Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 91 not find food and clothing, or any other need remains to be fulfilled, it would be because the rich are not doing their duty, and for this God will take them to task on the Day of Judgement.” And according to Abdullah ibn Umar, the great religious scholar of the first phase of Islam: “If the zakah levy is insufficient to meet the needs of the poor, then it is the duty of the rich of every town to put the poor on their feet.” The Qur’an, in fact, refers to the haq, i.e. the right of the poor to be given assistance; so that what the wealthy man is asked to give is not just charity, but that which as a matter of right should come back to the poor. There are many verses in the Qur’an and many traditions of the Prophet which make it quite clear that there is a due besides zakah, and that even when the wealthy have paid this tax, they have still not fully discharged their duties. Abu Dhar Ghifari, one of the Prophet’s companions, reported that the Prophet, while sitting in the shade of the Kabah wall, said: “They are the losers.” Abu Dhar enquired: “Who are they, O Messenger of God?” The Prophet replied: “Those who pile up heaps of wealth and (pointing in all directions with his hands) do not spend like this and this and this.” (Bukhari and Muslim) Since zakah and sadaqah are not only moral obligations to society, but acts performed by believers to seek God’s pleasure, a high standard is set for the manner of their accomplishment. Abdullah Yusuf Ali writes of charity in his commentary on the Qur’an: (l) “lt must be in the way of God. (2) No reward must be expected for it in this world. (3) It must not be followed by references to or reminders of the acts of charity. (4) Still less should any annoyance or injury be caused to the recipient, e.g. by boasting that the giver relieved the person in his hour of need.”