Muhammad loves the poor very much

The Prophet enjoined upon Muslims to treat the poor kindly and to help them with alms, charity and any other ways.
He said:
"He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his fill and lets his neighbor go hungry."

In one of his teaching, Prophet Muhammad said to his followers:
"Do you love your Creator? Then love your fellow beings first."

Muhammad forbids Monopoly
Monopoly is a situation in which a single company or group owns all of the market for a given type of product. Monopoly often results in high prices and inferior products.
Monopoly is unlawful in Islam
The Prophet Muhammad forbids Monopoly and said in his Hadith:
"It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path that leads to bliss."

Muhammad encourages the lawful acquisition of wealth
The Prophet Muhammad did not prohibit or discourage the acquisition of wealth but insisted that it should be lawfully acquired by honest means and that a portion of it would go to the poor.

Muhammad and the wages of the laborer
The Prophet Muhammad was very dedicated to give the laborers their rights. He advised his followers by saying in Hadith:
"Give the laborer his wages before his sweat dried up."

Muhammad did not encourage beggary
The Prophet Muhammad did not encourage beggary and stated that:
"Allah is gracious to him, who earns his living by his own labor, and that if a man begs to increase his property, Allah will diminish it and whoever has food for the day, it is prohibited for him to beg."


Herein, two instances out of many of Muhammad's concern for the poor are given

1. A debtor, Jabir Bin Abdullah, was being harassed by his creditor as he could not clear his debt owing to the failure of his date crop.
The Prophet went with Jabir to the house of the creditor and pleaded with him to give Jabir some more time but the creditor was not prepared to oblige. The Prophet then went to the oasis and having seen for himself that the crop was really poor.
The Prophet, again, approached the creditor with no better result.
He then rested for some time and approached the creditor for a third time but the latter was adamant. The Prophet went again to the orchard and asked Jabir to pluck the dates.
As Allah would have it, the collection not only sufficed to clear the dues but left something to spare.

2. A poor man was once starving. He entered a Land in which there were many trees and fruits. He picked up some fruits.
The owner of the land caught him, defeated him and stripped off his clothes.
The poor man appealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Muhammad said to the owner:
"This man was ignorant; so you should have dispelled his ignorance; He was hungry, so you should have fed him."
The owner of the land felt sorry, he gave the poor man new clothes and, in addition, he gave him some fruits and grain.

It is important to realize that the Prophet Muhammad was more than millionaire; He earned a lot of money. However, He was a money distributor to the poor and the needy and he was not by any means a money collector.

Once, the Prophet Muhammad gave an advice to his wife Aisha; He said:
"O Aisha, love the poor and let them come to you and Allah will draw you near to Himself."

The Prophet Muhammad's love for the poor was so deep that he used to say in his pray:
"O Allah, keep me poor in my life and at my death and raise me at resurrection among those who are poor."
As a matter of fact, the millionaire Muhammad lived poor and died poor!

N.B., Hadith = Muhammad' sayings.

By: Safaa Abdel-Aziz