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“Whoever initiates a good practice…”
Jarîr relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Whoever initiates a good practice (sunnah hasanah) in Islam and is emulated by others in doing so will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And whosoever initiates an evil practice (sunnah sayyi’ah) in Islam and is emulated by others will bear the sin of it and the sin of all those who act on it without their burden being diminished in the least. ” [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]
One morning, while the Prophet (pace be upon him) was seated with his Companions, a party of desert Arabs arrived. They had traversed great distances and suffered great hardships to see him and present themselves to him as believers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) looked at them. They were barefoot and in rags. Their bodies were emaciated and travel-weary.
The pain and compassion that the Prophet felt for them could be read in his face. He saw them in a sad plight as they had been in dire need. The Prophet (peace be upon him) entered his home and then came back out and commanded Bilâl to summon the people to prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) led the people in the Zuhr prayer, then ascended the pulpit, and said:
Allah has revealed in His book:
“O humanity! Fear your Lord who created you from a single soul and created from it its mate, and from the two of them spread forth many men and women. Fear Allah, by whom and by your ties of kinship, you ask your mutual rights. Indeed, Allah is ever watchful over you.”
And:
“O you who believe! Fear Allah. Each souls should look towards what it puts forth for tomorrow. Fear Allah, for indeed Allah is well acquainted with what you do.”
A man should give in charity from his gold and silver, or a quantity of wheat, or a quantity of dates… give something, even if only half a date.
He continued to encourage and inspire the people to give in charity, after which he sat down and waited for his Companions to give to their brethren people who had come to them after a long and hard journey. They were slow to do so, and they could see the displeasure on his face.
Then, a man from the people of Madinah came forward with a bag of silver that was too big for his hands to carry, and said: “O Messenger of Allah! This is given in the way of Allah.” Then Abû Bakr gave something, then `Umar. At this point, the emigrants got up and started giving. People kept on giving until there was a heap of clothing and a heap of food before the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet’s face brightened with happiness because of the generosity that his Companions had shown to those poor people.
Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Whoever initiates a good practice in Islam and is emulated by others in doing so will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And whosoever initiates an evil practice in Islam and is emulated by others will bear the sin of it and the sin of all those who act on it without their burden being diminished in the least.” [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]
This event is rich in meaning, and we can learn from it many important things:
1. We can draw a lesson from the way the Prophet (peace be upon him) was always deeply moved by people’s suffering and how he desired to fulfill their needs. The very color of his face would change, so much so that his feelings were obvious to his Companions. They could read the despair in his expression at the plight of those desert dwellers. They could also see the displeasure and disappointment in his face when they proved listless in giving charity to them. Equally evident was his joy when he saw that the needs of those desert dwellers had been fulfilled.
That the very color of his face could change on account of his pain and joy on behalf of those poor people shows how deeply he felt for others and their suffering. Equally significant is how quickly his feelings changed from one state to another as a result of the changing fortunes of people whom he had never seen before. He was filled with such compassion. Indeed Allah describes him in the Qur’ân as being “gentle and compassionate” and as “a mercy to all the worlds.”
Therefore, a believer who is compassionate and kind-hearted should be glad to know that he shares in one of the qualities of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not merely feel his compassion deeply, he was quick to act upon it and respond to the needs of those people. The first thing that he did was to go into his home. We cannot doubt that he went there looking for something to give in charity. Yet, what could he hope to find in a house that would go two months without cooking fires being kindled? What could he hope to find in a house that was essentially a small, sparsely furnished room with few earthly comforts? As we would expect, he came out of his house empty-handed. However, as was his habit, he had started with himself before calling others to action.
The Prophet who was now addressing the people to spend in charity was the person who divided up his wealth by filling all pockets, who would give of his wealth as if he were a person who had no need to fear poverty. He is the one who said:
“If I possessed gold as great as Mount Uhud, it would not remain in my possession for three days without my discharging it.”
When he departed from this world, he said:
“We prophets do not leave an estate. Whatever we leave behind is charity.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was the most eloquent of speakers, but his actions spoke more movingly than his words.
3. The Madinite who brought that bag of silver to the Prophet (peace be upon him) shows us the importance of initiative and the positive effects it can have. After he made the first move, everyone else followed suit. Though, some of them may have given substantially more than he did, he is the one who set the precedent. He is the one who started with a good deed and paved the way for everyone else This is the reason why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said what he said after all the charity had been collected. He was congratulating that man on the initiative that he had taken.
4. None of the narrations of this hadîth give the identity of the man who brought the first bag of silver. They merely identify him as being a native of Madinah. This shows that he was not a prominent person in the community, though he took the initiative in the presence of Abû Bakr, `Umar, and other preeminent emigrants. This should make it clear to us that no one should see himself as too unimportant to set a good precedent. That man did not let the presence of those esteemed Companions keep him from being the first to do something good. Due to his taking the initiative, he received the reward of all those who followed his example, even those who spent far more than he did.
5. “Whoever initiates a good practice in Islam and is emulated by others in doing so will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it without their rewards being diminished in any respect.”
These are the Prophet’s words. They show us the value of hastening to do something good and the far-reaching effects that it can have. If we look at the lives of great leaders, people of influence, and reformers, we fins that those lives are a series of positive initiatives. This is how they became so influential, and this is why they were able to leave an enduring legacy.
We can look, for instance, at the life of Sheikh Ibn Bâz, who was blessed with the spirit to take the initiative. He did not pass by an opportunity to do something good. His vast knowledge was not his distinguishing feature – it was but one of his distinguishing features. What set him apart was the work that he did, the positive initiatives that he took, the projects that he left behind, that are still being carried out today, yielding benefits to others long after his death.
A positive initiative is the mother of tradition. It is the source from which all lasting traditions are born.
Dr. Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî
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