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shield, and another one which makes its owner entitled to reward. The one for whom these are a burden is the person
who rears them for show or for pride or for causing injury to the sentiments of the Muslims. They will be a cause of
torment for their owners. The one for whom these are a shield is the person who rears them for the sake of Allah but
does not forget the Right of Allah concerning their backs and their necks (i.e., he lets a needy ride on them), and so
they are a shield for him. Those which bring reward to the one who rears them in pastures and gardens are the ones
that are used in the Cause of Allah (Jihad) by the Muslims. Whatever they eat from the meadows and the gardens
will be recorded on his behalf as good deeds so much so that their droppings and urine will be counted for an equal
number of good deeds for him. Even when they break their tying rope and every height from which they climb and
every hoofprint which they leave will be counted as a good deed on behalf of the owner. When their owner leads
them through a stream from which they drink, though he does not intend to quench their thirst, yet Allah would
record for him the quantity (of water) of what they would drink on his behalf as good deeds
.'' It was asked: "O
Messenger of Allah, what about the donkeys?'' Upon this he (PBUH) said, "
Nothing has been revealed to me in
regard to the donkeys in particular except this one Verse of a comprehensive nature:
"
So whosoever does good equal
to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a
small ant) shall see it
.''' (99: 8,9).
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary:
This Hadith tells us that those people who do not pay Zakat on their property will be punished with
this same property which will become an anguish for them on the Day of Resurrection.
The phrase "
and he will be shown his final abode, either to Jannah or to Hell
'' clearly means that this would happen
on the Day of Judgement and the punishment to defaulters would be given before one's entry into Jannah or Hell. If
Almighty Allah will consider this punishment sufficient for a Muslim, He will send him to Jannah, otherwise He
will consign him to Hell. In case he is a Muslim, he will be ultimately sent to Jannah (
after suffering the punishment
in Hell
) otherwise, he will be sent to Hell, where he will live for ever.
The phrase "
As often as the first of them passes him, the last of them will be made to return
'' means that the process
will be repeated again and again. Some people say that there is some alteration in the wording of this Hadith.
According to them the correct wording is:
"When the first camel will have passed, the last in the line will be
returned on him
''. This wording makes the text more orderly and evident and this is how it occurs in some of the
narrations. Allah knows the truth.
In this Hadith the words "
Fi sabilillah
'', (
for the sake of Allah, or in the Cause of Allah
) have been repeated twice in
connection with horses. In the first instance these words are used for noble intention. That is to fulfill humanly needs
with it so that one does not have to beg them from others. In the second instance these words stand for Jihad. That is
one breeds horses to make use of them in Jihad. The breeding of horses with this intention is eligible to reward,
while in the former case is a means of covering one's poverty.
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