Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Jarir narrates that once the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to us and encouraged us to give charity. The people delayed in giving charity, due to which signs of anger appeared on the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then an Ansari man came with a pouch and gave it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The rest of the people also followed this Ansari man, until signs of happiness appeared on the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever initiates a good path and way, he will receive its reward, and as many people act upon it, he will also receive their reward without any decrease in their rewards. And whoever initiates an evil way, its sin is upon him, and as many people act upon it, their sins will also be upon him without any decrease in their sins.

Hazrat Jarir narrates from his father, who says that once we were present in the gathering of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning when a group of people arrived before him who were destitute, dressed in white and black clothes, carrying swords and wearing turbans. Most of them belonged to the tribe of Mudar, in fact, I would say all of them belonged to the tribe of Mudar. Seeing their state of poverty, the color of the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to change. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and entered the mosque and ordered Hazrat Bilal to give the call to prayer. After that, he led the people in prayer, and then recited this verse: "O people! Fear your Lord who created you from a single soul," and recited to the end of the verse, and recited: "And fear Allah, and let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow." (And he ordered:) O people! Give charity from your dinars, from your dirhams, from your clothes, from your wheat, and from your dates, even if it is only a piece of a date. Meanwhile, an Ansari man came carrying a bag, and his palm was unable to bear its weight, in fact, I would say his hands were exhausted. Then the rest of the people followed him, until two heaps of clothes and food items were piled up before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says that seeing this, the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to shine like gold. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever establishes a good and virtuous practice in Islam, and people act upon it after him, he will have its reward as well as the reward of those who act upon it, and nothing will be diminished from their rewards. And whoever establishes an evil practice in Islam, and people act upon it after him, he will bear its sin as well as the sins of those who act upon it after him, without their sins being diminished."

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I presented myself before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for prayer before the sermon. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered the sermon to the people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that the women had not heard the sermon, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) went to them and gave them advice and admonition, and instructed them to give charity. And Hazrat Bilal began to collect (the charity) in his garment. The women gave their rings, bangles, and other items for charity.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O assembly of women, give charity, for indeed most of you are among those who will enter Hell. A woman, who was not among the prominent women, asked: Why is it so and for what reason? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: Because you curse a lot and are ungrateful and disobedient to your husbands.

It is narrated from Hazrat Adi bin Hatim that once the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the fire (of Hell), then he turned his blessed face as if he was seeing it. Then he again mentioned Hell and turned his blessed face as if he was seeing it, until we became certain that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seeing Hell. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Save yourselves from the fire of Hell, even if it is by giving half a date in charity, and if someone does not even find that, then he should say a good word (indeed, a good word is also charity).

It is narrated from Hazrat Adi bin Hatim that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Save yourself from the fire of Hell, even if it is by giving only a piece of date (in charity).

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out on the day of Eid al-Fitr (towards the Eidgah) and performed two rak'ahs with the people. Then he turned for salam and stood facing the people while all the people were sitting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give charity, give charity." So the women gave their rings and earrings in charity the most.

Hazrat Abdullah’s wife, Hazrat Zainab, narrates that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed us to give charity and said: O group of women, give charity.

Hazrat Ibn Bujad narrates from his grandmother that I said: O Messenger of Allah! Sometimes a beggar comes to me but I have nothing to give him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not send your beggar away without giving him something, even if it is only a hoof (a split nail) of a cow, goat, or deer.

It is narrated from Hazrat Haritha bin Wahb Al-Khuzai that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Give charity, for surely a time will come when a person will go out to give charity but will not find anyone who will accept his charity.

Hazrat Abu Dharr said: There is nothing on this earth more powerful than charity, to the extent that because of it a person is freed from seventy devils, all of whom try to prevent him from giving it.

Hazrat Abdullah narrates that a monk remained engaged in worship in his place of worship for sixty years. A woman came to live in his neighborhood, and the monk went to her for six nights. Then, feeling remorse for his action, he fled from there and took refuge in a mosque, where he stayed for three days without eating or drinking anything. (After three days) a loaf of bread was brought to him, and he divided it into two parts, giving half to the person on his right and half to the person on his left. Then the Angel of Death came and took the soul of that monk. His sixty years of deeds were placed on one side of the scale, and his sins on the other side, and the side with the sins became heavier. Then the bread (which he had given in charity) was brought, and when it was placed on the scale, the side with the good deeds became heavier than the side with the sins.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Surely Allah Almighty accepts charity and takes it with His right hand and increases it for the giver of charity, just as one of you raises (nurtures) a small child or a young animal, until a morsel of charity (its reward) becomes equal to the mountain of Uhud. And this is also confirmed by the words of Allah Almighty, Allah says that He is the One who accepts repentance from His servants and takes (accepts) their charities. In another place, it is said: Allah destroys usury and increases charities.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Salamah that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Giving charity does not decrease wealth at all, so you should give charity.

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that a roasted goat was given to me as a gift, so I distributed all of it in charity except for the meat of the shoulder. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came, I informed him about this, so he said, "No, the entire goat is for you except for the shoulder meat which you did not give in charity."

Hazrat Yazid bin Bishr al-Saksaki narrates that Yazid bin Abdul Malik gave me a cloth and sent me towards the Ka'bah. When I reached the place of Tayma, a beggar came and said, "Give charity, for indeed charity saves a person from seventy doors of evil." I asked (the people), "Who is the greatest jurist here?" They replied, "There is a man among the Jews named Nusayy." I went to his house and called out, "Is Nusayy here?" A woman looked out and gave me permission to enter. When he saw me, he performed ablution. I asked him, "When you saw me, you performed ablution; what is the reason for this?" He said, "Allah Almighty said to Musa, 'O Musa! Perform ablution, for if you do not, many calamities will befall you, and then blame no one but yourself.'" I said, "A beggar, while asking, was saying, 'Give charity, for indeed charity saves a person from seventy doors of evil.'" He said, "He spoke the truth." Then he mentioned death, the falling of a wall, the perishing of an animal, drowning, and many other things that Allah Almighty wills to count among deaths. I submitted, "And charity saves from the fire of Hell."

Hazrat Mirthad bin Abdullah Al-Yazni narrates that the person who heard from the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told me, he said: The charity of a believer will be a shade for him on the Day of Resurrection.

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Ibn Al-Aqmar that Hazrat Abu Al-Ahwas said: "Indeed, successful is the one who purifies himself." Verily, that person has succeeded who has purified his soul. He said: The one who has been given a little.

Hazrat Abu Madinah narrates that a beggar came to Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf. Grapes were placed before him; he gave one grape to the beggar. The people disliked this, so he said, "This small particle will be very great (on the Day of Judgment)."

Hazrat Umm Hasan narrates that I was with Hazrat Umm Salamah when a needy person came. I asked Hazrat Umm Salamah, "Should I send him away?" She replied, "We have not been commanded to do so. Give him some dates from the dates."

It is narrated from Hazrat Amr bin Shu'aib that Hazrat Humaid bin Abdur Rahman says: Give something to the beggar, even if it is as small as the head of a sparrow (dove).

Hazrat Fatimah bint Hussain narrates from her father that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The beggar has a right over you, even if he comes riding on a horse.

Hazrat Salim bin Abu Ja'd narrates that Hazrat Isa bin Maryam said: "The beggar has a right over you, even if he comes riding a horse and there is a silver necklace around his neck."

Hazrat Abu Al-Ahwas says that when a beggar comes to you and he intends to pray, or he said (the narrator is in doubt) he intends to perform prayer, then if you have the ability, give charity. Indeed, Allah Almighty has said, "Certainly, he has succeeded who purifies his soul and remembers the name of his Lord and prays." And if he has the ability to give charity before the prayer, then he should give charity.