Asalamu Alaykum..
I am no Scholar, and I don't care to be one....
But even then my religion (deen) is ACCESSIBLE to me........ is valuable to me................... forms me, informs me.....
Today I was listening to a Nasheed CD praising the Prophet of Allah (the One true GOD, the GOD of Noah, Abraham, Ishmeal, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph.... Moses and Jesus (as)) -Muhammad (saw) the last Prophet of God.
And I heard a hadith.. a saying of our Prophet (saw)... Muslims down the ages have always tried their damnest to keep the sayings of Rasul Allah (saw) 100% true and correct. He (saw) always emphasized the need for objectivity in reporting his saying. In his (saw) last sermon at the farwell Hajj, he said tell those who are not present, perchance they may understand it better than those present.
We are not present.. perchance God may grace us to understand it better!
Paraphrasing... which is not what a good Scholar does (but I am no Scholar)...
"A man came to the Prophet of God (Muhammad bin (son of) Abdullah (saw)) and said "Truely I love you O Messenger of God", he repeated this three times by way of emphasis. Muhammad (saw) replied: "If you truely love me then prepare for poverty!".
MashAllah (Glory be to God- how perfect a response). However lets try and get our teeth into this one... try and analyse it.
Whenever there is a statement always ask yourself "Is it general or is it specific?"
If it can be general then take it as general, if it cannot be general then take it as specific.
Generality should always take precedence over specificity. And most people interpret this hadith generally- that if you love the Prophet of God- Muhammad (saw)- then you needs must expect poverty.
This cannot be general, for there are msany examples of people who loved Muammad (saw) who are/ nor were poor. One example that springs to mind in Abu Hanifa (rm), another Uthman bin Afffan (ra).
So if we take it as a statement specific to this companion of Muhammad (saw) what light can it throw on his nature?
It is well known through other hadith that Muhammad (saw) was a man of his time, knew his companions well and had the ability to fortell their fortunes... their lives and deaths etc...
So it is highly likely that when this man came to the Prophet (saw) he knew him, knew his state, knew his capability and realised that this man would be poor, and probably die poor.
So he (saw) told him to prepare for poverty.
How magnanimous of him, how incredible of him, how loving of him?
The man when he attained poverty, would, instead of complaining to God, take it as proof of his love of Rasul Allah. Muhammad (saw) saved him from complaining to God about his lack of means... confirmed his belief....and blessed him with much.
Indeed Allah t'ala (God) has blessed and enriched us with the most abundant life to have ever lived... with the life of Muhammad (saw). May God reward him enummerably, magnanimously....and send our salutations and peace upon him.
Shafi
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