Trust in the Promise of Allah Ta‘ala

Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) is the great Sahaabi of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). He was the cousin of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), and was also married to Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), the respected daughter of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

One day, a beggar came to Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asked him for some money. Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) wanted to give some money to the beggar, so he turned to one of his two sons, either Hazrat Hasan or Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), and said, “Go to your mother and tell her that I said, ‘I left six dirhams with you, so send one dirham from the six.’”

The son went home to his mother, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), and told her what his father had said. However, when he came back, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) saw that he did not have the money with him. He then explained to his father the reason why he did not have the money. He said, “My mother said that you had left the six dirhams for buying flour.” In other words, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was reminding Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), in case he had forgotten, that if they gave the dirham to the beggar, they would not have money to buy flour.

However, when Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) heard what his son mentioned, he said, “A person’s imaan will not become true and perfect until he has more trust in that which is in the hand of Allah Ta‘ala compared to what he has in his own hand.” This means that a Muslim must know and firmly believe that it is Allah Ta‘ala who fulfills his needs, not the money which he has in his hand.

Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then said to his son, “Go to your mother, and tell her to send all the six dirhams.” He thus went to his mother and then returned with the six dirhams which Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) handed to the beggar.

Barely a moment later, as Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) sat down, a man passed by with a camel which he was selling. Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked him, “How much are you selling the camel for?” The man replied, “I am selling it for one hundred and forty dirhams.” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then bought the camel from him.

After buying the camel, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “Tie the camel here, and we will pay you later.” The man thus tied the camel and left.

Thereafter, another man passed by, and on seeing the camel, he asked, “Who does this camel belong to?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “It belongs to me.” The man asked, “Are you selling it?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “Yes, I am selling it.” The man then asked, “How much are you selling it for?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “I am selling it for two hundred dirhams.” The man was happy with the price, so he accepted the offer and said, “I have bought the camel from you.” He then handed the two hundred dirhams to Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), after which he took his camel and left.

Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) now had two hundred dirhams with him, but he owed one hundred and forty dirhams to the man he had bought the camel from. Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) took the money, went to the man who had sold him the camel and paid him the one hundred and forty dirhams which he owed him. Thereafter, he returned home to his respected wife, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), with the remaining sixty dirhams which was the amount he had made as profit.

When Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) saw the sixty dirhams, she asked him, “What is this? Where did this money come from?” Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “This is what Allah Ta‘ala has promised us.”

Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then recited the following verse of the Qur’aan Majeed:

مَنۡ جَآءَ بِالۡحَسَنَۃِ فَلَہٗ عَشۡرُ اَمۡثَالِہَا

The one who comes with a good deed, he will receive ten times as much (Surah An’aam v. 160)

In other words, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) explained to Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) that when he spent six dirhams in sadaqah, then Allah Ta‘ala replaced it with ten times more, and hence he now had sixty dirhams.

This is how kind and generous Allah Ta‘ala is to His servants. If we do any good deed, then Allah Ta‘ala will give us the reward of doing ten good deeds, and if we give something in sadaqah to please Allah Ta‘ala, then he will give us ten times more. Sometimes, we will see it in this world while we are alive, like how Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) received sixty dirhams shortly after giving the sadaqah. At times, we may not see it in this world, but after we pass away and go to the Aakhirah, we will see the great rewards that Allah Ta‘ala has prepared for us and kept for us.

May Allah Ta‘ala grant us strong imaan, and may He bless us to always spend on the poor – ameen.