9/23. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 1628 — An Uqiyah and Immoderate Begging
To Whom Zakat Is To Be Paid And The Definition Of A Wealthy Person
Uqiyah Hadith: Begging When You Already Have Enough
Sunan Abi Dawud : 1628
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 1628
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، وَهِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ أَبِي الرِّجَالِ، عَنْ عُمَارَةَ بْنِ غَزِيَّةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ " مَنْ سَأَلَ وَلَهُ قِيمَةُ أُوقِيَّةٍ فَقَدْ أَلْحَفَ " . فَقُلْتُ نَاقَتِي الْيَاقُوتَةُ هِيَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أُوقِيَّةٍ . قَالَ هِشَامٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا فَرَجَعْتُ فَلَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ شَيْئًا زَادَ هِشَامٌ فِي حَدِيثِهِ وَكَانَتِ الأُوقِيَّةُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا .
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri Narrated from:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone begs when he has something equivalent to an uqiyah in value, he has begged immoderately. So I said: My she-camel, Yaqutah, is better than an uqiyah. The version of Hisham goes: "better than forty dirhams. So I returned and did not beg anything from him." Hisham added in his version: "An uqiyah during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was equivalent to forty dirhams."
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 1628In-book reference : Book 9, Hadith 73English translation : Book 9, Hadith 1624
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 1628
This uqiyah hadith repeats the same clear meaning in a shorter form. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said whoever begs while having something equal to an uqiyah in value has begged immoderately. Abu Sa'id then looked at his own situation and said his she-camel was better than an uqiyah. In Hisham’s version, it says better than forty dirhams, and he returned without asking anything. The narration also states that an uqiyah in the time of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم was forty dirhams. This makes the hadith useful for people searching “uqiyah meaning in hadith,” “forty dirhams begging hadith,” and “hadith about not begging when you have enough.”
What we learn from this hadith
- An uqiyah is linked here with forty dirhams.
- Abu Sa'id applied the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم words to his own case.
- The narration discourages asking while owning enough value.
- The hadith connects self-checking with self-restraint.
