This is a good gesture of Allaah's Mercy to Mention giving food in a
Surah that is entitled "Al-Insaan". Allaah The Exalted Says )what
means(:}And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the
orphan, and the captive…{]76:8[
Ibn 'Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, and Mujaahid, may Allaah
have mercy upon him, said, "This verse denotes that they feed the
needy, the orphan and the captive despite the scarcity of food and
their need and love for it."
What about you and your food?
How great a deed is feeding the hungry in our time!
Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}Or feeding on a day of severe
hunger…{]90:14[
An-Nakha'i, may Allaah have mercy upon him, commented on this verse
saying, "They feed the hungry at times when food is not ample."
Mohammed ibn Al-Munkadir, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,
"Feeding hungry Muslims guarantees the forgiveness of sins."
He, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also said on another occasion:
"Feeding the hungry and saying kind words to others usher you to
Paradise."
Dear brother and sister, you may notice how our days - in some Muslim
countries - have turned into days of severe hunger. Food has become
scarce and meat has also become scarce as well as being too expensive
for the poor.
What about you, dear readers? What about your food?
An explicit command:
Feeding people in general and a hungry person in particular has been
explicitly mentioned in the command of the Messenger of Allaah,
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Abu Moosa Al-Ash'ari, may Allaah be
pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, said:"Feed the hungry, pay a visit to the sick and free ree
the captives."]Saheeh[ A reported saying reads, "The best charity is
to satisfy a hungry person." Alas, a Muslim may sit at an Iftaar table
with delicious and tasty dishes while his neighbors break their fast
with a few morsels of food, if they can be found!
The Righteous Predecessors, may Allaah have mercy upon them:
Our righteous predecessors, may Allaah have mercy upon them, were keen
to feed people and favored this act of worship over many others,
whether it was for a hungry poor person or feeding a righteous Muslim.
Poverty is not an essential condition in this regard. The Messenger of
Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"O people! Spread the
Islamic greetings amongst yourselves, feed the hungry, maintain
kinship relations, observe prayer at night while people are asleep and
you will peacefully enter the Paradise."]Saheeh[
Some of the righteous predecessors, may Allaah have mercy upon them,
said, "It is better for me to invite ten of my friends and feed them
delicious food that they like than freeing ten slaves from the
children of Ismaa'eel, may Allaah exalt his mention )i.e. Arabs(."
Abu As-Siwaar Al-'Adawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, "Some
men from the 'Uday tribe used to pray in this mosque and none of them
would break his fast alone. If one found someone to eat with, he would
eat. If he could not find someone to eat with, he would take his food
and go to the mosque to share it with the people in the mosque."
Fruits of Feeding the Hungry:
The act of worship of feeding the hungry gives rise to many other acts
of worship such as showing affection towards one's fellow Muslims whom
he feeds and this can be a reason for him being granted Paradise. The
Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"You shall not enter
Paradise as long as you do not affirm belief )in all those things
which are the articles of faith( and you will not believe as long as
you do not love one another."]Muslim[
It also gives rise to )the act of worship( being in the company of
righteous people and hoping for the rewards of Allaah The Almighty in
offering them food as they gain strength to perform acts of worship.
Food baskets:
Some righteous predecessors, may Allaah have mercy upon them, used to
send their friends a basket full of sugar or other such food.
Yunus ibn 'Ubayd Yahdi, may Allaah have mercy upon them, said, "I gave
a basket of sugar to Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allaah have mercy upon
him, as a gift and I have not seen any sugar better than this one. He
opened the basket and said to his companions, "Eat and enjoy."
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