It was said to him...

It was said to him, O Abu Abd Allah -ra , why is it that with all the restraint you exercise in the worldly matters and you do not know whether you will die today or tomorrow, you still keep one year’s amount of your expenses aside from the gift you receive? His answer was as follows. Why do you not wish for me one more year of living instead of fearing for my death within a year?

He -asws then said, O ignorant people, have you not noticed that ones soul becomes lazy and weak (in worship) when he does not have dependable means of living but when he gains his means of living only then his soul gains comfort. Abu Dharr -ra owned camels and sheep. He -ra would get milk from them and also use their meat for food whenever he -ra wanted for his family and for his guests or for the people from whom he received water.

Whenever he -ra thought they desired he would slaughter for them a camel for food or of the sheep to satisfy their desire for meat. He -ra would distribute the meat among them and for himself, he would get one share without anything more than others. Who is more restraining from the worldly matters than these people?

The Messenger of Allah -saww has said about them all, that he has said, but he has not mentioned anything about their dispossessing themselves altogether from their belongings by giving away everything in charity, just as you command people to give away all of their belongings to give preference to others over themselves and families.

O people, you must take notice that I heard my father narrating from his -asws ancestors -asws from the Messenger of Allah -saww who one day said, No other thing is as astonishing to me as the condition of a believing person. If his body is cut into pieces by scissors, it is because it is for his good and if everything between the East and West is made to become of his belongings is because it is for his good. Everything that Allah -azwj does for him is for his good.

I like to know what I have said to you today had any effect on you or I increase my sayings. Have you not noticed that Allah -azwj at the beginning of Islam had made it compulsory on the Muslims to fight each one against ten pagans without turning his back to the enemy and those who did so would have filled his seat with hell-fire. He -saww then changed their condition out of mercy and kindness to them and told them to fight each one of them against two men of the pagans.

It was a measure of relief in favour of the believers from Allah -azwj .