Discussion of the hadith of the man who threw a plank into the sea containing a thousand dinars, and the hadith of the man who heard a voice from the clouds.

The Shaykh : To conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to narrate to you two authentic hadiths. It is very clear that they can be considered an explanation of the previous verse . If these wealthy people had feared Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in their wealth and in themselves, Allah would certainly have provided them with a way out. But instead of focusing on the fear of Allah, they persisted in what they did while knowing it. The first of these two hadiths is narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There was a man among those before you who came to a wealthy man and said to him: "Lend me—I am uncertain now, he said a hundred dinars or a thousand dinars, and the most likely is a thousand dinars—lend me a thousand dinars." He said: "Bring a guarantor." He said: "Allah is the guarantor." He said: "Bring a witness." He said: "Allah is the witness."—In the language of the present day, he asked for the thousand dinars in cash, no check, no promissory note, no bill of exchange, nothing. We wanted that wealthy man to want a witness, and they said: "Allah is the witness." A guarantor? "Allah is the guarantor." And by Allah, that is beautiful speech. He gave him the thousand dinars. Who does this today?! No one. Look at the outcome, and Allah is truthful والعاقبة للمتقين And the final outcome is for the righteous.. The man took the thousand dinars and went out traveling by sea to invest the money he had borrowed. The agreed-upon date for repayment arrived while he was far from the wealthy man's country. He was a truthful man with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), wanting to fulfill his promise to the one who had been good to him. But he was surprised to find that the date had come while he was far away. What did he do? He came to a plank, carved it well, and packed the gold dinars inside it, stuffing it tightly. Then he came to the seashore and said: "O Allah, You were the guarantor and You were the witness." And he threw this plank into the sea. Does any of you say that this is not honesty?! It is the ultimate honesty, the squandering of wealth! The destruction of wealth! But Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who knows what is in the hearts, commanded the sea and its waves to take this plank to the town where the generous wealthy man was. The wealthy man went out on the promised day to receive the debtor and his debt. He waited a while, but the man did not come. Then he saw the plank playing in the hands of the waves. He reached out and found it heavy. He took it and broke it open, and the red gold collapsed in his hands. A strange story. Then the man returned. Look at this honesty and its outcome. He knew he was doing something contrary to the natural order—a plank containing heavy gold, and how it reached the creditor there. This is an unnatural matter. So he knew what he was doing, but his sincerity was what carried him to break the natural order. Therefore, he ignored what he had done, reached out, and delivered the creditor his right. If it was a hundred, it became two hundred for him; if it was a thousand, it became two thousand. The creditor was astonished, so he told him the story. This is a kind-hearted person; as the saying goes, "Birds fall according to their kind." If this story happened with someone today, "God is Great," no one would have heard that this man picked up a plank from the sea packed with a thousand dinars to tell about it. But what made him tell this debtor? His sincerity, because he felt that there was something in the matter contrary to the natural order. He told him the story of the plank. They said: "By Allah, I am the one who did this. When I felt I could not fulfill the promise with you, I did so and so and so." What did he say? He said: "May Allah bless you in your wealth," and he returned the thousand dinars to him. And what came to him by an unusual, unnatural path was sufficient. This applies to him ومن يتقِ الله يجعل له مخرجا ويرزقه من حيث لا يحتسب And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out ⁽³⁾ And will provide for him from where he does not expect.[At-Talaq 65:2-3]. This is the first hadith. The second hadith is also from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, but it is in Sahih Muslim. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man among those before you was walking in a desolate area of land when he heard a voice from the sky saying: "Water the land of so-and-so." A voice addressing the clouds, directing them to the land of so-and-so and to water it. The man walking on the ground heard a voice from the sky for the first time. This is also unnatural. For example, the clouds were moving east, and then they turned south or north. So he walked with the clouds. It was not long before the clouds discharged their load of rain on the top of a garden. There was no rain around the garden. He looked into the garden and saw its owner working in it with a hoe. He greeted him, and since he had heard his name, the gardener was surprised and saw the man as a stranger, so he asked him: "Where are you from?" And so on, the usual conversation. They said: "By Allah, I was walking and I heard a voice from the clouds saying: 'Water the land of so-and-so.' So I walked with the clouds until I reached you, and I knew that you were the one intended." "By what means?" Here is the point. He said to him: "By Allah, I do not know. But I own this land, so I work in it. Then I divide its harvest into three parts: one third I return to the land, the second third I spend on myself and my family, and the third third I spend on the poor and the needy." He said: "That is it." That is, because of your fear of Allah in your wealth, you did not forget your share, the share of your family, and the share of the poor and neighbors near you. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) treated you by making the sky serve you. Allah made the sky serve him, and He made the sea serve that other man. Glory be to Allah. So the solution, my brothers, and the alternative is the fear of Allah. So fear Allah, O you who possess intellect. Please.