How Prophet Muhammad dealt with the poor... amazing!

Many people today view manners in a commercial light. To them, only rich people’s jokes are worth laughing at, and only their faults are considered small and worthy of overlooking. As for the poor, their jokes are unbearable and only worthy of ridicule, while their faults are magnified and they are shouted down.

As for the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him), his kindness extended to both rich and poor alike. Anas – may Allah be pleased with him – said, “There was a man from amongst the Bedouins whose name was Zahir bin Haram. Whenever he came to Madinah for a need, he brought something for the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) as a gift, like cottage cheese or butter. Likewise, the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) would prepare something to give to him whenever he wanted to leave, such as dates and so on. The Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) used to love him and say: “Zahir is our Bedouin and we are his city-dwellers.” Zahir was not very good looking. One day, Zahir – may Allah be pleased with him left the desert and came to Allah’s Messenger (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) but did not find him. He had some merchandise to sell so he went on to the marketplace.

When the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) found out about his arrival, he went to the marketplace looking for him. When he arrived, he saw him selling his merchandise with sweat pouring down from his face, and he wore Bedouin clothes which did not smell good either.

The Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) hugged him tightly from behind, while Zahir was unaware and could not see who it was.

Zahir became scared and said: “Let me go! Who is this?” But the Prophet(Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) remained silent. Zahir tried to release himself from his grip and started to look right and left. When he saw the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) he relaxed and calmed down, placing his back against the Prophet’s chest. The Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) began to joke with him, saying to the public: “Who will buy this slave?! Who will buy this slave?!” Thereupon, Zahir looked at himself and thought of his extreme poverty, for he had neither wealth nor good looks. He said: “You will find me unmarketable, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him) said: “But you are not unmarketable with Allah. You are very precious to Allah.”

It was no surprise then that the hearts of the poor were attached to the Prophet (Peace and blessings of the Lord be upon him). He would gain their respect and love by such an attitude. Many poor people may not accuse the rich of miserliness in terms of wealth and food, but they can certainly accuse them of miserliness in terms of gracious and kind treatment. How often do you smile at a poor person and make him feel he is worthy and respectable, so that perhaps at night he might supplicate for you and cause Allah’s mercy to descend upon you from the heavens?

There may be a person with dishevelled hair who is rejected and not cared for, but if he ever asks Allah for something he is always responded to. Therefore, always be humane with the weak.

A hint…

Perhaps just a smile at a poor man would raise you in rank in the sight of Allah.

Source: Enjoy your life, Topic 9, with the poor by Dr. Mohammad Abdulrahman Al-Arifi (hafidhahullaah)

Jazakallahu khair Yasi,
I was thinking of this very issue. Every morining and evening to and from the city, I encounter a few homeless men near the train staitions begging for money. I always feel bad for them that they are in that sistuation everytime i walk passed them without putting any money into their box/hat. Should I just give them money knowing that they is a high chance that they will use it for illegal things i.e. ice, alcohol etc??
They smell of alochol and seem high most days.

wa iyyaaki.

Hmm, that I'm unsure of sis esp. if they smell of alcohol and look like they're on drugs. Insha Allaah khayr.

Yes that was a very nice story indeed! If only everyone was like the Prophet (pbup) there would be no evil in this worthless dunya!!
I guess the best we can do is strive our hardest to be exactly like him!

JazaakiAllah Khair Yasmin for sharing this beautiful story with us.

Ladan... im not sure either but i have always wondered the same thing....hmmmm.....

Subhanellah there is a man I see sometimes and what he does is crying. He know how to act and you could smell nicotin out of him.
This man cries and tells people that his mother is in hospital and he need money so he could buy medication. people feel sorry and they give him money.
Then he comes other days and tells the same story and he tells people that he will pay them when he get paid. He sometimes tells people that he works in bakery and points to the nearest bakery. and now people know the story and they don't give him any money. coz he smalls like he smoke cigarett.
what do you think , do people have tobeleive his story and give money to him?