one who fights in God’s path, or one who collects it, or a debtor, a man who buys it with his money, or a man who has a poor neighbour a no has been given sadaqa and gives a present to the rich man.” Malik and Abu Dawud transmitted it. A version by Abu Dawud from Abu Sa'id has ‘‘or a traveller.”

Ziyad b. al-Harith as-Suda’i said he came to the Prophet and swore allegiance to him, and after telling a long story he said that a man came to him and asked him to give him some of the sadaqa. God’s messenger then said to him, ‘‘God is not pleased with a prophet's or anyone else's decision about sadaqat till He has given a decision about them Himself. He has divided those entitled to them into eight categories,* so if you come within those categories I shall give you something.” Abu Dawud transmitted it. * Reference is to Al-Qur'an 9:60

Zaid b. Aslam said that ‘Umar b. al-Khattab drank some milk which pleased him and asked the man who gave him the drink where that milk had come from. He informed him that he had gone down to a watering-place which he named and found there some camels which had been given as sadaqa being watered. Saying that the people had drawn off some of their milk, he added, “I put it in this milk-skin of mine, and this is it.” ‘Umar thereupon put his hand in his mouth and made himself vomit. Malik and Baihaqi, in Shu’ab al-iman, transmitted it.

a man who has become a guarantor for a payment, to whom begging is allowed till he gets it, after which he must stop begging; a man whose property has been destroyed by a calamity which has smitten him, to whom begging is allowed till he gets what will support life (or he said, what will provide a reasonable subsistence); and a man who has been smitten by poverty, the genuineness of which is confirmed by three intelligent members of his people, to whom begging is allowed till he gets what will support life (or he said, what will provide a reasonable subsistence). Any other reason for begging, Qabisa, is forbidden, and one who engages in such consumes it as a thing which is forbidden.”** Muslim transmitted it. * The word hamala is used of an undertaking to pay a debt or bloodwit. ** The word here used is suht, for its use of Quran (5:42,62,63)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who begs the property of others to increase his own is asking only for live coals,* so let him ask little or much.” Muslim transmitted it. * A reference incurring some of the punishment of hell.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “When a man is always begging from people the result will be that he will come on the day of resurrection with no flesh on his face.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Mu'awiya reported God’s messenger as saying, “Do not beg importunately, for I swear by God that none of you who asks me for anything and gets out of me what he asks when I disapprove of it will receive a blessing concerning what I have given him.” Muslim transmitted it.

Az-Zubair b. al-‘Awwam reported God’s messenger as saying, “It is better for one of you to take his rope, bring a load of firewood on his back and sell it, God thereby preserving his self-respect, than that he should beg from people whether they give him anything or refuse him.” Bukhari transmitted it.

Hakim b. Hizam said he begged from God’s messenger and he gave him something, later he begged again and when he had given him something he said, “Hakim, this property is green and sweet, and he who receives it with a liberal mind will be blessed in it, but he who receives it with an avaricious mind will not be blessed in it, being like one who eats without being satisfied. And the upper hand is better than the lower one.” * Hakim told that he replied, “Messenger of God, by Him who sent you with the truth, I shall not accept anyone’s bounty after this till I leave the world.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) * The upper hand is that of the giver and the lower hand is that of the receiver. The sentence is equivalent to saying that it is better to give than to receive.

Ibn ‘Umar reported that God’s messenger said when he was on the pulpit speaking of sadaqa and abstention from begging, “The upper hand is better than the lower one, the upper being the one which bestows and the lower the one which begs.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said some of the Ansar begged from God’s messenger and he gave them something. They later begged from him again and he gave them something so that what he had was exhausted. He then said, “What I have I shall never store away from you, but God will strengthen the abstinence of him who abstains, will give a competence to him who is satisfied, and will strengthen the endurance of him who shows endurance. No one has been given a better or more ample gift than endurance.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Prophet was giving me something and I asked him to give it to someone who had more need of it than I had, but he said, “Take it, keep it with your property and give it as sadaqa. Take what comes to you from this property when you are neither avaricious nor begging, but in other circumstances do not let your desire go after it.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Samura b. Jundub reported God's messenger as saying, “Acts of begging are lacerations with which a man disfigures his face, so he who wishes may preserve his self-respect and he who wishes may do otherwise; but this does not apply to one who asks from a ruler, or in a situation which makes it necessary.” Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who begs from people when he has a sufficiency will come on the day of resurrection with his begging showing itself as scrapes, scratching or lacerations on his face.” On being asked what constituted a sufficiency, God’s messenger replied that it was fifty dirhams or their value in gold. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Sahl b. al-Hanzaliya reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who begs when he has a sufficiency is simply asking for a great amount of hell.” An-Nufaili, who was one of its transmitters, said in another place that he was asked what was a sufficiency which made begging unfitting and replied that it was what would provide a morning and an evening meal. In another place he said it was when one had enough for a day, or for a night and a day. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Ata’ b. Yasar, on the authority of a man of the B. Asad, reported God’s messenger as saying, “If any of you begs when he has an Uqiya* or its equivalent, he has begged immoderately.” Malik, Abu DawQd and Nasa’i transmitted it. * The Uqiya (ounce) of the Arabs was forty dirhams.

Hubshi b. Janada reported God’s messenger as saying, “Begging is not allowable to a rich man, or to one who has strength and is sound in limb, but only to one who is in grinding poverty or is seriously in debt. If anyone begs to increase thereby his property, it will appear as lacerations on his face on the day of resurrection and as heated stones which he will eat from jahannam. So let him who wishes ask little, and let him who wishes ask much.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

one who is in grinding poverty, one who is seriously in debt, or one who is responsible for blood-wit he finds it difficult to pay.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted up to “the day of resurrection.”

Ibn Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “If one who is afflicted by poverty refers it to men, his poverty will not be brought to an end; but if one refers it to God, He will soon give him sufficiency, either by a speedy death or by a sufficiency which comes later.” Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Ibn al-Firasi said that al-Firasi asked God's messenger whether he might beg, and the Prophet replied, “No; but if there is no escape from it, beg from the upright.” Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘Umar employed me to collect the sadaqa, and when I finished doing so and gave it to him he ordered payment to be given me, but I said, “I did it only for God’s sake, and my reward will come from God.” He replied, “Take what you are given, for I acted as a collector in the time of God’s messenger, and when he assigned me a payment I said the same kind of thing as you have said, to which he replied that when I was given something without asking for it I should use it for my own purposes and as sadaqa.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

'Ali told how, when he heard a man begging from the people on the day of ‘Arafa, he said, "On this day and in this place do you beg from anyone but God?” He then struck him with a whip. Razin transmitted it.

'Umar said, "You people must know that covetousness is poverty, despair is wealth, and that when a man despairs of anything he can dispense with it.”. Razin transmitted it.

Thauban reported God’s messenger as saying, "If anyone guarantees me that he will not beg from people, I will guarantee him paradise.” Thauban said that he would, and he never asked anyone for anything. Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.

Abu Dharr said that God's messenger called him and laid a condition on him that he should not ask people for anything. When he agreed he said, "Not even for your whip when you drop it. You must dismount and get it yourself.” Ahmad transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, "If I had gold to the extent of Uhud I would not like to keep any of it more than three days, except what I put aside to pay a debt.” Bukhari transmitted it.

He reported him as saying that two angels come down every morning and one says, "O God, give him who spends something in place of it;” the other says, “O God, give him who withholds destruction.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Asma’ reported God’s messenger as saying, "Spend, do not calculate and so have God calculating against you, do not hoard and so have God hoarding from you, but give such small amounts as you can.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as stating that God most high had said, "If you spend, son of Adam, I shall spend on you.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Umama reported God’s messenger as saying, "Son of Adam, to give away what you have extra is better for you and to withhold it is worse for you, but you are not blamed for having a sufficiency. Give first to those who are dependent on you.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, "The niggardly man and the one who gives alms are like two men wearing coats of iron with their hands pressed closely to their breasts and their collar-bones. As often as the one who gives alms does so it becomes expanded for him, but as often as the niggardly man thinks about giving alms it contracts and every ring keeps to its place.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir reported God’s messenger as saying, "Beware of oppression, for oppression (zulm) will produce excessive darkness (zulumat) on the day of resurrection; and beware of niggardliness, for niggardliness destroyed your predecessor, inducing them to shed one another's blood and to treat things forbidden them as lawful." Muslim transmitted it.

Haritha b. Wahb told that God's messenger exhorted the people to give sadaqa, for the time was coming when a man would go with his sadaqa and find no one to accept it. A man would say, “If you had brought it yesterday I would have accepted it, but I have no need of it today." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira told that when a man asked God’s messenger which sadaqa produced the greatest reward he replied, “That which you give when you are healthy and inclined to be mean, fearing poverty and hoping for a competence. Do not put it off and then say when you are about to die that you give such and such to so and so and such and such to so and so when it has already become the property of so and so.”* (Bukhari and Muslim.) * i.e. by inheritance.

I came to the Prophet when he was sitting in the shade of the Ka'ba, and when he saw me he said, “By the Lord of the Ka'ba, they are the ones who suffer the greatest loss." I asked, “Who are they, you for whom I would give my father and my mother as ransom?" He replied, “Those who have most property, except those who say, ‘Take this and this and this,’ before them, behind them, on their right and on their left; but they are few." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “The generous man is near God, near paradise, near men and far from hell, but the miserly man is far from God, far from paradise, far from men and near hell. Indeed, an ignorant man who is generous is dearer to God than a worshipper who is miserly." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported God’s messenger as saying, “It is better for a man to give a dirham as sadaqa during his lifetime than to give a hundred at the time of his death.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abud Darda’ reported God’s messenger as saying, “One who gives sadaqa or who frees a slave at the time of his death is like one who gives gifts when he has more than enough.” Ahmad, Nasa’i, Darimi and Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Tirmidhi said it is sahih.

miserliness and a bad disposition." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq reported God’s messenger as saying, “A crafty one, a miser, and one who keeps reminding people of what he has given will not enter paradise.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “The worst things in a man are anxious niggardliness and unrestrained cowardice.” Abd Dawud transmitted it.

Al-Mughira b. Shu'ba said the Prophet wore a Byzantine cloak with narrow sleeves. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Burda said ‘A’isha brought out to them a patched garment and a coarse lower garment and told them that God’s messenger’s spirit was taken when he was wearing those. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘A’isha said that when some of the Prophet’s wives asked him which of them would join him soonest, he replied that it would be the one with the longest arm. So they took a rod and measured, and Sauda was the one among them who had the longest arm. They later came to know that sadaqa was the meaning of the length of the arm, for Zainab was the one who joined him soonest and she was fond of giving sadaqa.* Bukhari transmitted it. In Muslim’s version she reported God’s messsenger as saying, “The one of you who will join me first is the one who has the longest arm.” She said they measured one another’s arms to see which was the longest, and the one with the longest was Zainab because she worked with her hand and gave sadaqa. * She was called Umm al-masakin (mother of the needy), a title given her in the pre-Islamic period.

Abu Huraira said that God’s messenger told of a man who expressed his intention to give sadaqa, and who when he took it out placed it in a thief’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and saying, “Sadaqa was given to a thief last night.” The man said, “O God, to Thee be the praise—to a thief!’’ He then expressed his intention to give sadaqa and when he took it out he placed it in a prostitute’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and saying, “Sadaqa was given to a prostitute last night." The man said, "O God, to Thee be the praise— to a prostitute!" He then expressed his intention to give sadaqa and when he took it out he placed it in a rich man’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and saying, “Sadaqa was given to a rich man last night." The man said, “O God, to Thee be the praise—to a thief, a prostitute and a rich man!” He then had a vision in which he was told that his sadaqa to a thief might result in his refraining from his theft, the prostitute might perhaps refrain from her immorality, and the rich man might perhaps pay heed and spend from what God had given him. (Bukhari and Muslim, the wording being Bukhari’s.)

He said that the Prophet told of a man in a waterless plain hearing a voice from a cloud say, “Water so and so’s garden.” Those clouds then moved away and emptied their water on a lava tract, and a channel collected the whole of that water. He followed the water and came upon a man standing in his garden diverting the water with his spade. He asked him his name, and when he told him, it was the very name he had heard from the cloud. The man then asked him why he had asked his name, and he replied that he had heard a voice from the clouds from which that water had come saying, “Water so and so’s garden," using his name. He then asked him what he was doing in the garden and he replied, “Since you have said this, I am waiting for what it produces, when I shall give a third as sadaqa, use a third as food for myself and my family, and put a third back into it.” Muslim transmitted it.

He said he had heard the Prophet say there were three men among the B. Isra’il, one leprous, one bald and one blind, whom God wished to test. He therefore sent to them an angel who came to the leper and asked him what he would like best and he replied, “A good colour, a good skin, and to be rid of what makes me loathsome to people.” Thereupon he stroked him and his loathsomeness departed and he was given a good colour and a good skin. He then asked What property he would like best and he replied that he would like camels—or perhaps he said cattle, for Ishaq* was uncertain, but either the leper or bald man said camels and the other said cattle. He was given a she-camel ten months gone with young, the angel expressing the wish that God’s blessing might accompany it. He then went to the bald man and asked him what he would like best and he replied, "Good hair, and to be rid of what makes me loathsome to people.” Thereupon he stroked him and it departed from him and he was given good hair. He then asked what property he would like best and he replied that he would like cattle, so he was given a pregnant cow, the angel expressing the wish that God’s blessing might accompany it. He then went to the blind man and asked him what he would like best, and he replied, "That God should restore my sight to me so that I may see people.” Thereupon he stroked him and God restored his sight to him. He then asked what property he would like best and he replied that he would like sheep, so he was given a pregnant ewe. Flocks and herds were produced for the three men, the one having a wadi with camels, the second one with cattle, and the third one with sheep. Then the angel came to the one who had been a leper in the form and appearance of a leper and said, “I am a poor man whose resources are exhausted in my journey, and my only means of arriving at my destination are dependent on God and then on you, so I ask you by Him who gave you the good colour, the good skin and the property for a camel by which I may get to the end of my journey,” but he replied, "I have many dues to pay.” He then said, "I seem to recognise you. Were you not a leper whom people found loathsome and a poor man to whom God gave property?” He replied, "I became heir to this property as one great in dignity from one great in dignity.”** Then he said, "If you are lying, may God return you to your former condition.” He went to the one who had been bald in the form of a bald man ...

Umm Bujaid said she told God’s messenger that a poor man would stand at her door till she was ashamed, for she had nothing in her house to put in his hand, and he replied, “Put something in his hand, even though it should be a burnt hoof." Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying that this is a hasan sahih tradition.

A client of ‘Uthman said that Umm Salama was presented with a piece of meat, and because the Prophet liked meat she told the servant to put it in the house as the Prophet might perhaps eat it. She put it in the window ledge in the house. A beggar came and stood at the door and said, “Give alms, may God bless you," and when they replied, “God bless you,"* the beggar went away. Then the Prophet entered and asked Umm Salama whether she had anything for him to eat. She replied that she had, and told the servant to go and bring God's messenger that meat, but when she went she found only a piece of flint in the window ledge. The Prophet then said, “That meat changed into flint because you did not give it to the beggar." Baihaqi transmitted it in Dalail an-nubuwa. * A pious remark used to indicate that there is no intention of giving anything. The most common phrase in such circumstances is Allah karim (God is generous).

Ibn ‘Abbas said that the Prophet asked some people whether they would like him to tell them who was in the worst position, and when they replied that they would, he said, “The one who is asked for something in God’s name and does not give it in His name.” Ahmad transmitted it.