Transcribed from the Islaahi Majlis conducted on 02/11/2023
Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam encouraged us to give gifts to one another. Another Sunnah is where a person gives a gift, then the recipient should reciprocate by giving a gift in return. Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said, “Share gifts with each other, you will love each other.”
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: تَهَادَوا تَحَابُّوا (الأدب المفرد #594)
It is mentioned in a Hadith:
عَنْ عمر بْنِ عبد العزيز ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تهادوا تذهب الشحناء ، تصافحوا يذهب الغل(مصنف ابن أبي شيبة #22412)
“Give gifts to each other hatred will be removed, Make Musaafahah (shake hands) with each other; ill-feelings (in the heart) will dissipate.”
When people find enmity in their hearts for others, they are encouraged to at least shake hands with the person. Males should shake hands with other males, and females should shake hands with other females only. It will be a means of removing animosity from the heart.
The Hadith quoted at the beginning states: “Give gifts to each other, it will increase love amongst you.” Perhaps two family members are quarreling with each other, Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam encouraged the giving of gifts so that the feud can be resolved.
During the time of Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam, there was a Sahabi named Hadrat Azhar Radiallahu Anhu who lived on the outskirts of Madinah Sharif. Due to living on a farmlands, he would gather fruits and vegetables and bring them to Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “Azhar is from our countryside, and we are his town.” Meaning that, what one would find in the town, will not be found in the countryside and vice versa. So, in return, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would visit the marketplace in Madinah Sharif and buy some items for Hadrat Azhar Radiallahu Anhu, in reciprocation of his gift. Therefore, when the exchange of gifts is from both sides, then love will be created between the hearts.
The heart of Nabi Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam was so kind that he would accept anyone’s gift so long as it was within the confines of Shariah. If it happened to be a gift the likes of which was the trotters of an animal (known as Paaya in Gujrati), then he would graciously accept it. And if someone were to invite him for a meal and they served trotters, then too he would accept the Dawat.
Also, it is not necessary for the exchange of the gift to take place immediately. Even if a gift is returned at a later stage (in lieu of the gift received), then too its acceptable. And whenever one decides to give the gift, there is no need to mention that it is in exchange for the gift that was received earlier.
The Categories of Hadiyyah
There are two types of Hadiyyah. The first is that type of Hadiyyah that has to be reciprocated. For example, during the wedding festivities, it is customary for the groom’s family to gift items to the bride’s family. Then, in turn, the bride’s family feels they need to reciprocate this. Some Ulama say that this is not gifting. Some refer to it as a “Qardh” (loan), where they were given something on loan and now they are returning it. Others refer to it as a “Bay” (transaction) – in a Bay, an item is sold in exchange for money. Likewise, in this case, a gift is given and there is an expectation to receive something in return.
The second type of Hadiyyah is where a person gives a gift to join ties with someone. In this instance one has no expectation of receiving anything in return. For example, a person gifts a senior Aalim something with the Niyyah of pleasing Allah Ta’ala, making the Aalim happy, and not expecting anything in return. It is this Hadiyyah which will earn a person great reward in the court of Allah Ta’ala.
We should make sharing of gifts a common practice amongst ourselves. We should give gifts to build ties and remove malice from our hearts. If we receive a gift and we have the means, we should give a gift in return. If we cannot afford a gift, we should give the person a Dua, the simplest of which is to say, “Jazakallahu Khairan”.
Hadrat Ibraheem bin Adham
Hadrat Ibraheem bin Adham was a great saint. He once met a person and asked him, “Would you like to become a great Wali of Allah Ta’ala?” Ibraheem bin Adham advised him, “Don’t worry about both the worlds. Devote yourself fully to Allah Ta’ala. Make sure that what you eat is hundred percent Halaal. Even if you don’t stand in Tahajjud at night, or you don’t fast during the day, you will become a great Wali of Allah Ta’ala if you take care of what you eat.”
Ibraheem bin Adham said, “No person became a Wali due to the amount of Salaah he performed and no person became a Wali because of the fast that he kept. No person became a Wali because of the number of Hajj that he performed, and no person became a Wali because of the Jihaad that he participated in.” These are all great Ibaadaat that have been mentioned which all carry great rewards, but the Awliya reached high ranks because they were highly conscious of the food that they consumed.
Ibraheem bin Adham heard of a young boy who was very pious. He wished to meet this boy, so the people took him to meet him. The boy then asked Ibraheem bin Adham to stay with him for three days. Ibraheem bin Adham agreed. He was astonished to see how this young boy exerted himself in Ibaadah. Ibraheem bin Adham decided to observe this boy more closely. He found that the boy was eating Haraam food. Due to eating Haraam food, Shaytaan was manipulating this boy. We learn from here, that these people who are true Walis of Allah Ta’ala will be able to discern that something is off whereas we layman will think so highly of someone involved in Ibaadaat of that level.
This boy was deluded thinking himself to be a great saint when all the while he was eating Haraam food. Now, Ibraheem bin Adham invited the boy to stay with him. The boy accepted. Ibraheem bin Adham gave the boy food to eat, and immediately the Ibaadat came to an end. The young boy was perplexed asking what had been done to him, he was making so much Ibaadat and now it has suddenly stopped. Ibraheem bin Adham replied, “In reality, you were not making Ibaadat. You ate Haraam and in doing so, Shaytaan found a point for entry into your stomach. Shaytaan would enter and exit into the boy though his stomach whenever he wanted. So all that Ibaadah was actually the influence of Shaytaan. A person is naive in his thinking that his Ibaadat is in order when his body is being nourished by Haraam. May Allah Ta’ala save us! Ameen.
It is mentioned that when Ibraheem bin Adham was leaving, he left behind everything in his kingdom except four things:
1- A pillow to sleep on
2- A cup to drink from
3- A bucket to draw water
4- A string to pull the bucket up from inside the well.
On his way, he saw a person drinking water from the river using his hands. He thought to himself that he could use his hands too and therefore, had no need for a cup and gave it away. He then saw a person resting, using a brick as a pillow. He thought he could do the same as well and gave his pillow away. He came to a well and decided to rest there. He saw bucks gather at the well, waiting for the water to rise up from the bottom. The bucks looked up to the sky as though they were asking Allah Ta’ala for water. All of a sudden the water from the bottom of the well rose and they drank from it. Ibraheem bin Adham then decided to drink some water. But when he approached the well, all the water went down to the bottom again. He lamented to Allah Ta’ala saying, “What is this, O Allah! For your bucks, the water came up to the surface, but for me, your Wali, it has descended again!” Allah Ta’ala responded by telling him that the buck did not have a bucket and string. Meaning that, get rid of that bucket and string and adopt high levels of Taqwa and you too will witness the unseen help of Allah Ta’ala.
On another occasion, Ibraheem bin Adham went to the well to make Wudhu. When he pulled up the bucket for the first time, it was laden with silver. Ibraheem bin Adham put it aside. He drew the bucket for the second time from the well and this time, it was laden with gold. He put this aside as well. When he drew the bucket for the third time, precious stones came out. He said, “O Allah! I don’t want all this. I want water to make Wudhu O Allah!” When he drew the bucket for the fourth time, pure water came up for him to make Wudhu. This displays the complete detachment Ibraheem bin Adham had for this world. When a person is concerned with consuming Halaal, then this will bring him closer to Allah Ta’ala.
Bishr Haafi Rahmatullahi Alaih
A woman once came to Imaam Ahmad Bin Hambal Rahmatullahi Alaihi. She told him that she was threading cotton but she used the light from the Royal court to do so, which was permitted for all. She wanted to know if her income was Halaal or doubtful. Imaam Ahmad asked her to tell him who she was before he could answer her. She replied that she was the sister of Bishr Haafi Rahmatullahi Alaihi.
Bishr Haafi Rahmatullahi Alaihi was a person who would be stationed at the bar, but when Allah Ta’ala guided him, he became a Saint of the time. He would walk barefoot on the ground saying that Allah Ta’ala had made the ground a carpet for him so how could he wear shoes thereupon. On this, Allah Ta’ala caused the birds to remove the stones from his path. Imaam Ahmad told the lady that the income is not permissible for her. For any other person, it would have been Halaal. Imaam Ahmad then explained that Bishar Haafi Rahmatullahi Alaih was such a great saint that if ever Haraam food came into his hand, his hand would become paralyzed momentarily. In this way, he was able to stay away from Haraam food throughout his life.
The incident of Dhun-noon Misry Rahmatullahi Alaih
In the incident of Dhun-Noon Misri Rahmatullahi Alaihi, they were travelling by ship when one of the passengers claimed that a pearl he had in his possession had gone missing. All fingers pointed to Dhun-noon Misry. They all started beating him up. While they were hitting him, he turned to the sky and made Dua, “O Allah! You know that I did not steal this pearl!” It is mentioned that upon this Dua, thousands of fish came to the surface of the water, each with a pearl in its mouth.
Dhun-noon Misri took one pearl and gave it to the businessman. When the people saw this, they realized he was a Wali of Allah and had great regret for their accusation. It was on this occasion that he got the title of Dhun-noon, meaning “The one of the fish”, and he was from Egypt (Misr), therefore he was titled as “Misry”. Allah Ta’ala refers to Nabi Younus Alahis Salaam with the same title (Dhan Noon) in the Quraan Sharif.
Concern for Halaal Income
A query came from a youngster well-known to us. His father used to slaughter chickens himself and sell them. His father passed away and the son decided to continue operating his father’s business. He tried to source chickens that were already slaughtered so he went from abattoir to abattoir and explained of the deception and fraud taking place therein. He writes about an abattoir run by non-Muslims in Port Elizabeth. The Muslim butchers purchase their meat from there, remove the packaging of the Non-Muslims and repackage the meat into their own packaging. So the customer is none the wiser for trusting that he is purchasing from a Muslim outlet. So this brother was unable to source 100% Halaal slaughtered chickens. And now, with the current shortage of chickens and eggs, it’s proving to be more challenging for the Ummah.
Hajee Ahmad Nakhooda Sahib Rahimahullah would only eat Dhaal towards the end of his life. When questioned, he responded that his death was certainly near, so he was more concerned that not a single morsel of Haraam should enter his body.
In another email, a brother makes mentions of the impermissible transactions which the Ummah are involved in, such as trading in cryptocurrency, online forex and other impermissible monetary transactions. Thereafter, we expect our Duas to be accepted but our earnings are dubious.
The story of Habeeb Ajmi Rahmatullahi Alaihi
When a person makes a turnaround and becomes firm with earning 100% Halaal, see what avenues Allah Ta’ala opens for him. Habeeb Ajmi Rahmatullahi Alaih was a very wealthy person who would loan money to people on terms with interest. Allah Ta’ala save us, today our wealth is tainted with interest. That is why we should take out Sadaqah and give it away with the hope of Allah Ta’ala cleansing our wealth.
Habeeb Ajmi Rahmatullahi Alaih, every morning would set off to collect his interest from his debtors. They were poor but he was merciless towards them.
One day, he went to a house and asked for the interest owed to him on the loan taken out by the owner of the house. The lady of the house said that her husband⁶ wasn’t there and they had nothing to offer to him. All they had was the meat they were cooking to eat. He greedily said he will take the meat as interest. So she gave it over to him. He then takes this meat home and instructs his wife to cook it. She tells him she is without firewood and flour to make roti. He sets off again to collect these items in lieu of interest owed to him.
He returned with the items and at the same time, a beggar came to his house. He chased the beggar away. After cooking the meat, the wife opened the pot, and everything had turned to blood. All the money that he drained from the people, this was the result of it. This was the consequence of him taking interest from people.
Today, this is prevalent in the Ummah taking out insurance, medical aid etc. These are interest-bearing transactions with elements of gambling. It has become something that is disregarded in society. It was as at that moment that Habeeb Ajmi realized his error and made Taubah. This occured during the time of Hadrat Hassan Basri Rahmatullahi Alaihi. Habeeb Ajmi made his way to consult with Hassan Basri Rahmatullahi Alaihi. On the way he encountered some children who said, “Move! Here comes this man who devours interest. Don’t even let the dust under his shoe touch you, otherwise you will become a miserable and unfortunate!” This caused him a great deak of grief.
When he reached the company of Hassan Basri Rahimahullah, he cried and made Taubah after being counseled by him. On his way home, a man who owed him money saw him and started running away from him. He called out, “Don’t run away! Now the time has come where I will run from you. I am prepared to forgive everyone who owes me money.” Again, he passed those children and this time they said, “Make way, make way for Habeeb Ajmi. He has made Taubah in the company of Hassan Basri Rahmatullahi Alaihi! Let our dirt not fall on him (we shouldn’t speak ill of him) lest we become transgressors in the court of Allah Ta’ala.” He cried when he heard this. He made an announcement that any money owed to him was Maaf (forgiven) and any money he had, he would give it away in charity until he had nothing left.
He built a hut on the banks of the Euphrates River. One day, he was wearing a kurta. A person who saw him said, “On interest, you took this Kurta.” He removed the kurta and gave it to him. Another man came and said, “The shawl that your wife is wearing was taken on interest from us.” His wife removed the shawl and they returned it. During the day, he would remain in the company of Hassan Basri Rahmatullahi Alaihi. At night, he would engage in the Ibaadat of Allah Ta’ala.
His wife told him there’s no food in the house. So he set out to work the next day but returned without food. What “work” was he involved in? Making Salaah and Dua to Allah Ta’ala. When his wife asked for the food, he replied that his Employer was generous and kind but he felt shy to take from Him. After ten days, he will receive something. When ten days passed, he set out to make Ibaadat again, worried if no food comes forth. While he was away, a person came to his house, saying he is Habeeb Ajmi’s employer. He brought with him a bag of flour, an entire goat, a container of butter, a jar of honey and 300 silver coins. He then tells Habeeb Ajmi’s wife, ” Tell him that if he works diligently, he will get much more. This is just a little that I have brought.” Just by giving up the interest money, without even having to go to work, Allah Ta’ala fulfilled his needs at his doorstep.
A man who was once hated by the public, how Allah Ta’ala changed his condition when he gave up his evil ways. A lady once came to him crying that her child had gone missing. Habeeb Ajmi asked her if she had any money on her. She had two Dirhams. He gave the money to a poor person and made Dua to Allah Ta’ala to return the child to its mother. He then tells the woman to go home, the child is there. On her way home, she meets the child. The mother asked the child what happened to him. He replied, “My teacher asked me to buy some meat. When I went to buy it, a fierce wind struck and carried me to another place. Suddenly, a command came to the wind to return me to a particular area.” That was the result of the Dua of Habeeb Ajmi.
Hadrat Hassan Basri Rahmatullahi Alaih was the saint of the time. He had grown up in the house of Hadrat Umar Radiallahu. He once visited Habeeb Ajmi at the time of Maghrib. Habeeb Ajmi was a non-Arab, hence the title of “Ajmi”, and was unable to recite Quraan properly. Instead of pronouncing the ح in الحمد from the throat, he read it as a ه. Hassan Basri was reading Salaah behind him but when he heard him pronounce the ح incorrectly, he thought to himself that he cannot follow him in Salaah and therefore performed his Salaah alone. That night, Hassan Basri had a dream. In the dream, he is asking Allah Ta’ala how can he reach Wilaayat. Allah Ta’ala replied, “Had you read that one Salaah behind Habeeb Ajmi, that one Salaah was more superior than your whole life’s Salaah.” Habeeb Ajmi gained this high status all through refraining from Haraam.
A brother in Johannesburg was so insistent on meeting with us lately. When we finally met him, he discussed his employment, asking us to check if his income is Halaal. He was so concerned saying that he had already made Hajj etc. But he wanted to be 100% certain that his earnings were above board. After checking, we found everything to be in order. He took a deep sigh and said, “Now, I’m happy and at ease that my income is Halaal.”
Allah Ta’ala grant us Taufeeq, Aameen!
