Prioritise Poor Relations For Charity
Sa`d bin Abu Waqqas رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to visit me when I had a severe pain. I said: “I am suffering from such trouble as you are observing. I am a wealthy man and the only heir of mine is my daughter.” (Then Sa`d narrated the whole incident). [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Sa’ad started to think that his wealth might be too much for his daughter so he wanted to know if it was permissible to give at least two-thirds of his wealth to charity. The Prophet ﷺ said no.
I (Sa’ad) said: Should I give half (of my property) as Sadaqa? He ﷺ said: No. He (further) said: Give one-third (in charity) and that is quite enough. To leave your heirs rich is better than to leave them poor, begging from people; that you would never incur an expense seeking therewith the pleasure of Allah, but you would be rewarded therefor, even for a morsel of food that you put in the mouth of your wife. I said: Allah’s Messenger. would I survive my companions? He (the Holy Prophet) said: If you survive them, then do such a deed by means of which you seek the pleasure of Allah, but you would increase in your status (in religion) and prestige; you may survive so that people would benefit from you, and others would be harmed by you.” (Full hadith in Sahih Muslim)
This shows us that before we stretch our eyes to others, our family is priority. Most of us think charity to strangers is more valuable than to family members. That’s because you don’t feel like you’ve done something great when you do it for family. Instead you believe you’ll get more reward from strangers. This includes all family members who’s poor. (Why would you give a rich relative?)
The Result of Silatur Raheem
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Giving charity to a poor person is charity, and (giving) to a relative is two things, charity and upholding the ties of kinship.” (Sunan An-Nasai’i)
One of the best outcomes of silatur raheem (maintaining ties of kinship) are:
1. gaining rizq and
2. increasing your life span (according to an opinion) / barakah in your age (according to another opinion) / both an increase in life span and barakah (according to another opinion)
What happens if Allah blesses one’s age? If there’s something you need to accomplish and it’s possible to do in a year, Allah will bestow barakah upon this person and they’ll do it in a month. So even though they didn’t live long, just look at what they’ve left behind! For example: Imam an-Nawawi. Allah put barakah in his knowledge yet he died in his 40s.
Class: 28th Oct ’25
Tarbiyah by Ilm 