah) is a sadaqah, every Tahlil (i.e. saying Lailaha illallāh) is a sadaqah, enjoining of good is a sadaqah, forbidding of evil is a sadaqah, and having sexual intercourse with your wife is a sadaqah.” They (the Companions) said: “O Messenger of Allāh is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual passion among us?”

Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: “Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward.”

[Recorded by Muslim]

And in the Hadiths 26:

Abu Hurayrah (radiyallāhu`anhu) reported that Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said:

“On every person's joints or small bones (i.e. fingers and toes), there is sadaqah (charity) every day the sun rises. Doing justice between two people is sadaqah; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is sadaqah; a good word is sadaqah; every step you take towards solah is sadaqah; and removing harmful things from pathways is sadaqah.”

[Recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The greater the help, it is the greater the reward. This is something that Muslims should take seriously because if we have a community which care about each other and help one another, then there would be no needy. This should be our attitude - we should seek to be motivated to offer our help at any time to our Muslim brothers.

5 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allāh will make easy for him a path to Paradise."

Here we can find the encouragement of Islam in seeking and gaining knowledge. The knowledge seekers will be rewarded if the knowledge is beneficial to oneself as well as for the betterment of the Muslim community.

This statement of the hadith can be interpreted in three ways:

1.  Allāh will make it easy for the knowledge seeker to gain the knowledge that he is seeking.

2. Allāh will make it easy for the knowledge seeker so that he will benefit from the knowledge he is seeking. This means that he will benefit from the knowledge and this will lead him to enter Paradise. There are many people who seek knowledge but there are no blessings in the knowledge they seek. The crucial point here is the person should seek knowledge with good intentions.

3. For the one who seeks knowledge with good intentions, Allāh will safely help him go through the horrible incidents and situations on the Day of Judgment.

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) classifies ‘ilm (knowledge) into two types:

1.  The outcome of knowledge is placed in the heart. That is the knowledge about Allāh and His attributes that implies fearing Allāh, glorifying Him, and loving Him.

2.  The knowledge that we merely memorise or speak about - without our hearts being influenced or affected. This means that if the person does not abide by the knowledge that he has already obtained, then he is in a very critical situation where the he may be subject to the punishment of Allāh.

6 - The Prophet  (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: "No people gather together in one of the houses of Allāh, reciting the Book of Allāh and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allāh makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence."

Here the hadith implies a preferable act: to go to the masjid, to recite and study the Qur'an, or attending lectures. Ibn Rajab (rahimahullāh) says that this can be applied to all branches of knowledge and not just the Qur'an.

The hadith mentions four rewards for those who gather in the masjid:

1.    Tranquility - this is a great reward which includes relief from stress and being calm.

2.    The Mercy of Allāh over them.

3.    The angels surrounding them.

4.    Allāh making mention of them amongst those who are in His presence.

7 - The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage."

This indicates that doing deeds are the means of getting the rewards and that will lead a person to Paradise. Allāh says: "For all shall be judged against their actions". If the good deeds are not enough, the person's lineage or ancestry will not benefit him. This is because Allāh made rewards related to good deeds and not lineage. No ties of kinship will prevail amongst them: “So when the Horn is blown, no relationship wills there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.” [Surah Al-Mu'minun, 23:101]

Conclusion

 The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: he does not wrong him nor does he forsakes him when he is in need; whosoever is fulfilling the needs of his brother, Allāh is fulfilling his needs.”

This version of the hadith starts by stating a great principle: Muslims are brothers - one will not harm another nor will he do injustice or fail him when he is in need. Then the hadith states a motivation factor: Whosoever is fulfilling the needs of his brother, Allāh is fulfilling his needs.

It can be taken as a motivation for helping other Muslims, especially those who are in need. We just need to imagine the situation of the ummah when we help each other and fulfill the needs of others. We will end up being a better society, with less needy people, and stronger social ties that will lead to the strength of the Muslim ummah at large.

Helping others is one of the central principles of Islam which is the positive contributions to society. The hadith highlight how helping another human being is a fundamental aspect of Islam. Muslims’ primary goal is to worship God, Allāh Almighty but this is done not only through rituals like solah and fasting but also through treatment of other people.

Consequently, based on this encouragement, whoever exerts efforts to help others achieve their needs; Allāh Almighty will ease his difficulties. These efforts will also be a reason for his safety on the Day of Judgment, provided that his intention is to seek the reward of Allāh Almighty.

And Allāh Almighty Knows best.

[Excerpted from “A Commentary on Hadith  36: "The Significance of Fulfilling the Needs of A Muslim", 40 Hadiths Of Imam Nawawi, By Dr. Jamal Ahmed Badi, via IC Truth]