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How can the Prophetic Hadith: "What have you left for your family, O Umar?" and "What have you left for your family, O Abu Bakr?" be applied in this day and age?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The hadith narrated by Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, and Al-Hakim from Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, contains two matters:

1. Giving half of one's wealth in charity: This is legally permissible for a sane, mature individual, provided they are not on their deathbed. They will be rewarded for it if their intention is for the sake of Allah.

2. Giving all of one's wealth in charity: This is permissible for a strong, earning individual who has no debts, is patient with poverty, and has no dependents, or has dependents who are patient. This is contingent on the person being confident in themselves, having excellent reliance on Allah, and being patient with poverty and refraining from begging.

If a man has dependents, it is better for him not to give all his wealth in charity, as the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, commanded Ka'b ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, to keep some of his wealth. As for inner capacity, it depends on the strength of a person's faith, their trust in what is with Allah, and their detachment from worldly possessions.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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