The Section on Zakat · 23 – Who is Zakat Given to and What is the Measure of Wealth?
Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: "A beggar who possesses wealth sufficient for his needs will come on the Day of Resurrection with a face marred, or with a fingernail broken, or with a downcast countenance."
It was asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is the measure of sufficiency (of wealth)?”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: "Fifty dirhams of silver or its equivalent in gold.” [474]
From a man of the Banu Asad: My family and I had descended upon Baki-i Gargad.
My family said to me, "Go to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and ask him for something for us," relating their needs to me. When I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, I found a man before him asking him for something.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, "I have nothing to give you."
The man turned away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in anger, saying: “By my life, you give to whom you will.” The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
“He is angry with me because I could not find something to give him. If any one of you begs while he possesses an uqiyyah or its equivalent, then he has begged reproachfully (causing annoyance).” Al-Asadi says:
– I said, “A milch cow is better for us than an uqiyyah.” An uqiyyah is forty dirhams. I returned from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, without asking him for anything. Afterwards, barley or dried raisins came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him; he distributed it amongst us. Or as he said, may Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) enrich us. [475]
EXPLANATION
Likhah: Refers to a milch cow.
It is certainly the case that a believer’s asking from others unless he is in dire need, will surely stain his honor. It should draw our attention that one who possesses a female camel should abandon her and consider her more valuable than an uqiyyah.
Abū Sa’īd al-Hudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “If one begs while possessing wealth worth an uqiyyah, then he has caused distress.” I said, "My female camel, Yaqūt, is more valuable than an uqiyyah." Hisham said, "(Instead of uqiyyah,) forty dirhams are better." I returned without asking for anything from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him). Hisham added in his narration: “During the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him), an uqiyyah was forty dirhams.”
Sehl bin Hanzele (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
Uyayna bin Hisn and Akra bin Habis came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) and requested something from him. The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) ordered that their request be given to them, and he had Muawiyah write it down for them. Akra took the written document, rolled it up, and tucked it into his turban and left. Uyayna took the document and came to the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him), and said to himself: “O Muhammad! Do you see me carrying a document to my people, like a scroll of Multamis, without knowing what is written in it?” Muawiyah informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) about his words. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) then said: "Whoever performs *siyaqah* [a ritual act] while possessing something sufficient for himself, he has only stoked the fire.”
Nufayl narrated in another narration: “He has increased the sparks of the Fire.”
The companions asked: “O Messenger of Allah! What is the amount of wealth that will make a person rich and free from need?”
Nufayl narrated in another narration: "What is the amount of wealth which, with its possession, begging becomes unbecoming?"
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “If it suffices to feed him in the morning and evening, then he should not request it.”
Nufayl narrated in another narration: “If it suffices to feed him for a day and night, or a night and a day, then he should not request it.”
Nufayl recounted to us that this was the brief wording of the narration.
*Explanation:*
Multamis was a poet from the pre-Islamic period. His name was Jarir bin Abdulmesih. He had satirized Amr bin Hindel Maliki. Amr wrote a letter to his tax collector and gave it to the poet, appearing as if he was ordering assistance for Multamis in the letter; however, in reality, it commanded his killing. Multamis suspected the letter, opened it, and had it read to him by someone else. Upon understanding its contents, he immediately threw away the letter and saved himself. The Arabs made Multamis’s letter a celebrated tale. Thus, Uyayna said this because he did not know what was written in the document, which was given to him in writing ordering assistance.
Abdurrahman ibn Ziyad (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
From Ziyad ibn Nuaym al-Hazarmi, from Ziyad ibn al-Haris as-Sudai, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) seeking permission [to attend], and he said, “I recounted a lengthy hadith,” and a man came to him and said, "Give me something from the zakat." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said to him, “Allah Most High did not approve that a Prophet or anyone else should have authority in the distribution of zakat. Rather, He gave the ruling Himself and divided it into eight categories. If you are among those categories, I will give you your due.”
Note: In its chain of narration is Abdurrahman ibn Ziyad ibn ‘Innam al-Afriqi. Many speak negatively about him.
Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “Someone who is sent away with one or two dates, or one or two morsels, is not poor. The truly poor person is he who does not ask [for anything], and conceals himself so that he remains unknown, thus no one gives to him.”
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said a statement similar to the preceding one.
He then stated, “But the truly needy is the chaste one.” The narration transmitted by Musaddad added, "The truly deprived is he who possesses just enough wealth but does not ask [for help], so his need remains unknown and assistance cannot be given to him." Musaddad did not mention the phrase, "the one who does not ask is the chaste one."
Abū Dāwūd says: Muhammad ibn Suwar and Abdur-Razzāq narrated to me from Mamar. They said that the term (mahrum – deprived) mentioned in the hadith comes from the words of Zuhri. And that is the correct account.
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Adiy bin el-Hiyar that:
Two men came to me reporting that they had come to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, during the Farewell Pilgrimage. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was distributing charity. They requested a share of the charity. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, looked at us, then lowered his gaze. He saw that we were strong and capable, and said, “If you wish, I will give to you as well. But there is no right for the wealthy and those who are able-bodied and can earn [a living] in this charity.”
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Zakat is not permissible for the wealthy and those possessing sound limbs.”
Abu Dawud says: Shu’bah transmitted it from Sa’d, mentioning “(one who possesses) strong vitality” as *zî-mirratin gaviyyi*. Some narrations concerning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on this topic mention “strong and powerful,” while others mention “strong and sound.” Ata bin Zura' visited Abdullah bin Amr and said: "Charity is not permissible for the strong and those possessing complete limbs."