The Shaykh’s explanation of the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Shaykh : He said, and from Abu Ishaq Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Malik ibn Ahib ibn 'Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah ibn Kalab ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ay, the Qurashi, the Zuhri (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the ten who were promised Paradise (may Allah be pleased with them), it is said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me here. (May Allah be pleased with them) This was confusing to me, because it is Sa'd... I do not know that his father was a Companion.

The questioner : No, from the ten (may Allah be pleased with them), from the ten (may Allah be pleased with them).

The Shaykh : Well done, okay. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit me during the Year of the Farewell Pilgrimage, suffering from a severe pain that had afflicted me. I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have reached the state of pain you see, and I possess wealth, and the only one who will inherit from me is my daughter. Shall I give in charity two-thirds of my wealth? He said: I said: Then half, O Messenger of Allah? He said: I said: Then a third, O Messenger of Allah? He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, will I outlive my companions? He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed pity for him, for he died in Makkah. It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The point of this hadith, relevant to the chapter, is his saying: "seeking thereby the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He." That is, every expenditure should be intended by the spender to seek the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. We return to explaining what may be obscure in the hadith. During the Farewell Pilgrimage, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the ten promised Paradise, fell ill with an illness that brought him close to death. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit him, and he complained to him of his condition. He said: O Messenger of Allah, I have reached the state of pain you see, meaning I fear that death will overtake me. I possess wealth, and the only one who will inherit from me is my daughter. Shall I give in charity two-thirds of my wealth, meaning before my death? He said: I said: Then half, meaning the half, O Messenger of Allah? He said: I said: Then a third, O Messenger of Allah? He said: And there is doubt in it, a doubt in the narrator. He said: "Or a large amount. A third is a lot, or a large amount." We find that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), despite Sa'd's explicit statement that he had no heir to inherit from him except his daughter, did not allow Sa'd to bequeath half of the wealth, let alone two-thirds. And when Sa'd said: Then shall I give in charity a third? He said: This is an expression that permits the wealthy person to give in charity a third of his wealth, but with the note that it is contrary to what is best, because he said: Meaning, if it is absolutely necessary, then give in charity a third, but even so, a third is a lot. That is, make your charity for your heirs, for the closest relatives are more entitled to kindness. Do not give in charity more than your wealth, do not give in charity even a third, and if it is absolutely necessary, then a third. A third is a lot. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explains this which he encouraged him to do, reducing the charity, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Meaning, that you leave stretching out their hands, asking people for the money that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has given them. Therefore, you should not give in charity two-thirds of your wealth, nor half of your wealth, and if it is absolutely necessary, then a third. The two-thirds remain for those who inherit from you, to prevent them with this wealth that you leave for them from begging from people, asking them, and soliciting from them. Then the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentions another phrase in which there is an explanation of the virtue of spending on the family, specifically. He says: No matter how slight and simple this expenditure is in the eyes of people, meaning, the morsel that a man lifts to the mouth of his wife is a charity, but with the condition that he seeks thereby the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. Here, the point of this hadith is that the Muslim, whatever good deeds he performs, they will not be good and acceptable to Allah unless he seeks thereby the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, will I outlive my companions? Meaning, will I live and survive for a period of life after my companions who have died? He said: This is like the hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad and others: So he says: Here is a point that rarely comes in the legal texts. He says: He did not stop here, but said: How will the others be harmed? Because of their disbelief, disobedience, and misguidance. That is, when the Messenger (peace be upon him) was sent, some people benefited from him, and others were harmed by him. Those who benefited, their matter is clear. As for those who were harmed, the proof of Allah was established against them by the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), so they were harmed by that.