Part 20

For this reason, Allah ordained the institution of the binding of hearts (ta'leef ul-quluub), even assigning to those whose hearts are to be drawn in a portion of the zakah. Allah said to His Prophet: Enjoining Right & Forbidding Wrong - 40 Translated by Salim Abdallah ibn Morgan [Choose forbearance, and enjoin all that is right, and turn away from the foolish ones.} Quran 7/199 And, Allah said in another aya: [And, advise one another to have patience, and urge one another to acts of compassion.] Quran 90/17 It is necessary for the enjoiner and forbidder to be patient and to be compassionate, and that is true courage and true generosity. For this reason, Allah mentions prayer and zakah together many times in the Quran, and zakah is graciousness towards Allah's creation, and mentions prayer and patience together on other occasions. All three are essential: prayer, zakah, and patience. The affairs of the believer will not go straight except with these three in relation to his reforming of himself, and in the reforming of others, especially when trials and strife are rampant, then the need for these qualities becomes more severe. The need for forbearance and patience is common to the entire human race; their affairs will never be straightened out except with these qualities. For this reason, all societies and cultures praise courage and generosity to the extent that most of the poems which have been composed to praise someone dwell on these two qualities. In the same vein, all societies and cultures hold as blameworthy the opposing qualities of miserliness and cowardice. Any issue about which the thinkers of the entire human race agree cannot be anything but the truth, such as their agreement on the praiseworthiness of truthfulness and justice, and the blameworthiness of lying and oppression. The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) was once asked questions by some bedouins until they forced him over near a tree on which his cloak became caught. He turned to them and said: "By the one in whose hand is my soul, if I possessed camels equal to the number of these thorns, I would divide them all between you, and you would not find me to be miserly, nor cowardly, nor untruthful." This value judgement, however, takes various forms according to specific cases and details and, verily, works are judged by intentions, and to every person is that which he intended. Enjoining Right & Forbidding Wrong - 41 Translated by Salim Abdallah ibn Morgan Criticism Of Miserliness And Cowardice For this reason, miserliness and cowardice are frequently criticized in the Quran and the Sunnah, and courage and forbearance in the path of Allah are praised - in the path of Allah specifically as opposed to that which is not in the path of Allah. The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "The most evil things which can be found in a person are greedy desire which influences all of his actions, and cowardice which makes him flee." And, he said: "Who is your head man O, children of Salamah?" They said: "Al-Jadd ibn Qais, even though we criticize in him miserliness." The Prophet said: "And what defect is more serious than miserliness!?" In another version of the above hadith, the Prophet is reported to have said: "Verily, no head man can be miserly, rather your head man is Al-Abyadh AlJa'ad Al-Baraa' ibn Ma'rur." Similarly, in the sahih the statement of Jabir ibn Abdullah to Abu Bakr As-Siddique radhiallahu `anhu): "You can either give me, or you can be miserly (tabkhalu 'anniy.)" Abu Bakr said: "Do you say you can either give me, or you can be miserly?!