You and Your Wealth Belong To Your Father

One of my devoutly religious relative was working in a very senior position and high paid job in a gulf country, along with getting shares in the profit as well. His wife was very upset with him and about to leave him, because she and their three children were housed in a one room flat, not visiting their native for years together, not having even the gulf standard of life etc. While his brothers, sisters and their children back in India were enjoying a lavish life with his money. Because he is keeping just minimum portion of the salary for himself and his family, and the remaining he is sending to his parents every month. When I enquired from him the reason for this, he proudly expressed his adherence to 'the Sunnah' and regarded me with disdain for my lack of comprehension and adherence to it! Do you know the hadith which he is referring to?? The Hadith is that the Prophet (SAW) said: "You and your wealth belong to your father." The Arabic text is "انت ومالك لابيك" (Sunan Ibn Majah 2291) There are many others who try to follow this Hadith or at least feel guilty for not following this Hadith. To such self learners and 'internet students', I have been frequently advising in my posts, that learn the Deen from the authentic Scholars, not by yourself. That too, not in your own language where much is lost in translation, and which can't adequately represent the words of Allah and his Prophet (SAW). In this particular case the reason for the confusion is the misunderstanding of the Arabic preposition لِ (or li), which can, based on the context, be translated into 'for', 'belong', 'ownership', 'dominion', 'control', 'possession', etc. I would like to point out to them that the Scholars have identified 30 usages of the Arabic preposition 'لِ' (which can be very roughly and inadequately translated as 'for' in English) in the Qur'an and Sunnah. The problem is that the other languages don't have such heterogeneity, and hence they end up translating a specific meaning into a generic one which dilutes the import of the message, and turns it into a potential quagmire of multiple possibilities for the internet students. I will give you some more examples in English to explain my point. 'Jannah belongs to the believers', 'These dollars belong to Abdullah', 'Honour belongs to the winner', 'The child belongs to Ahmed', all these sentences in Arabic have the preposition 'لِ' which has different meanings in different contexts. In the first sentence it means 'exclusivity', 'Jannah is specially for the Believers'. In the second sentence it means 'ownership'; in the third sentence it means 'merit'; in the fourth sentence it means 'lineage'. Here I have mentioned only four meanings for the same usage. Now when the Prophet (SAW) said: "You and your wealth belong to your father", the Sahabah and the Scholars didn't understand it as meaning that there is no individual ownership for the son at all. If such an understanding were to be applicable, then he would not be obligated to pay the Zakah on his wealth either, because it belongs to his father. Neither can he pay the Mahar amount to his wife because he doesn't have any personal wealth. According to the implications of this theory, he is no longer responsible for his children and family, nor does he qualify for the obligation of Hajj, because he doesn't have any private wealth. Also, what are the implications of this 'interpretation' if you turn around the scenario into rich father and poor son?? This understanding is totally against the understanding of the great Sahabah and our revered Scholars. And its application has the potential to dismantle the fundamental principles of the Islamic financial system. This misunderstanding is due to an over reliance on translations and not learning from the Scholars. The hadith in question is to be understood by the help of other Ahadith such as: It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Give charity.' A man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I have a Dinar.' He said: 'Spend it on yourself.' He said: 'I have another.' He said: 'Spend it on your wife.' He said: 'I have another.' He said: 'Spend it on your son.' He said: 'I have another.' He said: 'Spend it on your servant.' He said: 'I have another.' He said: 'You know best (what to do with it)." Sunan an-Nasa'i : 2535, Sunan Abi Daud: Hadith Number: 1691 The above Hadith clearly mentions the sequence and levels of spending. Whereas the hadith misunderstood by my cousin; “You and your wealth belong to your father”, isn't an evidence for the proof of ownership of the wealth of the son; rather it proves the permissibility of taking by the father from his son's wealth, if the father is in need and the child has excess money. May Allah guide us to the truth, and protect us from wronging others due to our overzealous misinterpretations.

Sheikh Abdus Salam al-Madani Founder, Aspire College of Excellence (Chennai and Bangalore)