Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The reader: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted in the context of the hadith of Ka'b: "

and it was during this season that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made preparations and the Muslims too along with them. I also set out in the morning so that I should make preparations along with them but I came back and did nothing and said to myself: I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) until people were about to depart and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out and the Muslims too along with him, but I made no preparations. I went early in the morning and came back, but I made no decision. I continued to do so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. I also made up my mind to march on and to meet them. Would that I had done that but perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as I went out amongst people, I was shocked to find that I did not find anyone like me but people who were labelled as hypocrites or the people whom Allah granted exemption because of their incapacity and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) took no notice of me until he had reached Tabuk. (One day as he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk) he said: What has happened to Ka'b b. Malik? A person from Banu' Salama said: Allah's Messenger, the (beauty) of his cloak and his appreciation of his sides have allured him and he was thus detained. Mua'dh b. Jabal said: Woe be upon that what you contend. Allah's Messenger, by Allah, we know nothing about him but good. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), however, kept quiet. It was during that time that he (the Holy Prophet) saw a person (dressed in all white (garment) shattering the illusion of eye (mirage). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May he be Abu Khaithama and, lo, it was Abu Khaithama al-Ansari and he was that person who contributed a sa' of dates and was scoffed at by the hypocrites. Ka'b b. Malik farther said: When this news reached me that

فتجهز رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والمسلمون معه ، وطفقتُ أغدو لكي أتجهز معه ، فأرجعُ ولم أقض شيئا ، وأقول في نفسي : أنا قادر على ذلك إذا أردت ، فلم يزل يتمادى بي حتى استمر بالناس الجد ، فأصبح رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم غاديًا والمسلمون معه ، ولم أقض من جهازي شيئا ، ثم غَدوت فرجعت ولم أقض شيئا ، فلم يزل ذلك يتمادى بي حتى أسرعوا وتفارط الغزو ، فهممت أن أرتحل فأدركهم ، فيا ليتني فعلت ، ثم لم يُقدر ذلك لي ، فطفقت إذا خرجت في الناس بعد خروج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يَحزنني أني لا أرى لي أسوة ، إلا رجلاً مغموصا عليه في النفاق ، أو رجلا ممن عذر الله تعالى من الضعفاء ، ولم يذكرني رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى بلغ تبوك ، فقال وهو جالس في القوم بتبوك : ما فعل كعب بن مالك ؟ فقال رجل من بني سلمة : يا رسول الله ، حبسه بُراده والنظر في عطفيه . فقال له معاذ بن جبل رضي الله عنه : بئس ما قلت ! والله يا رسول الله ما علمنا عليه إلا خيرا ، فسكت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم . فبينا هو على ذلك رأى رجلا مبيضا يزول به السراب ، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : كن أبا خيثمة ، فإذا هو أبو خيثمة الأنصاري ، وهو الذي تصدق بصاع التمر حين لمزه المنافقون ، قال كعب : فلما بلغني أن رسولَ الله

Sahih Muslim 2769a, b

" .

The Shaykh : So, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in what he quoted from the hadith of Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who lagged behind the expedition to Tabuk without an excuse. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: : In this is evidence that if a person does not hasten to do good deeds, he is likely to be deprived of them, as Allah the Exalted said: . So if a person knows the truth but does not accept it and submit to it from the very first moment, he may miss it and be deprived of it, may Allah protect us. Similarly, if a person does not be patient with a calamity from the very beginning, he is deprived of its reward, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So, my brother, you must hasten to do good deeds. Do not delay, lest the days drag on and you become weak and lazy, and Satan and your desires overcome you, causing you to lag behind. He (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say every day: I will go out, but the matter dragged on and he did not go out. He said: It used to hurt him that when he went out to the market of Medina, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was not in Medina, nor Abu Bakr, nor 'Umar, nor 'Uthman, nor 'Ali, nor the foremost of the emigrants and the Helpers, except a man steeped in hypocrisy, may Allah protect us, whom his hypocrisy had kept from going out, or a man who was excused by Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
So he would blame himself: How is it that I remain in Medina with only these people and sit with them?! And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention him, nor ask about him, until he reached Tabuk. While he was sitting with his companions in Tabuk, he asked about him, saying: : He did not respond with anything, neither to the one who criticized him nor to the one who refuted him and defended him; he remained silent. While he was in that state, he saw a man whose face was whitened, meaning a whiteness that moved with the mirage, meaning far away. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : This was either from the intuition of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or from the strength of his vision, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him. There is no doubt that he was among the strongest of men in vision, hearing, speech, and everything else. He was given the strength of thirty men in relation to women, peace and blessings be upon him, and he was also given strength in other matters, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him. Abu Khaythamah is the one who gave in charity a sa'. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged charity, so the people gave according to their circumstances. When a man would come with a large amount of charity, the hypocrites would say: This is a show-off; how much charity he gives seeking the face of Allah. And when a poor man would come with a small amount of charity, they would say: Indeed, Allah is rich and does not need this sa'. Look, may Allah protect us, they would criticize the believers from here and there:
: If they gave in charity, they said: These are show-offs. : If they gave what they could afford, they said: Indeed, Allah is rich and does not need your sa'. And so it is with the hypocrite, my brothers. The hypocrite is the worst of people for the Muslims. If he sees the people of good, he criticizes them; and if he sees those who fall short, he criticizes them. He is the most wicked of Allah's servants, and he is in the lowest depth of the Fire. Now, the hypocrites in our time, when they see the people of good, the people of da'wah, and the people of enjoining good and forbidding evil, they say: These are extremists, these are strict, these are fundamentalists, these are reactionaries, and so on. All of this is inherited from the hypocrites, from the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to our day. Do not say that we have no hypocrites among us. We have hypocrites, we have hypocrites, and their signs are many. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in his book *Madarij al-Salikin*, in the first part, many of the characteristics of the hypocrites, all of which are explained in the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So if you see a person, when people speak in his presence about the people of good, and he says: This one is an extremist, this one is strict; and if he sees a person who does good to the extent of his ability, and he says: This one is stingy, Allah is rich and does not need his charity; if you see this one who criticizes the believers from here and there, know that he is a hypocrite, may Allah protect us: .
The important thing is that this hadith contains many lessons. We derived two great benefits from our lesson today. The first benefit: A person should not delay in doing good. He should move forward, move forward, and not be negligent or lazy. I now recall a hadith said by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about those who move forward to the mosque but do not move forward to the first row, remaining in the back. He said: : If a person accustoms himself to lagging behind, Allah will make him lag behind. So hasten to do good deeds from the moment the request for them comes from Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
The second benefit: The hypocrites criticize the believers. If the Muslims give a lot in charity, they say: These are show-offs. And if they give little according to their capacity, they say: Indeed, Allah is rich and does not need your work, does not need your sa'. And Abu Khaythamah is the one who gave a sa' in charity, and the hypocrites said: Indeed, Allah is rich and does not need this man's sa'. But they are hypocrites who do not believe. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): meaning: the foal of a small horse, : which is a date or its equivalent. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : half a date. Indeed, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: the weight of a speck. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not waste the reward of one who does good. And may Allah grant success.