Abu Aqil Ansari (رضي الله عنه – may Allah be pleased with him) was one of those companions of the Prophet ﷺ who had the smallest of pockets but the biggest of hearts.
When Muhammad ﷺ asked Muslims to bring forth their sadaqah (charity) for the expedition of Tabuk, he had nothing to give. So he went looking for work and found a job with a Jew who needed some water hauling.
Abu Aqil was hence among the last to come forth with charity – a Sa' of dates (few dates).
He said: 'O Allah’s Messenger! This is a Sa' of dates. I spent the night bringing water and earned two Sa' of dates for my work. I kept one Sa' (for my family) and brought you the other Sa'.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered him to spread it over all the charity (that others brought). His sadaqah was little but carried the weight of Uhud mountain. Some men mocked Abu Aqil, saying, 'Allah and His Messenger are not in need of this charity. What benefit would this Sa' of yours bring’. They laughed at him, saying,'Allah does not need the Sa' of Abu 'Aqil.” – Upon which Allah revealed the verses of the Quran [9:79]
"Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment".(9:79)
Lessons learned from his story:
I learned that growth mindset is a gift. He didn’t limit himself to what he didn’t have. He didn’t let a fixed mindset take hold of him. He went out looking for work so he could contribute something, even if it’s little. I also learned that nothing is too small in front of Allah as long as our hearts are big and our intentions are pure. May Allah accept our sadaqah – little and big – and turn them into valuable treasures with Him too. What did you learn from this short story?
https://ayeina.com/stories-of-sahaba/
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