Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

9. Of the 124,000 Prophets' that Allah (swt) sent, what evidence is there that they left everything for their followers as Sadaqah (Charity)? If they did, then why did the Prophet (saaws)'s wives not give all their possessions to the Islamic State? After all, Ahl'ul Sunnah consider the wives to be Ahlul'bayt. Sadaqah is haram on the Ahlul'bayt, this being the case why did they hold on to their possessions?

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Answer:

Sadaqah Haraam on the Ahl’ul bayt

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) reported in an authentic narration: “We the Prophets of Allah, leave no inheritance. Whatever remains goes to Sadaqa.”

None of the inheritors of the Prophet Mohamed (saws), including his wives got anything as inheritance from the little possessions that belonged to the Prophet (saws) after his death. The Prophet (saws), even though he was the undisputed leader of almost all of Arabia, had very little personal possessions; and whatever was extra, the noble Messenger of Allah (saws) always gave it away as charity in his own lifetime.

Such was the high character and generosity of the Prophet, that one of his (saws) wives says in a tradition, that even after the Prophet (saws) had established an Islamic government in Medina and he (saws) was the undisputed leader of all the muslims, there were never three days in a row, that the "fire-wood for food" was burnt in his (saws) household!! She further narrated that she could not remember three days in a row, where they had slept with a stomachful of food!!!

All the wives of the Prophet (saws), and his noble family including Hadrat Ali and Hadrat Fatema used to get a stipend from the ‘bayt-ul-maal’ or the central treasury after the death of the Prophet (saws).

Your Comment: Sadaqah is haram on the Ahlul'bayt.

Such was the high character of the noble Prophet (saws), that he not only declared the receiving of Zakat and Sadaqa haraam on himself and his immediate family, but the whole tribe of Banu Hashim, to which he belonged. This was done so that no enemy of Islam could ever point a finger at the distribution of the zakat and sadaqa collections done by the Prophet (saws).

Your Comment: Ahl'ul Sunnah consider the wives to be Ahlul'bayt.

The truth of the matter is that Allah includes the wives of the Prophet (saws) in the ‘Ahle-Bayt’. If anyone has any doubts about this, they should read the Holy Quran Chapter 33, Surah Ahzaab verses 32-33. Allah says:O wives of the Prophet, you are not like the other woman. If you are God-fearing, do not talk in a soft voice, lest the man of the diseased heart should cherish false hopes from you, but speak in an unaffected manner. Stay in your houses, and do not go about displaying your fineries as women used to do in the days of ignorance. Establish the salaat, pay the zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah only intends to remove uncleanness from you, O AHLE-BAYT, and purify you completely.

And if one reads the above aayahs 32-33 of Surah Ahzaab in context with the preceeding aayahs 28,29,30 and 31; there is absolutely no doubt that Allah is commanding and advising the wives of the Prophets specifically. Anyone who understands even basic Arabic will confirm to you, that in the context of the above aayahs of the Quran, Allah includes the wives of the Prophet (saws) in the ‘Ahle-Bayt’.

In other verses of the Quran, when the angels of Allah come to Prophet Abraham (a.s.) and his wife Sarah to announce the birth of their son as a Mercy and Bounty of Allah on them, they invoke salaams on the ‘Ahle-Bayt’ of Prophet Abraham (a.s.). It is also evident from here that the only people in the house at the time were Prophet Abraham (a.s.) and his wife Sarah. Thus it is further proof that Allah includes the wives in the ‘Ahle-Bayt’, and not just the descendants.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother in Islam,

Burhan