What Is the Status of the Following, Give Charity as It Stands in the Way of Calamity?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is the hadith “give charity as it stands in the way of calamity” authentic? Are there Quranic verses supporting the notion that charity prevents grief and hardship? I’m cautious about hadith authenticity due to potential fabrication.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Zakat Prevents Grief
As the Quran mentions, those who give their Zakat due alms will have no fear or grief.
Allah Most High says, “Indeed, those who believe, do good, establish prayer, and pay due alms will receive their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.” [Quran, 2:277]
Calamity Cannot Overcome Charity.
Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reports, “Give charity without delay, for indeed, calamity cannot overcome it.”
This is not found in Tirmidhi or any of the six authentic books mentioned
by Imam Sakhawi in Al-Maqasid al-Hasana. Ibn al-Jawzi has mentioned it in his Al-Mawdu’at (Fabricated Traditions). Haythami grades it as a weak hadith.
[Sakhawi, Al Maqasid al-Hasana, Ibn al-Jawzi, Al-Mawdu’at]
Imam Bayhaqi, ‘Allamah Mundhiri, and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (Allah have mercy on them all) have stated that this is more reliably attributed to Anas (Allah be pleased with him) and should, therefore, be attributed to him rather than the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
[Bayhaqi, Al-Sunan al-Kubra, Mundhiri, Targhib; Sakhawi, Al Maqasid al-Hasana]
The hadith scholars explain that this hadith encourages giving charity to those deserving before one becomes ill or dies, for calamities cannot overcome it. The hadith portrays charity and calamities as two horse races; whichever one wins the race will not be overcome by the other. Therefore, by hastening charity, a person ensures that he is not overcome by calamity.
[Mulla Ali al-Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah. Also, I would like to encourage you to take a SeekersGuidance course.
Related
- What Is the Difference Between Ongoing Charity and Regular Charity? – SeekersGuidance
- How to Strengthen Faith in Allah and Return to Him?
- Ibn Hajar’s Nukhba Explained: Principles of Hadith (seekersguidance.org)
- Science or Hadith?: A Critical Discussion of Contradictory Hadiths – SeekersGuidance
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
