٣٢ - باب فضل ضعفة المسلمين والفقراء والخاملين

On the authority of Ḥāritha ibn Wahb (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Shall I not tell you of the people of Paradise? Every weak person who is regarded as lowly: were he to swear an oath by Allah, He would surely fulfil it. Shall I not tell you of the people of the Fire? Every harsh, greedy, arrogant person." Agreed upon. "Al-ʿutull" is the coarse, rough one. "And al-jawwāẓ" — with a fatḥa on the jīm, a doubling of the wāw and with the dotted ẓāʾ — is the one who amasses and withholds; and it is said: the bulky one who struts in his gait; and it is said: the short, pot-bellied one.

On the authority of Abū ʿAbbās Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to a man sitting beside him: "What is your opinion of this one?" He replied: A man from among the noblest of people; by Allah, he is worthy, if he proposes marriage, to be married, and if he intercedes, to have his intercession accepted. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fell silent. Then another man passed by, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "What is your opinion of this one?" He replied: O Messenger of Allah, this is a man from among the poor of the Muslims; he is worthy, if he proposes marriage, not to be married, and if he intercedes, not to have his intercession accepted, and if he speaks, not to be listened to. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then said: "This one is better than an earth's fill of the like of that one." Agreed upon. His words "ḥariyy" — it is with a fatḥa on the ḥāʾ, a kasra on the rāʾ and a doubling of the yāʾ — mean: deserving. And his words "shafaʿa" — with a fatḥa on the fāʾ.

On the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: "Paradise and the Fire disputed. The Fire said: In me are the tyrants and the arrogant. And Paradise said: In me are the weak of the people and their poor. So Allah judged between them: You, Paradise, are My mercy; through you I show mercy to whom I will. And you, Fire, are My punishment; through you I punish whom I will. And it is upon Me to fill each of you." Narrated by Muslim.

On the authority of Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: "On the Day of Resurrection a fat, corpulent man will come forward who will not weigh, with Allah, so much as the wing of a gnat." Agreed upon.

And on his authority: A black woman used to sweep the mosque — or it was a young man — and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) missed her — or missed him. He asked about her — or about him — and they said: He/she has died. He said: "Why did you not inform me?" It was as though they had thought her affair — or his affair — too slight. So he said: "Show me her grave." They showed him, and he prayed over her. Then he said: "These graves are filled with darkness for their occupants, and Allah, the Exalted, illuminates them for them by my prayer over them." Agreed upon. His words "taqumm" — it is with a fatḥa on the tāʾ and a ḍamma on the qāf — mean: she sweeps. "And al-qumāma" is the sweepings. "And ādhantumūnī" — with a lengthening of the hamza — means: you informed me.

And on his authority, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Many a dishevelled, dust-covered person, turned away at doors, who, were he to swear an oath by Allah, He would surely fulfil it." Narrated by Muslim.

On the authority of Usāma (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: "I stood at the gate of Paradise, and behold, most of those who entered it were the poor, while the people of wealth were held back — except that the people of the Fire had been ordered to the Fire. And I stood at the gate of the Fire, and behold, most of those who entered it were women." Agreed upon. "And al-jadd" — with a fatḥa on the jīm — is good fortune and wealth. And his words "maḥbūsūn" mean: they had not yet been permitted to enter Paradise.

On the authority of Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: "None spoke in the cradle except three: ʿĪsā the son of Maryam; and the companion of Jurayj. Jurayj was a devout man who took for himself a hermitage and remained in it. His mother came to him while he was praying, and she said: O Jurayj. He said: O my Lord, my mother or my prayer? — and he turned to his prayer, so she departed. The next day she came to him while he was praying, and she said: O Jurayj. He said: O my Lord, my mother or my prayer? — and he turned to his prayer. The following day she came to him while he was praying, and she said: O Jurayj. He said: O my Lord, my mother or my prayer? — and he turned to his prayer. So she said: O Allah, do not let him die until he looks upon the faces of prostitutes. The Children of Israel spoke of Jurayj and his devotion. There was a prostitute whose beauty was held up as a likeness, and she said: If you wish, I shall surely tempt him for you. So she presented herself to him, but he paid her no attention. She then went to a shepherd who used to shelter by his hermitage, and she offered herself to him, and he had relations with her, so she conceived. When she gave birth, she said: It is from Jurayj. So they came to him, made him come down, demolished his hermitage and began to beat him. He said: What is the matter with you? They said: You committed fornication with this prostitute and she has borne a child by you. He said: Where is the child? So they brought it, and he said: Leave me until I pray. He prayed, and when he had finished he came to the infant, prodded its belly and said: O boy, who is your father? It said: So-and-so, the shepherd. So they turned to Jurayj, kissing him and seeking blessing by touching him, and they said: We shall build your hermitage for you of gold. He said: No, restore it of clay as it was. So they did. And while an infant was nursing from its mother, a man passed by riding a fine mount and of handsome appearance, and its mother said: O Allah, make my son like this one. So it left the breast, turned towards him, looked at him and said: O Allah, do not make me like him. Then it returned to its breast and resumed suckling." — It is as though I am looking at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as he imitated its suckling with his forefinger in his mouth, sucking on it. He said: "And they passed by a slave-girl whom they were beating, saying: You have fornicated, you have stolen — while she was saying: Allah is sufficient for me, and an excellent Guardian is He. Its mother said: O Allah, do not make my son like her. So it left the suckling, looked at her, and said: O Allah, make me like her. At that point the two of them spoke to one another about the matter. She said: A man of handsome appearance passed by, and I said: O Allah, make my son like him, and you said: O Allah, do not make me like him. And they passed by this slave-girl whom they were beating, saying: You have fornicated, you have stolen, and I said: O Allah, do not make my son like her, and you said: O Allah, make me like her?! He said: That man was a tyrant, so I said: O Allah, do not make me like him; and as for this woman, they say: You have fornicated, while she has not fornicated, and: You have stolen, while she has not stolen, so I said: O Allah, make me like her." Agreed upon. "Al-mūmisāt" — with a ḍamma on the first mīm, a sukūn on the wāw, a kasra on the second mīm and with the undotted sīn — they are the fornicatresses. And al-mūmisa is the adulteress. And his words "dābba fāriha" — with the fāʾ — mean: spirited and excellent. "And al-shāra" — with the dotted shīn and a light rāʾ — is outward beauty in appearance and attire. And the meaning of "tarājaʿā al-ḥadīth" is: she spoke to the child and he spoke to her; and Allah knows best.