A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: I am starving of hunger. He ﷺ had a message sent to his wives enquiring them if there was anything to eat; the response was that By He Who Appointed you as the rightful messenger there is nothing at home except water. The same reply was received from the second wife, and then one by one all the other wives replied in a similar manner. He ﷺ asked the people as to who amongst them could serve this man as their guest for the night and as a result Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) will have Mercy on him. An Ansari companion came forward saying that I am willing to do it and he took the guest home with him.
Once at home, he asked his wife if there was anything to eat, the wife replied that there was only enough food for the children. The companion instructed his wife to divert the children’s attention and put them to sleep and when the guest sits down to eat she must put out the lamp on the excuse of mending it. In this manner they will be able to pose as if they are eating with him. As the guest sat down for dinner, the wife put the lamp out and they all sat to eat. The guest ate heartily while these two faked eating and instead went to bed on an empty stomach. In the morning when they went to the prophet ﷺ, he ﷺ said that the act the two of you did last night made Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) smile. (Muslim: 5359)
Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) revealed the following verse as a reflection of this beautiful and selfless act:
وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ
“And give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that”
[Al-Hashr : 9]
Respected readers, the act performed by the husband-wife duo in the narrated incident may seem relatively simple and ordinary, however, what makes any action special and important is the fact that it pleases Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ). It is imperative for us to comprehend the following facts and learn the following lessons from the above mentioned event:
In the eyes of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) actions are valued on the basis of their sincerity and whether they are done with the hope of attaining Allah’s pleasure, even though that act may be considered insignificant in the eyes of this world. This husband and wife duo in the above narrated event did something in the dark that no one else on earth was aware of but Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) accepted their beautiful deed by smiling at it and He also made this deed of theirs known to the entire Muslim Ummah through His prophet ﷺ.
We too are hospitable and in fact serve our guests extremely lavish food. However what we must ponder about is whether Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) will smile at the feasts that we organize? At times we can attain Allah’s pleasure by doing things that are seemingly simple and ordinary.
In another hadith we also find the incident of a man who saw a thorny branch on his path and removed it in order to save others from pain (due to being pricked by it) and Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) was pleased by his this deed and pardoned him. (Sahih Bukhari: 2472)
The above mentioned incident also provisions us with a glimpse of the extremely modest lifestyle of our beloved prophet and how he never worried about amassing worldly wealth and provisions. This is precisely the reason why for many days in a row the Prophet’s household had nothing to eat. Syyedah Ayesha (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) narrated to her nephew Urwah that many months went by without the fire in the hearth being lit, i.e. without any food being cooked, at any of the Prophet’s homes. Urwah enquired as to how they survived and she replied that we survived on dates and water. Sometimes, the Ansari neighbors of the prophet ﷺ sent goat milk which we used to then drink. (Bukhari: 6459)
Another valuable lesson to be learned from this incident is that as long as a person cares for the needs of others he/she is successful in the eyes Of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ). When we give preference to the needs of others over our own needs and try to fulfill them then in return Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) fulfills our needs.
As mentioned in the following hadith:
مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ
“Whoever relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever helps ease someone in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter”
(Muslim: 6853)
Therefore, one should give preference to the needs of others in worldly affairs whilst competing with them in trying to get ahead in matters of worship. As mentioned in the Quran:
فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ
“So hasten towards all that is good”
[Al-Baqara : 148]
Also we must understand from the mentioned incident that the key to the success of the companions y was their utmost desire to obey every commandment of the Prophet ﷺ, and acting in a similar manner is also mandatory for us.
However, the part in this incident that mentions that the children were put to sleep without being fed must also be clarified. In actuality their stomachs were full and the food that was eventually served to the guest was a surplus kept aside as a late night snack which children can ask for habitually. This is because if the children were actually put to bed on an empty stomach then this would not have been a commendable act as it is the father’s responsibility to feed his children, and this responsibility precedes that of being hospitable to a guest. The fact that Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) and the Prophet ﷺ praised the couple on this deed is a proof itself that they had already fulfilled their responsibility towards their children.
Earning for one’s wife and children and arranging for their food is an act that will be rewarded. The Prophet ﷺ equated this noble act to charity, and whoever does not fulfill this responsibility is sinful. He ﷺ said:
كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ إِثْمًا أَنْ يُضَيِّعَ مَنْ يَقُوتُ
“It is sufficient for a person to be sinful that he be negligent towards the needs of those who are dependent upon him.”
(Sunan Abu Dawood:1692)
Therefore we must strive in our lifetime to perform an action of such virtue and sincerity like the one mentioned in this incident that it makes Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) smile and be pleased with us.
