Hadith 491
اُردوEn
وعن عمرو بن شعيب عن أبيه عن جده عبد الله بن عمرو رضي الله عنهم أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم قال : « من ولي يتيما له مال فليتجر له ولا يتركه حتى تأكله الصدقة». رواه الترمذي والدارقطني وإسناده ضعيف وله شاهد مرسل عند الشافعي.
Amro bin Shu’aib narrated on the authority of his father who reported on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of Abdullah bin 'Amro(RAA) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “One who becomes the guardian of an orphan, who owns property, must trade on his behalf and not leave it (saved and unused) until it is all eaten up by Zakah (which is paid yearly).” Related by At-Tirmidhi and Ad-Daraqutni with a weak chain of narrators. And it has a Shahid (supporting narration) that is Mursal narrated by Ash-Shafi'ee.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Safi ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri
Lexical Explanation:
«مَنْ وَلِ» is on the pattern of yafa‘alu from Bab «عَلِم يَعْلَمُ», and is a well-known active verb form. The meaning is: the person who becomes a guardian and caretaker. And with the shaddah (emphasis) on the letter lām, it is also read with the passive verb form.
«فَلْيَتَّحِر» is from Bab Iftial, derived from tijārah (trade).
«وَلَا يَتْرُكْهُ» is a prohibitive verb form, meaning: do not let the orphan’s wealth remain idle in this way.
«حَتّٰي تَاَكُلَهُ الصَّدَقَةُ» means that only zakat consumes it, i.e., year after year zakat becomes obligatory on it, and gradually the entire property is paid out in this way. From this, it is proven that zakat is obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, even though he is not yet legally responsible (mukallaf) in the Shariah. If it were not obligatory, then how could there be a fear of the orphan’s wealth being depleted? This is the opinion of the majority (jumhur), and this is the correct position.
Benefit:
Our esteemed researcher has declared the mentioned narration weak in terms of its chain of transmission. And the supporting narration that Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has mentioned is also considered weak. However, the legal issue stated in the mentioned narration is correct and preferred, even though there is a difference of opinion among scholars and jurists as to whether zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan or not. This position is also supported by the fact that such eminent Companions as Umar, Ali, Abdullah ibn Umar, Aisha, and Jabir ibn Abdullah radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in were also of the opinion that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan.
Maulana Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri rahimahullah writes regarding this that there is no statement from any Companion, with an authentic chain, negating zakat on the wealth of a child. See: [تحفة الاحوذي : 15/2]
Thus, the position of the Companions radi Allahu anhum is also that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan, and this is also the position of the majority of scholars.
The Hanafis, who do not consider zakat obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, say that the payment of sadaqat al-fitr is necessary from the orphan’s wealth. Similarly, the payment of ‘ushr (one-tenth) from agricultural produce is also necessary, even though there is no Shariah basis for this distinction: that ‘ushr should be taken from the orphan’s agricultural produce, but his other wealth should be exempted.
«مَنْ وَلِ» is on the pattern of yafa‘alu from Bab «عَلِم يَعْلَمُ», and is a well-known active verb form. The meaning is: the person who becomes a guardian and caretaker. And with the shaddah (emphasis) on the letter lām, it is also read with the passive verb form.
«فَلْيَتَّحِر» is from Bab Iftial, derived from tijārah (trade).
«وَلَا يَتْرُكْهُ» is a prohibitive verb form, meaning: do not let the orphan’s wealth remain idle in this way.
«حَتّٰي تَاَكُلَهُ الصَّدَقَةُ» means that only zakat consumes it, i.e., year after year zakat becomes obligatory on it, and gradually the entire property is paid out in this way. From this, it is proven that zakat is obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, even though he is not yet legally responsible (mukallaf) in the Shariah. If it were not obligatory, then how could there be a fear of the orphan’s wealth being depleted? This is the opinion of the majority (jumhur), and this is the correct position.
Benefit:
Our esteemed researcher has declared the mentioned narration weak in terms of its chain of transmission. And the supporting narration that Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has mentioned is also considered weak. However, the legal issue stated in the mentioned narration is correct and preferred, even though there is a difference of opinion among scholars and jurists as to whether zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan or not. This position is also supported by the fact that such eminent Companions as Umar, Ali, Abdullah ibn Umar, Aisha, and Jabir ibn Abdullah radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in were also of the opinion that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan.
Maulana Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri rahimahullah writes regarding this that there is no statement from any Companion, with an authentic chain, negating zakat on the wealth of a child. See: [تحفة الاحوذي : 15/2]
Thus, the position of the Companions radi Allahu anhum is also that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan, and this is also the position of the majority of scholars.
The Hanafis, who do not consider zakat obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, say that the payment of sadaqat al-fitr is necessary from the orphan’s wealth. Similarly, the payment of ‘ushr (one-tenth) from agricultural produce is also necessary, even though there is no Shariah basis for this distinction: that ‘ushr should be taken from the orphan’s agricultural produce, but his other wealth should be exempted.
Source: Bulugh al-Maram: Commentary by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, Page: 491
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
English Commentary:
1:
That is, the entire wealth would be exhausted by giving zakat.
2:
These people say that this is contrary to the hadith: ((The pen has been lifted from three: the child, the insane, and the sleeping)), and they respond to the hadith by saying that in ((ta’kulahu al-sadaqah)), “sadaqah” refers to maintenance (nafaqah).
Note:
(In the chain of narration, Mathna ibn al-Sabbah is weak; in the latter part of his life, he also became confused in narration.)
1:
That is, the entire wealth would be exhausted by giving zakat.
2:
These people say that this is contrary to the hadith: ((The pen has been lifted from three: the child, the insane, and the sleeping)), and they respond to the hadith by saying that in ((ta’kulahu al-sadaqah)), “sadaqah” refers to maintenance (nafaqah).
Note:
(In the chain of narration, Mathna ibn al-Sabbah is weak; in the latter part of his life, he also became confused in narration.)
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 641
