The Thirty First Narration: His father, Rabi’ah ibn al Harith, and ‘Abbas ibn al Muttalib said to ‘Abdul Muttalib ibn Rabi’ah and al Fadl ibn al Abbas, “Go to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and tell him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are now of age as you see, and we wish to marry. ….

The Thirty First Narration

‘Abdul Muttalib ibn Rabi’ah ibn al Harith narrates:

‏‏‏‏‏‏اخبرني عبد الله بن الحارث بن نوفل الهاشمي، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ان عبد المطلب بن ربيعة بن الحارث بن عبد المطلب اخبره، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ان اباه ربيعة بن الحارث، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وعباس بن عبد المطلب، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قالا:‏‏‏‏ لعبد المطلب بن ربيعة، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وللفضل بن عباس ائتيا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقولا له:‏‏‏‏ يا رسول الله قد بلغنا من السن ما ترى واحببنا ان نتزوج، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وانت يا رسول الله ابر الناس واوصلهم وليس عند ابوينا ما يصدقان عنا فاستعملنا يا رسول الله على الصدقات فلنؤد إليك ما يؤدي العمال ولنصب ما كان فيها من مرفق، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قال:‏‏‏‏ فاتى علي بن ابي طالب ونحن على تلك الحال، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فقال لنا:‏‏‏‏ إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:‏‏‏‏ “لا والله لا نستعمل منكم احدا على الصدقة”، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فقال له ربيعة: هذا من امرك قد نلت صهر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فلم نحسدك عليه، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فالقى علي رداءه، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم اضطجع عليه فقال:‏‏‏‏ انا ابو حسن القرم والله لا اريم حتى يرجع إليكما ابناكما بجواب ما بعثتما به إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قال عبد المطلب:‏‏‏‏ فانطلقت انا والفضل إلى باب حجرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى نوافق صلاة الظهر قد قامت فصلينا مع الناس ثم اسرعت انا والفضل إلى باب حجرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو يومئذ عند زينب بنت جحش فقمنا بالباب حتى اتى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فاخذ باذني واذن الفضل، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم قال:‏‏‏‏ “اخرجا ما تصرران”، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم دخل فاذن لي وللفضل فدخلنا فتواكلنا الكلام قليلا، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم كلمته او كلمه الفضل قد شك في ذلك عبد الله قال:‏‏‏‏ كلمه بالامر الذي امرنا به ابوانا، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فسكت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ساعة ورفع بصره قبل سقف البيت حتى طال علينا انه لا يرجع إلينا شيئا حتى راينا زينب تلمع من وراء الحجاب بيدها تريد ان لا تعجلا وإن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في امرنا ثم خفض رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم راسه، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فقال لنا:‏‏‏‏ “إن هذه الصدقة إنما هي اوساخ الناس وإنها لا تحل لمحمد ولا لآل محمد ادعوا لي نوفل بن الحارث، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فدعي له نوفل بن الحارث فقال:‏‏‏‏ يا نوفل انكح عبد المطلب فانكحني نوفل، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ادعوا لي محمية بن جزء وهو رجل من بني زبيد، ‏‏‏‏‏‏كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم استعمله على الاخماس، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لمحمية:‏‏‏‏ انكح الفضل فانكحه، ‏‏‏‏‏‏ثم قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:‏‏‏‏ قم فاصدق عنهما من الخمس كذا وكذا”، ‏‏‏‏‏‏لم يسمه لي عبد الله بن الحارث

His father, Rabi’ah ibn al Harith, and ‘Abbas ibn al Muttalib said to ‘Abdul Muttalib ibn Rabi’ah and al Fadl ibn al Abbas, “Go to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and tell him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are now of age as you see, and we wish to marry. O Messenger of Allah, you are the kindest of the people and the most skilled in matchmaking. Our fathers have nothing with which to pay our dower. So appoint us collector of sadaqah (zakat), Messenger of Allah, and we shall give you what the other collectors give you, and we shall have the benefit accruing from it.’”

‘Ali came to us while we were in this condition. He said, “The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘No, I swear by Allah, he will not appoint any of you as collectors of sadaqah (zakat).”

Rabi’ah said to him, “This is your opinion; you have gained your relationship with the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam by marriage, but we do not deem you jealous.”

‘Ali then put his cloak on the earth and lay on it. He then said, “I am the father of Hassan, the chief. I swear by Allah; I shall not leave this place until your sons come with a reply (to the question) for which you have sent them to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

‘Abdul Muttalib said, “So al Fadl and I went towards the door of the room of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. We found that the noon prayer in congregation had already started. So we prayed along with the people. al Fadl and I then hastened towards the door of the room of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He was (staying) with Zainab bint Jahsh, that day. We stood until the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came. He caught my ear and the ear of al Fadl.

He then said, ‘Reveal what you conceal in your hearts.’

He then entered and permitted al Fadl and I (to enter). So we entered and for a little while we asked each other to talk. I then talked to him, or al Fadl talked to him (the narrator, ‘Abdullah was not sure).

He said, ‘He spoke to him concerning the matter about which our fathers ordered us to ask him.’

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam remained silent for a moment and raised his eyes towards the ceiling of the room. He took so long that we thought he would not give any reply to us. Meanwhile we saw that Zainab was signalling to us with her hand from behind the veil, asking us not to be in a hurry, and that the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was (thinking) about our matter.

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then lowered his head and said to us, “This sadaqah is filth of the people. It is legal neither for Muhammad nor for the family of Muhammad. Call Nawfal ibn al Harith to me.”

So Nawfal ibn al Harith was called to him.

He said, “Nawfal, marry Abdul Muttalib (to your daughter).”

So Nawfal married me (to his daughter).

The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then said, “Call Mahmiyyah ibn Jaz’ to me.”

He was a man of Banu Zubaid, whom the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had appointed collector of the khums (one fifth of the spoils of war).

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to Mahmiyyah, “Marry al Fadl (to your daughter).” So he married him to her.

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Stand up and pay the dower from the khums of so-and-so on their behalf.”

‘Abdullah ibn al Harith did not specify it (i.e. the amount of the dowry).[1]

This narration is authentic and has been recorded in Sunan Abi Dawood and Sahih Muslim.

Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:

The cousins of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam form part of the Ahlul Bayt.

The impermissibility of giving alms to the Banu Hashim which is inclusive of the family of ‘Ali, ‘Abbas, Jafar, and ‘Aqil as mentioned before.

Imam Ahmed and Shafi’i rahimahu Llah have included the Banu al Muttalib in this prohibition due to their share of the khums being equal as opposed to the Banu ‘Abdul Shams and Banu Nawfal. Furthermore, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had grouped the Banu al Muttalib and the Banu Hashim as one entity during the period of ignorance and Islam.

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prohibited for them the wealth of charity yet gave them from the wealth of khums. This serves as proof for Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahu Llah who approves the wealth of khums for those who are prohibited from taking from charity. A group of scholars from the other schools of thought hold the same view.

The self-respect of the Ahlul Bayt is evident from this narration. Al Fadl and ‘Abdul Muttalib did ask for help, they asked for a wage in lieu of work.

Abu al ‘Abbas al Qurtubi says in al mufhim explaining the naming of sadaqah as the filth of people:

إنما كانت الصدقة كذلك لأنها تطهرهم من البخل ، وأموالهم من إثم الكنز، فصارت كأنها الغسالة التي تعاب

This is because it cleanses them of miserliness and their wealth from the effects of hoarding.[2]

Imam al Nawawi writes explaining their exchange with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in this narration:

دليل على أنها محرمة سواء كانت بسبب العمل أو بسبب الفقر والمسكنة وغيرهما من الأسباب الثمانية ، وهذا هو الصحيح عند أصحابنا ، وجوز بعض أصحابنا لبني هاشم وبني المطلب العمل عليها بسهم العامل ؛ لأنه إجارة ، وهذا ضعيف أو باطل ، وهذا الحديث صريح في رده

This shows that (zakat) charity will not be permissible for them be it by way of work, poverty or any of the other eight causes. This is the correct view according to our scholars. Some have permitted such wealth for the Banu Hashim and the Banu al Muttalib if it is in lieu of work performed by them as it will be a contract of ijarah. This is an extremely weak view which is refuted by this hadith.[3]

This narration has the statement of Rabi’ah:

هذا من امرك

This is your opinion.

However, this narration has been recorded by Imam Ahmed and Ibn Khuzaimah with a good chain of narrators with the following words:

هذا من حسدك

This is due to your jealousy.

Abu ‘Ubaid, Ibn Zanjawayh, and al Tabarani have recorded it with the following words:

هذا من حسدك وبغيك

This is due to your jealousy and hate.

This particular narration has ‘Abdullah ibn Salih, the scribe of Layth, who errs a lot. Thus it seems as though the wordings of the latter two narrations mentioned have been narrated bi al ma’na (Transmission by meaning, i.e. not verbatim). This is also understood by the fact that the narration of the chapter has this portion followed by, ‘but we do not deem you jealous’.

Although we, by no means, hold the belief that the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum are infallible, it is quite farfetched that such words be said to ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

A father will marry his son off if able to do so. Equality between children will not apply in this case as this will form part of expenditure and not gift giving. If the father is not able to though, this will not be demanded of him.

Al Fadl and ‘Abdul Muttalib asked Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam for work; however, they received something much better in turn. Ibn al Qayyim says:

وهذا اقتداء منه بربه تبارك وتعالى فإنه يساله عبده الحاجة فيمنعه إياها ويعطيه ما أصلح له وانفع منها وهذا غاية الكرم والحكمة

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam followed in the example of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala here. The slave asks Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala his needs which is not given to him. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala then gives him something much better and better suited to him.[4]

When a Mufti prohibits someone from something impermissible, he should direct him to a permissible alternative.

NEXT⇒ The Thirty Second Narration

[1] Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 1072; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith: 2985.

[2] Al Mufhim, vol. 3 pg. 128.

[3] Al Minhaj, vol. 7 pg. 179.

[4] I’lam, vol. 4 pg. 160.

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