Question
A wealthy person has money to buy new clothes. However, he feels comfortable in old kurtahs, etc. It was said to him that in the Hadith Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) expressed displeasure at a wealthy person who donned only old garments. Please advise what is best for this wealthy person.
Answer
The Hadith pertains to a wealthy man who had abstained from normally good garments because of stinginess, not because of Zuhd (renunciation of worldly love and abstinence). The admonition which Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) gave this particular Sahaabi is not to be applied in general.
Once Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said to Hadhrat Aishah (Radhiyallah anha): If you wish to link up with me (in Jannat), then take from this world only such provisions which suffices for a horse-rider (on a journey); beware of sitting with the wealthy, and do not regard a garment to be old (and to be discarded) as long as you can patch it."
If the man is wealthy, but he loves old garments and feels comfortable in them whilst not abstaining because of stinginess and love for money, then this is fine. However, to make sure that he is not under nafsaani deception regarding the issue of stinginess, he should occasionally have new kurtahs sewn and contribute these to poor Muslims who cannot afford such garments.
Furthermore, on Fridays and Eid Days, he should don the better type of garments to fulfil the Sunnah instruction.
- Source
- themajlis.co.za
- Published in
- The Majlis Vol 23 No 07
- PDF page
- 4
Appears under Questions and Answers (approximate).