Ramadan 2021: What the Prophet said about the less fortunate

Dubai - Prior to the advent of Islam, pagans used to disregard the poor.

One of the great reforms that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) brought were the rights and treatment of the poor. Prior to the advent of Islam, pagans used to disregard the poor. They would look down on them, and could care less about them; the poor people were basically an insignificant portion of society.

However so, with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), all that changed. Muslims were now obliged to look after the poor and were required to spend their wealth to help out the less fortunate.

Some of the Prophet’s sayings on the subject are given below for the guidance of Muslims during this month of piety:

Narrated by Syedana Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “Allah said, ‘O son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

This teaching of the Prophet to spend and to give in charity, was a very common message that he would often give as we read in another hadith:

Narrated by Syedana Haritha bin Wahab: I heard the Prophet saying, “O people! Give in charity as a time will come upon you when a person will wander about with his object of charity and will not find anybody to accept it, and one (who will be requested to take it) will say, “If you had brought it yesterday, would have taken it, but today I am not in need of it.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

We also read in another hadith, what the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would do when he encountered poor people: