So, for what should we give you the pledge of allegiance? He said: "To worship Allah and not associate any partners with Him; the five prayers; to obey - and he said in a low tone - and to not ask people for anything
Authenticعَنْ أَبِي مُسْلِمٍ الْخَوْلَانِيِّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي الْحَبِيبُ الْأَمِينُ، أَمَّا هُوَ فَحَبِيبٌ إِلَيَّ، وَأَمَّا هُوَ عِنْدِي فَأَمِينٌ، عَوْفُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ الْأَشْجَعِيُّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: كُنَّا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، تِسْعَةً أَوْ ثَمَانِيَةً أَوْ سَبْعَةً، فَقَالَ: «أَلَا تُبَايِعُونَ رَسُولَ اللهِ؟» وَكُنَّا حَدِيثَ عَهْدٍ بِبَيْعَةٍ، فَقُلْنَا: قَدْ بَايَعْنَاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: «أَلَا تُبَايِعُونَ رَسُولَ اللهِ؟» فَقُلْنَا: قَدْ بَايَعْنَاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: «أَلَا تُبَايِعُونَ رَسُولَ اللهِ؟» قَالَ: فَبَسَطْنَا أَيْدِيَنَا وَقُلْنَا: قَدْ بَايَعْنَاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، فَعَلَامَ نُبَايِعُكَ؟ قَالَ: «عَلَى أَنْ تَعْبُدُوا اللهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، وَالصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ، وَتُطِيعُوا -وَأَسَرَّ كَلِمَةً خَفِيَّةً- وَلَا تَسْأَلُوا النَّاسَ شَيْئًا» فَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ بَعْضَ أُولَئِكَ النَّفَرِ يَسْقُطُ سَوْطُ أَحَدِهِمْ، فَمَا يَسْأَلُ أَحَدًا يُنَاوِلُهُ إِيَّاهُ.
Abu Muslim al-Khawlāni reported: The dear and trustworthy one, as he is dear to me and I deem him trustworthy, ‘Awf ibn Mālik al-Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased to him) said to me: We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and we were nine, eight, or seven. He said: "Will you not give the pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?" We recently gave him a pledge of allegiance, so we said: We have already given you the pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of Allah. Then, he said: "Will you not give the pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?" We said: We have already given you the pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of Allah. Then, he said: "Will you not give the pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?" He said: We extended our hands and said: We have already given you the pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of Allah. So, for what should we give you the pledge of allegiance? He said: "To worship Allah and not associate any partners with Him; the five prayers; to obey - and he said in a low tone - and to not ask people for anything." Indeed, I saw some of these people not asking anyone to hand them even the whip if it fell from one of them."
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was with some of the Companions and he asked them three times to give him the pledge of allegiance and covenant to be committed to certain things, which are: First: To worship Allah alone, by obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, and not to associate any partners with Him. Second: To establish the five obligatory prayers every day and night. Third: To hear and obey those who are in charge of Muslims in what is good. Fourth: To ask Allah Almighty for all their needs without asking people for anything, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said it in a low voice. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) acted upon what they had given the pledge to do to the extent that made the Hadīth narrator say: Verily, I saw some of these Companions when the whip of any of them fell, he would not ask anyone to hand it to him; rather, he would dismount and pick it up himself.
Benefits
- Encouraging abstention from asking people and being far above whatever could be called "begging" and not needing people even in the slightest of matters.
- The forbidden act of asking is that which is related to worldly affairs, not the one related to knowledge and religious matters.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).