9/23. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 1627 — Stopping Yourself from Asking Without Need
To Whom Zakat Is To Be Paid And The Definition Of A Wealthy Person
Hadith About Begging: Self-Respect When You Have Enough
Sunan Abi Dawud : 1627
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 1627
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ رَجُلٍ، مِنْ بَنِي أَسَدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ نَزَلْتُ أَنَا وَأَهْلِي، بِبَقِيعِ الْغَرْقَدِ فَقَالَ لِي أَهْلِي اذْهَبْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَلْهُ لَنَا شَيْئًا نَأْكُلُهُ فَجَعَلُوا يَذْكُرُونَ مِنْ حَاجَتِهِمْ فَذَهَبْتُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَوَجَدْتُ عِنْدَهُ رَجُلاً يَسْأَلُهُ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " لاَ أَجِدُ مَا أُعْطِيكَ " . فَتَوَلَّى الرَّجُلُ عَنْهُ وَهُوَ مُغْضَبٌ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ لَعَمْرِي إِنَّكَ لَتُعْطِي مَنْ شِئْتَ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَغْضَبُ عَلَىَّ أَنْ لاَ أَجِدَ مَا أُعْطِيهِ مَنْ سَأَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَلَهُ أُوقِيَّةٌ أَوْ عَدْلُهَا فَقَدْ سَأَلَ إِلْحَافًا " . قَالَ الأَسَدِيُّ فَقُلْتُ لَلَقِحَةٌ لَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ أُوقِيَّةٍ وَالأُوقِيَّةُ أَرْبَعُونَ دِرْهَمًا . قَالَ فَرَجَعْتُ وَلَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ فَقَدِمَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ شَعِيرٌ أَوْ زَبِيبٌ فَقَسَمَ لَنَا مِنْهُ - أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ - حَتَّى أَغْنَانَا اللَّهُ . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ هَكَذَا رَوَاهُ الثَّوْرِيُّ كَمَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ .
‘Ata’ b. Yasar said : A man from Banu Asad said : I and my family alighted at Baqi al-Gharqad. My wife said to me : Go the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) and beg something from him for our eating, and made a mention of there need. So I went to the Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him). I found with a man who was begging from him and he was saying to him: I have nothing to give you. The man turned away from him in anger while he was saying: By my life, you give anyone you wish. The Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him) said : He’s anger with me, for I have nothing to give him. If any of you begs when he has an Uqiyah or its equivalent, he has begged immoderately. The man of Banu Asad said : So I said : The she camel of ours is better than an uqiyah, while an uqiyah is equivalent to 40 Dirhams. I therefore returned and did not beg from him. Afterwards some barley and raisins where brought to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). He gave us a share from them (or as he reported)till Allah, the Exalted, made us self-sufficient(i.e well off). Abu Dawud said: Al-Thawri narrated it as Malik narrated.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 1627In-book reference : Book 9, Hadith 72English translation : Book 9, Hadith 1623
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 1627
This hadith about begging tells a very human story. A man from Banu Asad went to ask the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم for food because his family mentioned their need. He reached the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and found another man asking, while the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said he had nothing to give. That man became angry. Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that whoever asks while having an uqiyah or its equivalent has asked with insistence beyond measure. The man from Banu Asad thought about his own she-camel and realized it was better than an uqiyah, which was forty dirhams. So he went back and did not ask. Later, food came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the man’s family received a share until Allah made them self-sufficient.
What we learn from this hadith
- A person should think about what he already owns before asking.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not give what he did not have.
- Needless insistence in asking is discouraged in the text.
- Provision later came without the man begging at that moment.
