"My provision was placed for me in the shade..."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “My provision was placed for me in the shade of my spear.” The Hadith was reported by Imām Ahmad and others on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar and it is Saheeh.

This Hadith indicates that Allah did not send His Messenger to endeavor to seek the duniya, nor to gather the duniy and its treasures, nor to strive to seek its means, rather He sent him as a caller to His Tawheed with the sword. What is implied by this is that he kills the enemies of Allah who refuse to accept Tawheed, legitimizes the spilling of their blood and the taking of their wealth, and enslaves their women and children, and thereby his provision becomes what Allah has given him of spoils from the property of His enemy. This is because wealth was created by Allah for the children of Adam only to assist them in obeying and worshipping Him. So whoever uses it to assist himself in kufr of Allah and shirk with Him, then Allah will give mastery to His Messenger (saws) and his followers over him, so that they seize it from him and return it back to one who is more worthy than him from the people who worship Allah, practice Tawheed of Him, and submit obediently towards Him. For this reason their wealth is called fay’ (the root of the word means to restore or return), because it returns to one who is more deserving of it and it returns to the usage for which it was created.

From amongst the abrogated (Ayah) of the Qur’aan (in recitation, not in legislation) was the Ayah:

"We only sent down wealth so that Salaah would be established and Zakaah would be given."

So Ahlu Tawheed and obedience to Allah are more deserving of wealth than the people of kuffr in Allah and shirk. Therefore, they seized their wealth. He also made the provision of His Messenger (saws) from that wealth, because it is the purest of wealth, as He said:

"So consume what you have taken of war booty (as being) lawful and good." [Al-Anfaal:69]

This was a matter through which Allah favored Muhammad (saws) and his Ummah, for He legalized war booty for them. It has also been claimed that the Ummah was favored with the legality of ghanimah taken through fighting, not fay’; and that what is taken without fighting (fay’) was halaal and mubah for those nations before us. He made the provision of His Messenger (saws) from the latter (the fay’).

War booty is more lawful than other income for a number of reasons. It is seized from one who does not deserve it, because he uses it to aid himself in disobeying Allah and associating others with Him. So if it is taken from one who uses it contrary to the obedience of Allah, the practice of Tawheed and the da’wah to worship Him, then such wealth becomes the most beloved of wealth to Allah and the purest form of income in His sight. Also, he (saws) would not perform Jihaad except so that the Word of Allah would be the highest and His Deen the most manifest. He did not perform Jihaad for the sake of ghanimah. So provision would come to him pursuant to his worship and Jihaad fi sabilillah.

Therefore, he did not dedicate any of his time solely towards seeking provision. Rather he would worship Allah in all his time, and practice Tawheed of Allah and be sincere to Him. So Allah made his provision easy during such worship, without him intending to seek it or endeavoring to pursue it. It was reported in the mursal narration (i.e. reported with no mention of the Sahabi in the isnaad), that he (saws) said, “I am the Messenger of mercy. I am the Messenger of the malhamah (bloody battle). Allah sent me with Jihaad and He did not send me with agriculture.” [Reported by Ibn Sa’d in “at-Tabaqat”]

Al-Baghawi reported in his “Mu’jam” a marfu’ Hadith (i.e. a Hadith whose words are conveyed as the Prophet’s), “Indeed Allah has sent me with guidance and the Deen of truth. He did not make me a farmer, nor a merchant, nor a shouter in the markets. And He placed my provision in my spear.” He mentioned the spear rather than the sword so that it is not understood that he got provision from the ghanimah wealth. Rather, his provision was from the fay’ that Allah granted him from Khaybar and Fadak. Fay’ is what the enemy leaves behind after fear-fully fleeing, contrary to ghanimah, which is taken through fighting with the sword. Therefore, mention of the spear more clearly indicates the acquirement of fay’, because the spear is seen by the enemy from a distance, so he flees, and thus he flees from the spear’s shade by which fay’ is taken. The provision of the Prophet (saws) was from fay’, not ghanimah, which is taken by fighting with a sword. And Allah knows best.

‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdil-‘Aziz said, “Allah sent Muhammad as a guide and did not send him as a money collector.” So the Prophet (saws) spent his time with obedience of Allah and da’wah to His Tawheed, and whatever is acquired through that of wealth from fay’ and ghanimah, is acquired consequently, and not with the fundamental intention of pursuing it. For these reasons, one who abandons Jihaad and instead busies himself with making money has been censured. The statement of Allah:

"And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw (yourselves) with your [own] hands into destruction" [Al-Baqarah:195]

Was revealed regarding such a situation, when the Ansar resolved to abandon Jihaad and work to improve their wealth and land. And in the Hadith that was reported by Abu Dawood and others, “If you deal in ‘inah (a form of riba), follow after the tails of cattle, and abandon Jihaad, then Allah will give humiliation mastery over you and He will not remove it from you until you review your deen.” [Saheeh: reported by Imaam Ahmad and Abu Dawood]

For this reason, the Sahabah disliked entering the land of kharaj (taxed land) for the sake of agriculture, because it distracts from Jihaad. Makhul said, “When the Muslimeen entered Shaam, the plants of al-Hulah were mentioned to them, so they planted crops. This news reached ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab. So he sent someone to the crops after they became ripe and burnt them with fire. He then sent a letter to them saying, ‘Indeed Allah placed the provision of this Ummah in its spearheads and beneath its spear-tails. If they farm, they become like other people.’” This was reported by Asad Ibn Musa. He also reported through an isnaad of his that ‘Umar wrote, “Whoever farms, follows after the tails of cattle, is pleased with such, and admits to it, I will enforce jizyah upon him.” It was said to one of them, “Why don’t you keep a farm for the family?” So he responded, “Wallaahi, we did not come as farmers, rather we came to kill the farmers and eat their crops.”

So the best condition for the believer is that his time is spent in obedience of Allah, Jihaad fi sabilillah, and da’wah to His obedience. He should not seek the duniya. And he should take from the wealth of fay’ and from other sources of wealth what is merely sufficient, as the Prophet (saws) would take food which would suffice his family for a year. He would take it from the fay’ and divide the rest. And sometimes he might see someone needy thereafter and then give him his family’s food, and so his family would remain without anything.

And likewise is the case for one who is busy with knowledge, because it is from the two forms of Jihaad, so his dedication to knowledge is like Jihaad fi sabilillah and da’wah to Him. If he takes from the money of fay’ or waqf, he should take only what suffices him to strengthen himself in his jihaad. He should not take more than his need from it. Imaam Ahmad has specifically mentioned that one should not take more than his need from the wealth in baytul-maal such as the kharaj (land tax). And the money from waqf is even more strict. And whoever is busy with his duties towards Allah, then Allah will oversee his provision, as is mentioned in the Hadith on the authority of Zayd Ibn Thabit, “Whoever’s concern is the duniya, Allah will scatter his affairs and place his poverty before his eyes. Nothing will come to him of the duniya except what has been decreed for him. And whoever’s intent is the Hereafter, Allah will gather for him his affairs and will place his prosperity in his heart. The duniya will come to him against its will.” [Reported by Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Majah (with a Saheeh isnaad)]

At-Tirmidhi reported from the marfū’ narration of Anas, “Allah says, ‘O son of Adam, devote yourself to My worship and I will fill your heart with prosperity. If you do not do such, I will fill your hands with work and will not settle your poverty‘.” [Saheeh: reported by Imaam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, and others on the authority of Abu Hurayrah]

Ibn Majah reported from the marfu’ Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud, “Whoever makes his concerns one concern – for his hereafter – Allah will cover the concern for his duniya. And whoever’s heart is split by many concerns for the matters of the duniya, then Allah will not care in whichever valley he is destroyed.” [Hasan: reported by Ibn Majah on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn Mas’ud]

It was also reported in some Isra’eeli narrations that Allah said, “O duniya, serve whoever serves me, and exhaust whoever serves you.”

[Commentary by al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (rahimahUllah) - Al-Hikam al-Jadīrah bil-Idha’ah]