The Fifteenth Narration: Hassan took some dates from the dates of charity and placed it in his mouth. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed him to take it out from his mouth and said, “Do you not know, we the Ahlul Bayt do not eat of charity.”

The Fifteenth Narration

Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrates:

أن الحسن أخذ تمرة من تمر الصدقة فجعلها في فيه فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كخ كخ ألقها أما شعرت أنا أهل بيت لا نأكل الصدقة

Hassan took some dates from the dates of charity and placed it in his mouth. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed him to take it out from his mouth and said, “Do you not know, we the Ahlul Bayt do not eat of charity.”[1]

This narration is authentic and has been recorded by Imam Ahmed, Imam al Bukhari, Imam Muslim and others.

Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:

The children of the Ahlul Bayt should be purified of all types of impurities; physical and spiritual.

The great virtue of Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu by the following:

a. Him being pure from charity which is the impurity of people’s wealth.

b. His relation to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is by lineage and as a direct grandchild unlike any other. One’s lineage will generally go through their father, in this case it bypassed the parents to go directly to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

c. His virtue over other children of the Ahlul Bayt as he was the reason for this specific law of Shari’ah to be enacted.

d. The principle of not hitting children can be understood from this interaction of his with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu had gone to partake of that which was impermissible, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not hit him, he rather advised him.

e. Even though this was an incident of childhood together with him being hungry he was barred from eating charity. A means of protecting the Ahlul Bayt from the impermissible and the Bayt al Mal from misappropriation. This lesson in the economics of the state is directly understood due to this incident of Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

Teaching children Islamic injunctions by its proper, even technical, names.

The impermissibly of taking fard sadaqah [zakat] by the Ahlul Bayt.

Small amounts of sadaqah are impermissible for the Ahlul Bayt just as large amounts are.

Sadaqah given by the Banu Hashim or by others hold the same law, i.e. the origin of the sadaqah does not affect the impermissibility of taking it. Wherever it comes from, the Ahlul Bayt cannot take it.

Question: Does this prohibition apply to voluntary charity as well?

Answer: There is a difference of opinion on this issue. Those that are of the opinion that the prohibition only applies to zakat use the following proofs to give strength to their view. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says:

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيْهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ

Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah ‘s blessings] upon them.[2]

The verbs used in this verse supposes compulsion. ‘Take’, ‘purify’, and ‘invoke’ are verbs not used in voluntary acts. Furthermore, voluntary charity is given whilst compulsory charity is taken.

Ibn ‘Abdul Barr writes in al Tamhid:

ومما يدل على صحة ذالك ان عليا والعباس وفاطمة رضوان الله عليهم تصدقوا وأوقفوا على جماعة من بني هاشم، وصدقا تهم الموقوفة معروفة مشهورة

The fact that ‘Ali, ‘Abbas, and Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anhum gave charity and endowed much to many of the Banu Hashim indicates the permissibility for them accepting voluntary sadaqah.[3]

The narration that seeks to establish the permissibility for them accepting zakat from each other as reported from ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhu is hard to establish. Many of the scholars have deemed it a fabrication. Al Shawkani has discussed this at length in Sharh al Muntaqa.
On one side, there is a general prohibition of one giving zakat and sadaqah to the Ahlul Bayt and on the other side, their needs are not fulfilled through any specific allocated funds. The result is a Sayed experiencing poverty which itself is a painful experience.

While the respect and modesty of a Sayed prevents him from stretching his hands before anyone, at times he is driven by desperation to beg. The act of begging is so humiliating and more so for a Sayed. Can one imagine, the family and blood of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam stretching his hands before the Ummah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam!

In view of the painful experience of poverty and humiliation of begging, many jurists have considered the ‘illah (cause) of the prohibition of zakat was to actually save the family from humiliation and dishonour. Thus the jurists have permitted giving zakat to the family of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam when they are in dire straits.

Staying away from even the minutest amount of Haram has been the hallmark of the Prophets and pious.

The Ahlul Bayt should be constant and repetitive in advising and building the character of their children. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu to remove the date from his mouth and followed that up with advice and reasoning.

The grandchildren of the Ahlul Bayt should be given special care. There should be no procrastination in their spiritual development.

Children should be taught the reasoning behind the laws of Shari’ah. This is great for the intellectual growth and stimulation of the child.

One carrying out a wrong action should not be given a free pass even if it is consuming a perishable. The wastage of the perishable does not justify the sin.

When prohibiting a child from something, if the child is able to understand, one should also give them the reason of prohibition.

The leaders will be taken to account by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to the extent of a single date from the public treasury.

NEXT⇒ The Sixteenth Narration

[1] Musnad Imam Ahmed, Hadith: 9053.

[2] Surah al Tawbah: 103.

[3] Al Tamhid, vol. 3 pg. 93.

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