Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Adi bin Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: A cavalry detachment or a messenger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came and they captured my paternal aunt and some people of the tribe. At that time, I was in ‘Aqrab (the name of a place). They took those captives to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When they stood in lines before him, my aunt said: My supporter is very far away, I have no children nearby, and I am an elderly woman, I have no servant either. Please do me a favor, Allah will do you a favor. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who is your supporter? She said: ‘Adi bin Hatim. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The same ‘Adi who fled out of fear of Allah and His Messenger? She said: Then you did me a favor. My aunt narrated that after this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and with him was another man; my aunt thinks that he was Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). He said to her (i.e., my aunt): Ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a mount. She requested a mount from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so he ordered that a mount be provided for her. Sayyiduna ‘Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: My aunt came and said to me: You have done such a thing that your father would never have done (such cowardly) a thing; you should have gone to them, i.e., to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in every situation, whether with desire or fear. So-and-so went to his service, and so-and-so also presented himself to him, and he treated each one with kindness. ‘Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came to your service. At that time, there was a woman and one or two children with you. The noble Companions were sitting very close to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with freedom. I realized that you (peace and blessings be upon him) are not a king like Caesar or Chosroes. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to ‘Adi (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘Adi! Did you flee merely so that the word of Tawheed, La ilaha illallah, would not be recited? Is there any deity besides Allah? Is there anyone greater than Allah Almighty? ‘Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Thus, I entered the fold of Islam, and I saw signs of happiness on your (peace and blessings be upon him) face. Also, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In the Noble Qur’an, by “al-maghdubi ‘alayhim” (those upon whom is Allah’s wrath) is meant the Jews. And by “ad-dallin” (the misguided) is meant the Christians. After that, the poor present there asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for something, so he praised and glorified Allah Almighty and said: O people! Whatever blessings Allah has given you, give to the needy in the way of Allah from them. So someone gave a sa‘ (a measure), and someone gave less than that, someone gave a handful, and someone gave even less, i.e., each according to his ability, gave charity. The narrator of the hadith, Shu‘bah, said: To my knowledge, Simak also said that someone gave a date, and someone gave even less than that in charity. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) further said: Each of you will go and meet Allah Almighty. Allah will say to His servant who meets Him: Did I not make you hearing and seeing? Did I not grant you wealth and children? So tell Me, what deeds have you brought? He will look before him, behind him, to his right and to his left, and he will find nothing that can benefit him. He will try to save himself from Hell with his own face. So, protect yourselves from Hell, even if it be with half a date. If you do not find even a piece of date to give, then save yourself from Hell with gentle speech. I do not fear poverty for you; Allah Almighty will surely help you and will surely give you much, and He will grant you such a victory that a woman will travel between Hira and Yathrib, or even more than that, without fear or danger; at most, she will only fear the theft of her mount.