BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHIM WHO TRIED TO STEAL THE ZAKAT? with a quiz Adapted for Children from an authentic hadith of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him by Khadijah Stephens www.mosque.com Copyrighted by the Mosque of the Internet and Khadeijah Stephens, 2000 TERMS OF PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION The Mosque of the Internet grants permission to Islamic schools, organizations or Muslim individuals to download, copy, print, publish, record and/or distribute this story either for profit or non-profit without reimbursement to the Mosque of the Internet providing the following six conditions are complied with in full and without exception. The Mosque of the Internet owns and retains the copyright of this story and no other person/s, school, organization or individual etc., owns or has any right or claim to the copyright. No alterations whatsoever are made. Reference to The Mosque of the Internet with its internet address www.mosque.com appears on the front cover. Should artwork be included in its publication the artwork must conform with Islamic principles, for example no drawings of human beings. The Mosque of the Internet is informed of its publication and ten copies of the published book sent to the Mosque of the Internet. If any of these conditions are not met then all previously mentioned permission/s are automatically revoked and legal action will be taken to the maximum extent of the copyright infringement jurisdiction law in the State of Delaware, USA will be sought. Ramadan had just ended and that year Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, had appointed Abu Hurairah to be the custodian of the Zakat, which is the charity every adult Muslim must pay at the end of Ramadan before the Eid prayer. Such an appointment was, and still is, one of great honor and trust. Now that the Eid prayer had been offered and the zakat collected it was taken to a room where it would remain until it was time for the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, to distribute it amongst the poor. That night when all was quiet and the townspeople slept Abu Hurairah took up his position outside the room. Suddenly, Abu Hurairah heard a suspicious noise coming from inside the room so he leapt to his feet to investigate. As he opened the door, much to his surprise, he found a thief filling his bag with the zakat. Abu Hurairah wasted no time, he rushed over and grabbed hold of intruder and exclaimed: "I will take you to the Messenger of Allah!" But, the thief pleaded with him not to do that saying: "I am in great need and have a very large family to feed." Times had been hard and Abu Hurairah, who was no stranger to poverty, felt sorry for him so he decided to let the intruder go. The next morning, much to Abu Hurairah's astonishment, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked: "What did you do with the intruder you caught last night?" Abu Hurairah told him about the intruder and his circumstances, then told him that he had taken pity on him and let him go. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurairah: "He lied to you; he will return" and Abu Hurairah knew that the thief would indeed return, so that night he kept watch for him. Sure enough, as soon as everyone was asleep the thief returned and started to fill his bag yet again. Abu Hurairah reached out and grabbed him saying: "I am going to take you to the Messenger of Allah!" But once again the thief begged him for the sake of his family not to do so and promised not to return if he let him go. The following morning the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked what had happened that night whereupon Abu Hurairah told him that the thief had indeed returned as he said he would. He told him how the thief had pleaded with him not to take him to him on account of the urgent need of his family and that he had given his promise never to return if he let him go, so he let him go. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurairah that the thief had lied and would return that very night despite his promise not to return. That night, Abu Hurairah sat quietly in wait for the thief. Sure enough as soon as everyone was asleep the thief broke his promise and crept into the room with the intention to steal. Abu Hurairah jumped out from his hiding place, grabbed hold of the thief and exclaimed: "You promised me you would not return yet you came back!" The thief did not expect to be caught and pleaded with him once more, but this time he said: "Let me go and I will tell you some words which will be good for you." Abu Hurairah asked: "What might they be?" The thief answered: "When you go to bed recite the verse of the Throne (Koran, Chapter 2 verse 255) because it contains the protection of Allah, and satan is unable to approach you until the morning." So once again Abu Hurairah let him go. The next morning the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked Abu Hurairah what had happened during the night whereupon Abu Hurairah repeated what the thief had told him. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, informed Abu Hurairah that this time the thief had spoken truthfully, however, the fact remained he was still a liar. Then he asked, "Abu Hurairah, do you know with whom you spoke during these three nights?" Abu Hurairah had no idea and replied, "No" whereupon the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, informed him that the intruder had been none other than satan! The End Ask your parents to teach you the verse of the Throne which you can find in the Koran, Chapter 2 verse 255, then say it just before you go to sleep, and Allah will protect you. When you are older you can read the Hadith reported by Abu Hurairah in Imam Nawawi's book of authentic Hadith "The Gardens of Righteousness" QUIZ TIME! What is an authentic hadith? Is it A saying from the Koran A saying of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him A story What was the name of the companion appointed to guard the zakat? Omar Abu Bakr Abu Hurairah What excuse did the thief give? He had a large family He wanted to give the money away He had lost something in the room and was looking for it What did Abu Hurairah do? He took him to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him He told him to take some of the zakat He felt sorry for him and let him go What is the name given to the protection verse? Al Fatiha The Throne verse Al Iklas Joseph Who was the intruder? A stranger A poor man satan Abu Hurairah QUIZ TIME ANSWERS b c a c b c |
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