Is There a Hadith about a Poor Man Marrying Four Wives and Being Blessed with Wealth?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is there a hadith about a man who was poor and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) advised him to get married? One after the other, he married four wives; the fourth wife was a tailor, and she taught the other wives; the husband opened a business, and then Allah blessed him. Please let me know.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
There is no hadith, as mentioned above, where a poor man marries four women and becomes rich. However, there is a hadith where a man comes to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and complains to him about poverty, and he advises him to get married.
Hadith of Jabir Ibn Abdullah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and Similar Reports
Jabir Ibn Abdullah (Allah bless him and give him peace) reports that a man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) complaining about poverty. The Prophet advised him to get married.
Khatib al-Baghdadi has reported this. However, this chain has an unreliable narrator, as mentioned by Dhahabi in Mizan and Ibn Hajar in I‘tidal. [Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad]
Many weak narrations and reports, like from ‘Umar, ‘A’isha, Ibn Mas‘ud, and Ibn ‘Abbas, etc. (Allah be pleased with them all), have been mentioned regarding marriage being a source of generating sustenance. And in general, this is mentioned in the Quran and Hadith.
Quranic Command – Marry, Allah will Enrich One in Return
“Marry off the singles among you, as well as the righteous of your bondmen and bondwomen. If they are poor, Allah will enrich them out of His bounty. For Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.” [Quran, 24:32]
Prophetic Advice – Three People have Guaranteed Help from Allah Most High
Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Three people have a guaranteed right of help from Allah Most High. One who strives in the path of Allah Most High, a slave who has a contact of manumission and intends to repay his money, and one who wants to get married and intends chastity in his life.” [Tirmidhi]
Related:
A Guide to Marriage: SeekersGuidance Reader
Etiquette of Marriage: A Comprehensive SeekersGuidance Reader
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
