The hadith of Ka'b ibn Malik - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said
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The Shaykh : Then the author brings three hadiths in which the Messenger - peace be upon him - describes the effect of a Muslim's greed for his worldly life, the greed that is prohibited in his religion, with a very eloquent example; so listen to how he - peace and blessings be upon him - says, and this is from the hadith of Ka'b ibn Malik - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2376.
This means that the Muslim's greed for fame, position, and status is more destructive to his religion than the destruction caused by a hungry wolf sent upon a gathered flock of sheep, where there is no shepherd guarding this flock; how much destruction would this wolf cause in this flock? The destruction of the Muslim's religion due to his greed for wealth and status and the like of the debris of this world is more destructive to the religion of this greedy person than the destruction of that wolf in the sheep, or two wolves.
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2376 to the end of the hadith, and the dual form of the wolf here actually contains a warning about the severity of the destruction; because if it were one wolf, perhaps the sheep would flee to one side; but if there are two wolves, one attacks from here and the other from here, so the destruction is very severe; the destruction of the Muslim's greed for status and wealth to his religion is greater than the destruction of these two wolves in the sheep.
This hadith was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: It is a good, authentic hadith, and by Ibn Hibban in his "Sahih".
The second hadith is in its meaning; and it is his saying: From Abu Hurayrah - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said: Two wild, hungry wolves spent the night in a sheepfold whose owners had neglected it, tearing and eating, causing more ruin in it than the love of wealth and status in the religion of the Muslim man. It was narrated by al-Tabarani with this wording, and by Abu Ya'la with a similar wording, and their chains are good.
The sheepfold is an enclosure, the place where sheep are kept so that the wolf does not raid them; the one who raided this sheepfold of sheep was not one wolf; but two, and among their characteristics - also - that they are hungry.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Wild as well.
Then the hadith that follows it, which is the third in this meaning, and it is his saying: And from Ibn 'Umar - may Allah be pleased with them both - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said: مَا ذِئبَانِ ضَارِيانِ في حَظِيرَةٍ يَأكُلانِ وَيُفسِدَانِ بِأَضَرَّ فِيهَا مِن حُبِّ الشَّرَفِ وَحُبِّ المَالِ في دِينِ المَرءِ المُسلِمِ Two wild wolves in a pen are more destructive to it by eating and ruining it than the love of status and the love of wealth are to the religion of a Muslim man.. It was narrated by al-Bazzar with a good chain.
Some may ask: Why is there this severity in warning against the Muslim's love for wealth and status?
The answer, I think, is known from our previous words, but it seems that the issue needs to be repeated so that the correct meanings are firmly established in the minds. Had we been in a previous time, fifty or a hundred years ago, we would not have needed such a comment as I will mention; because people before - I mean, of course, most of them - were turning to religion, and they did not care much about their worldly lives. But when we entered this century which they call the century of civilization, progress, and culture, and Muslims were profoundly affected by the civilization of the disbelievers, it was of this type, in my opinion, to give the world and the valuation of wealth what it does not deserve in the Shari'ah. So many preachers, orators, and writers began to alert Muslims to the necessity of caring for their worldly lives. And there is no doubt that speech, whether it is good or bad, has an effect; especially with time. So Muslims today have a reaction; they have become aggressive toward wealth, and toward what they call the renaissance, culture, and civilization. This diverted them from caring about the matter of their religion, indeed it diverted them from knowing the truth or the real reason by which Allah - Mighty and Majestic - supported the first generation of the earliest Arabs, and that is nothing but their holding fast to their religion. So people today care about wealth and earnings to the extent that few people, even the religious ones, ask: Is this forbidden or lawful?
They have truly become heedless; they have become heedless, and nothing matters to them except earning wealth. As for whether this is forbidden or this is lawful; even the praying ones, even the worshippers, no longer ask, due to the severity of their heedlessness.
I say: So these hadiths that you are hearing now are intended to return these Muslims to the state of the earliest Muslims, for whom the world was in their hands but not in their hearts. The situation has now reversed, so the world is in our hearts, and it has occupied us from performing our many obligations. I do not say jihad, which was mentioned earlier in the hadith: وتركتم الجهاد في سبيل الله Narrated AbuUmamah: A man said: Messenger of Allah, allow tourism for me. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The tourism of my people is striving in the path of Allah, the Exalted.Sunan Abi Dawud 2486; because we say, regretfully: Muslims today cannot perform this jihad, which is one of the causes of their humiliation, unless they take the preliminaries that facilitate and smooth the way for this jihad; which is the jihad of the self, the jihad of desire, your jihad against your person, which is the closest thing to you; let alone that you should fight the enemy, and the enemy who has armed himself and entered your land against your will, by means known to everyone.
So these hadiths are intended to correct the balance of the Muslims of the present age who have rushed upon the world. You do not need a description of this rushing; suffice for you this display of adornment, this nakedness, and this imitating the disbelievers, women and men, and so on; all of this is caused by wealth, and the whole cause of this wealth is gathering it without asking: Is it from what is forbidden or from what is lawful?
So the condemnation by the Messenger - peace be upon him - of the love of wealth and status means only this wealth that leads its owner to disobeying his Lord. As for wealth earned through a lawful way, and spent through a lawful way as well; you have heard the saying of the Messenger - peace be upon him - to 'Amr ibn al-'As when he sent to him and said to him: أَلْقِ عليك سلاحك ؛ فإني أريد أن أبعَثَك بعثًا Put on your armor; for I intend to send you on an expedition meaning jihad in the cause of Allah وأُعطِيَك مالًا and I will give you wealth, so 'Amr said: By Allah - O Messenger of Allah - I did not believe or submit for the sake of wealth. Look at this answer; this is what we want to achieve today. We do not live for the sake of earning wealth, nor do we live to covet gathering wealth for wealth's sake. Rather, if we earn wealth, it is for the obedience of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. Therefore, when 'Amr said: By Allah - O Messenger of Allah - I did not believe for the sake of wealth. He said to him - peace and blessings be upon him - : يا عمرو ، نعمَّا المال الصالح للرجل الصالح O Amr, good is the righteous wealth for the righteous man. This good wealth for the good man is not what these hadiths that we are discussing are directed at; especially the last hadiths in which the Messenger - peace be upon him - mentions that the Muslim's love for wealth and his greed for it and for status is more destructive to his religion than the destruction of the two hungry, wild wolves to the sheep in their fold.
This is what must be focused in our minds: that the condemnation of the world and the condemnation of wealth is when it is spent in other than the obedience of Allah - Mighty and Majestic.
Two wolves free among sheep are no more destructive to them than a man's desire for wealth and honor is to his religion.
مَا ذِئبَانِ جَائِعَانِ أُرسِلَا في غَنَمٍ بِأَفسَدَ لَهَا مِن حِرصِ المَرءِ عَلى المالِ والشَّرَفِ لِدِينِهِThis means that the Muslim's greed for fame, position, and status is more destructive to his religion than the destruction caused by a hungry wolf sent upon a gathered flock of sheep, where there is no shepherd guarding this flock; how much destruction would this wolf cause in this flock? The destruction of the Muslim's religion due to his greed for wealth and status and the like of the debris of this world is more destructive to the religion of this greedy person than the destruction of that wolf in the sheep, or two wolves.
Two wolves free among sheep
مَا ذِئبَانِ جَائِعَانِ أُرسِلَا في غَنَمٍThis hadith was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: It is a good, authentic hadith, and by Ibn Hibban in his "Sahih".
The second hadith is in its meaning; and it is his saying: From Abu Hurayrah - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said: Two wild, hungry wolves spent the night in a sheepfold whose owners had neglected it, tearing and eating, causing more ruin in it than the love of wealth and status in the religion of the Muslim man. It was narrated by al-Tabarani with this wording, and by Abu Ya'la with a similar wording, and their chains are good.
The sheepfold is an enclosure, the place where sheep are kept so that the wolf does not raid them; the one who raided this sheepfold of sheep was not one wolf; but two, and among their characteristics - also - that they are hungry.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Wild as well.
Then the hadith that follows it, which is the third in this meaning, and it is his saying: And from Ibn 'Umar - may Allah be pleased with them both - he said: The Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - said: مَا ذِئبَانِ ضَارِيانِ في حَظِيرَةٍ يَأكُلانِ وَيُفسِدَانِ بِأَضَرَّ فِيهَا مِن حُبِّ الشَّرَفِ وَحُبِّ المَالِ في دِينِ المَرءِ المُسلِمِ Two wild wolves in a pen are more destructive to it by eating and ruining it than the love of status and the love of wealth are to the religion of a Muslim man.. It was narrated by al-Bazzar with a good chain.
Some may ask: Why is there this severity in warning against the Muslim's love for wealth and status?
The answer, I think, is known from our previous words, but it seems that the issue needs to be repeated so that the correct meanings are firmly established in the minds. Had we been in a previous time, fifty or a hundred years ago, we would not have needed such a comment as I will mention; because people before - I mean, of course, most of them - were turning to religion, and they did not care much about their worldly lives. But when we entered this century which they call the century of civilization, progress, and culture, and Muslims were profoundly affected by the civilization of the disbelievers, it was of this type, in my opinion, to give the world and the valuation of wealth what it does not deserve in the Shari'ah. So many preachers, orators, and writers began to alert Muslims to the necessity of caring for their worldly lives. And there is no doubt that speech, whether it is good or bad, has an effect; especially with time. So Muslims today have a reaction; they have become aggressive toward wealth, and toward what they call the renaissance, culture, and civilization. This diverted them from caring about the matter of their religion, indeed it diverted them from knowing the truth or the real reason by which Allah - Mighty and Majestic - supported the first generation of the earliest Arabs, and that is nothing but their holding fast to their religion. So people today care about wealth and earnings to the extent that few people, even the religious ones, ask: Is this forbidden or lawful?
They have truly become heedless; they have become heedless, and nothing matters to them except earning wealth. As for whether this is forbidden or this is lawful; even the praying ones, even the worshippers, no longer ask, due to the severity of their heedlessness.
I say: So these hadiths that you are hearing now are intended to return these Muslims to the state of the earliest Muslims, for whom the world was in their hands but not in their hearts. The situation has now reversed, so the world is in our hearts, and it has occupied us from performing our many obligations. I do not say jihad, which was mentioned earlier in the hadith: وتركتم الجهاد في سبيل الله Narrated AbuUmamah: A man said: Messenger of Allah, allow tourism for me. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The tourism of my people is striving in the path of Allah, the Exalted.Sunan Abi Dawud 2486; because we say, regretfully: Muslims today cannot perform this jihad, which is one of the causes of their humiliation, unless they take the preliminaries that facilitate and smooth the way for this jihad; which is the jihad of the self, the jihad of desire, your jihad against your person, which is the closest thing to you; let alone that you should fight the enemy, and the enemy who has armed himself and entered your land against your will, by means known to everyone.
So these hadiths are intended to correct the balance of the Muslims of the present age who have rushed upon the world. You do not need a description of this rushing; suffice for you this display of adornment, this nakedness, and this imitating the disbelievers, women and men, and so on; all of this is caused by wealth, and the whole cause of this wealth is gathering it without asking: Is it from what is forbidden or from what is lawful?
So the condemnation by the Messenger - peace be upon him - of the love of wealth and status means only this wealth that leads its owner to disobeying his Lord. As for wealth earned through a lawful way, and spent through a lawful way as well; you have heard the saying of the Messenger - peace be upon him - to 'Amr ibn al-'As when he sent to him and said to him: أَلْقِ عليك سلاحك ؛ فإني أريد أن أبعَثَك بعثًا Put on your armor; for I intend to send you on an expedition meaning jihad in the cause of Allah وأُعطِيَك مالًا and I will give you wealth, so 'Amr said: By Allah - O Messenger of Allah - I did not believe or submit for the sake of wealth. Look at this answer; this is what we want to achieve today. We do not live for the sake of earning wealth, nor do we live to covet gathering wealth for wealth's sake. Rather, if we earn wealth, it is for the obedience of Allah - Mighty and Majestic. Therefore, when 'Amr said: By Allah - O Messenger of Allah - I did not believe for the sake of wealth. He said to him - peace and blessings be upon him - : يا عمرو ، نعمَّا المال الصالح للرجل الصالح O Amr, good is the righteous wealth for the righteous man. This good wealth for the good man is not what these hadiths that we are discussing are directed at; especially the last hadiths in which the Messenger - peace be upon him - mentions that the Muslim's love for wealth and his greed for it and for status is more destructive to his religion than the destruction of the two hungry, wild wolves to the sheep in their fold.
This is what must be focused in our minds: that the condemnation of the world and the condemnation of wealth is when it is spent in other than the obedience of Allah - Mighty and Majestic.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.