Category: Q n A

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) employed someone as a governor at Khaibar. When the man came to Medina, he
brought with him dates called Janib. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, “Are all the dates of Khaibar of this
kind?” The man replied, “(No), we exchange two Sa’s of bad dates for one Sa of this kind of dates (i.e.
Janib), or exchange three Sa’s for two.” On that, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Don’t do so, as it is a kind of usury
(Riba) but sell the dates of inferior quality for money, and then buy Janib with the money”. The
Prophet said the same thing about dates sold by weight. (See Hadith No. 506).

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a
bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him.”

We had some sheep which used to graze at Sala’. One of our slavegirls saw a sheep dying and she
broke a stone and slaughtered the sheep with it. My father said to the people, “Don’t eat it till I ask the
Prophet about it (or till I send somebody to ask the Prophet).” So, he asked or sent somebody to ask
the Prophet, and the Prophet (ﷺ) permitted him to eat it. ‘Ubaidullah (a sub-narrator) said, “I admire that
girl, for though she was a slave-girl, she dared to slaughter the sheep . ”

The Prophet (ﷺ) owed somebody a camel of a certain age. When he came to demand it back, the Prophet (ﷺ)
said (to some people), “Give him (his due).” When the people searched for a camel of that age, they
found none, but found a camel one year older. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Give (it to) him.” On that, the man
remarked, “You have given me my right in full. May Allah give you in full.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The
best amongst you is the one who pays the rights of others generously.”

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) demanding his debts and behaved rudely. The companions of the Prophet (ﷺ)
intended to harm him, but Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said (to them), “Leave him, for the creditor (i.e. owner of a
right) has the right to speak.” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) then said, “Give him a camel of the same age as that of
his.” The people said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! There is only a camel that is older than his.” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)
said, “Give (it to) him, for the best amongst you is he who pays the rights of others handsomely.”

When the delegates of the tribe of Hawazin after embracing Islam, came to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), he got up.
They appealed to him to return their properties and their captives. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to them, “The
most beloved statement to me is the true one. So, you have the option of restoring your properties or
your captives, for I have delayed distributing them.” The narrator added, Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) c had been
waiting for them for more than ten days on his return from Taif. When they realized that Allah’s
Apostle would return to them only one of two things, they said, “We choose our captives.” So, Allah’s
Apostle got up in the gathering of the Muslims, praised Allah as He deserved, and said, “Then after!
These brethren of yours have come to you with repentance and I see it proper to return their captives
to them. So, whoever amongst you likes to do that as a favor, then he can do it, and whoever of you
wants to stick to his share till we pay him from the very first booty which Allah will give us then he
can do so.” The people replied, “We agree to give up our shares willingly as a favor for Allah’s
Apostle.” Then Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “We don’t know who amongst you has agreed and who hasn’t. Go
back and your chiefs may tell us your opinion.” So, all of them returned and their chiefs discussed the
matter with them and then they (i.e. their chiefs) came to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) to tell him that they (i.e. the
people) had given up their shares gladly and willingly.

I was accompanying the Prophet (ﷺ) on a journey and was riding a slow camel that was lagging behind
the others. The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by me and asked, “Who is this?” I replied, “Jabir bin `Abdullah.” He
asked, “What is the matter, (why are you late)?” I replied, “I am riding a slow camel.” He asked, “Do
you have a stick?” I replied in the affirmative. He said, “Give it to me.” When I gave it to him, he beat
the camel and rebuked it. Then that camel surpassed the others thenceforth. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Sell it
to me.” I replied, “It is (a gift) for you, O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).” He said, “Sell it to me. I have bought it for
four Dinars (gold pieces) and you can keep on riding it till Medina.” When we approached Medina, I
started going (towards my house). The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Where are you going?” I Sa`d, “I have married a
widow.” He said, “Why have you not married a virgin to fondle with each other?” I said, “My father
died and left daughters, so I decided to marry a widow (an experienced woman) (to look after them).”
He said, “Well done.” When we reached Medina, Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “O Bilal, pay him (the price of
the camel) and give him extra money.” Bilal gave me four Dinars and one Qirat extra. (A sub-narrator
said): Jabir added, “The extra Qirat of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) never parted from me.” The Qirat was always in
Jabir bin `Abdullah’s purse.

A woman came to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! I want
to give up myself to you.” A man said, “Marry her to me.” The Prophet (ﷺ)
said, “We agree to marry her to you with what you know of the Qur’an
by heart.”

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) deputed me to keep Sadaqat (al-Fitr) of Ramadan. A
comer came and started taking handfuls of the foodstuff (of the
Sadaqa) (stealthily). I took hold of him and said, “By Allah, I will
take you to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) .” He said, “I am needy and have many
dependents, and I am in great need.” I released him, and in the
morning Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) asked me, “What did your prisoner do
yesterday?” I said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! The person complained of being
needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go.”
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming
again.” I believed that he would show up again as Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had
told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully. When he
(showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold
of him again and said, “I will definitely take you to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).
He said, “Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I
promise I will not come back again.” I pitied him and let him go.In the morning Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) asked me, “What did your prisoner do.”
I replied, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! He complained of his great need and of
too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free.” Allah’s
Apostle said, “Verily, he told you a lie and he will return.” I waited
for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started
stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, “I
will surely take you to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as it is the third time you
promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come.” He said,
“(Forgive me and) I will teach you some words with which Allah will
benefit you.” I asked, “What are they?” He replied, “Whenever you go
to bed, recite “Ayat-al-Kursi”– ‘Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Haiy-ul
Qaiyum’ till you finish the whole verse. (If you do so), Allah will
appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come
near you till morning. ” So, I released him. In the morning, Allah’s
Apostle asked, “What did your prisoner do yesterday?” I replied, “He
claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit
me, so I let him go.” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) asked, “What are they?” I
replied, “He said to me, ‘Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi
from the beginning to the end —- Allahu la ilaha illa
huwa-lHaiy-ul-Qaiyum—-.’ He further said to me, ‘(If you do so),
Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no
satan will come near you till morning.’ (Abu Huraira or another
sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do
good deeds. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He really spoke the truth, although he
is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three
nights, O Abu Huraira?” Abu Huraira said, “No.” He said, “It was
Satan.”

Once Bilal brought Barni (i.e. a kind of dates) to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, “From where
have you brought these?” Bilal replied, “I had some inferior type of dates and exchanged two Sas of it
for one Sa of Barni dates in order to give it to the Prophet; to eat.” Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Beware! Beware! This is definitely Riba (usury)! This is definitely Riba (Usury)! Don’t do so, but if
you want to buy (a superior kind of dates) sell the inferior dates for money and then buy the superior
kind of dates with that money.”