Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): (Which deeds are the best? He said: Faith in Allah and jihad in His path . . . ).

The Shaykh : We return to completing the hadith after clarifying that faith in Allah is among the deeds of the heart, and that the meaning of this is that this faith of the heart accepts increase and decrease, just as the deeds of the limbs do. It is also well known that the deeds of the limbs accept increase and decrease. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) answered the questioner who asked: "Which deeds are the best?" . It is mentioned in some hadiths that the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned other things after faith in Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) before mentioning jihad in His path. He mentioned, for example, Hajj to the House of Allah. Here, we do not find a mention of Hajj; rather, he followed faith in Allah with his statement "and jihad in His path." The scholars say on this occasion that the answer from the Messenger (peace be upon him) varies according to the questioner. If the questioner is found to be lacking in one aspect but fulfilling another, he does not address the other aspect; rather, he mentions the aspect in which the questioner needs to be reminded and alerted. So here, for example, after faith in Allah, he said "jihad in His path," as if the questioner was someone the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) knew or felt needed encouragement and urging to jihad in the path of Allah, while he knew that he had performed Hajj, so he did not mention Hajj after faith in Allah, but limited himself to mentioning jihad for this reason. Then the question came about something else, and he said. The questioner: "So which slaves are the best?" Meaning: Which slaves are the best to free? That is, which type of slaves is best to free? So the Messenger (peace be upon him) answered by saying: Meaning: The more expensive the slave is in price, the more precious and beloved to his master, the better it is to give him in charity. This is like what happened to one of the Companions from the Ansar, known as Abu Talhah, who came one day to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I hear our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) saying: The noble verse: And I have a garden called Bayraha," which is the name of a garden he owned. He said: "It is the most beloved thing to me, so it is a charity for Allah, so place it, O Messenger of Allah, where you see fit." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and Abu Talhah distributed it among his relatives. So each one took a share, and after the death of Abu Talhah, these shares were sold for very high prices. This clarifies the hadith we are discussing. Just as Abu Talhah gave in charity the most beloved thing he had from his wealth, which was a garden he had in Medina named Bayraha, so the Messenger (peace be upon him) circles around the verse when asked about the best slaves to free, saying: So at that time, the one who gives in charity or frees this slave has given in charity from what he loves, as Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) did.
The student : Woman: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. The questioner said: "What do you say if I am not able to do some of the deeds?" Meaning: After the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned the noble deeds, such as jihad in the path of Allah and freeing slaves, a questioner asked: "But I am not able, I am not able to fight in jihad, not because I do not desire jihad, but because I have special circumstances, like that man who came to the Messenger (peace be upon him) from Yemen and said: 'I emigrated to fight with you, and I left my parents weeping.' So he said: . So this man is excused and is not able to fight in the path of Allah. And the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned jihad in the path of Allah here after faith in Allah. He does not have a beloved slave to free and obtain this virtue. So this questioner inquires about deeds that are within his reach and ability. He asks and says: "What do you say if I am not able to do some of the righteous deeds you encourage us to do, O Messenger of Allah?" So he (peace be upon him) made the way easy for him and said to him: Meaning: a man who has a craft.

The questioner: Lost or a craftsman?

The Shaykh : A craftsman.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : A craftsman means a man who has a craft. You are able to help him, and your help to him is a charity for you. ; either you help a craftsman whose work is of the same type as your work and whose profession is of the same type as your profession, so you are able to provide him with assistance, so do it, and it will be a charity for you. Meaning: you work for a person who has no profession. The "fool" here is the one who has no craft or profession in his hand; meaning that the Messenger (peace be upon him) diversifies the ways of good and the ways of charity. Either you help a craftsman who shares your profession and craft, or you work for a fool who has no profession, doing work that he can benefit from, as came in some hadiths with weak chains, but they are suitable as an example for the last sentence, which is . A man came to the Messenger (peace be upon him) asking him, meaning begging from him. He said to him (peace be upon him): "What do you have in the house?" He said: "I have nothing but a coarse blanket, a worn-out mat." He said: "Bring it." He brought it down to the auction and sold it for one dirham and a fraction of a dirham, and another sold it for two dirhams. With these two dirhams, he bought him an axe... and with it an iron handle, and he assembled it for him. He said to him: "Go, work, and gather firewood." So he went and gathered firewood, and after two or three days, he became wealthy, meaning he became self-sufficient through this work and did not need to ask or beg. So he said to him (peace be upon him): .
The point is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) helped this fool who had no profession in his hand, so he provided him with... an axe and assembled them together. He said to him: "Cut in the forest and sell and buy, and so on." So the ways of good are many and very many. One person is not able to do jihad in the path of Allah, and another does not have a slave, like our situation today. We have become, unfortunately, slaves instead of having slaves from the disbelievers to give in charity by freeing their necks. If such types of charity are not found, we have other types: to help the one who has a profession, and for the one who has no profession, we make for him what he can benefit from, as in the previous hadith. Then the Messenger (peace be upon him) continued answering this questioner when he said: "What do you say if I am weak?" This questioner is greedy and eager, because every time the Messenger (peace be upon him) answered him with an answer, he would desire to take a second answer. So after he told him that the best deed and the best work is jihad in the path of Allah after faith, and he mentioned to him (peace be upon him) after that that either he helps a craftsman or works for a fool, he said to him: "But I am weak, I am not able to help and do any of these noble deeds." So he (peace be upon him) answered him with an answer after which no one can receive an answer. He said: . He asked about deeds of good, so he said: "But I am weak." So do not do evil, and the problem is solved. "Do not do" means: even if you are weak, you are not in need of work. The one who wants to harm people and present them with evil wants to do work and movement, and you are saying: "But I am weak." So keep people safe from your evil, and their safety from your evil is a charity to you; you give in charity to yourself. This is, in reality, the ease of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His favor upon His servants, where He made the end of the journey of the incapable person to keep people safe from his evil, and that becomes a charity from him to himself. We suffice with this amount today to read or answer a question we have.