Kindness by the Holy Prophet (sa) with Regards to Paying off his Debt & A Miracle

With regards to the narrations about Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin Haram, it is mentioned that he said to his son, “For the debt, which I owe to one of the Jews, you should sell the fruits from the orchard and return it to him upon my martyrdom.”

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitabul Janaiz, Hadith No. 1351)

Thus, in line with this narration, he paid it back accordingly.

Moreover, it was the custom in those days that people would borrow money against the assurance to pay it back through the potential yield of orchards and crops. Thus, Hazrat Jabir also used to borrow money in order to cover his expenses.

We find one detailed narration regarding how he once said to a Jewish man at the time of paying back his debt, that since the profit from the orchard had been poor or that it was expected to be low due to a poor yield that year, thus, he should be lenient regarding paying back the debt. He should take some of it now and the rest in the coming years. However, the Jewish man was not ready to grant any respite.

During these difficult circumstances, Hazrat Abdullah bin Jabir went to see the Holy Prophet (sa) or the Holy Prophet (sa) found out about it himself. The Holy Prophet (sa) appealed to the Jewish man, but he did not agree. The narration then recounts how the Holy Prophet (sa) showed kindness to this companion with regards to paying off his debt and prayed for him and also how God Almighty bestowed His grace upon him.

I would like to point out that some people are of the opinion that this narration is in connection with the aforementioned narration in which it was said that Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr, the father of Hazrat Jabir, advised his son to pay back the debt that he owed. Nonetheless, as I mentioned earlier that the yield was poor and it was difficult to pay back that debt and this was brought to the attention of the Holy Prophet (sa).

However, the narration found in Sahih Al-Bukhari indicates that this particular incident occurred much later. Nevertheless, whatever the case may be, it illustrates the kindness of the Holy Prophet (sa) towards his companions and shows the miraculous nature of his prayers.

Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah narrates, “There was a Jewish man residing in Medina who used to loan me some money until my orchard of dates had produced the next yield. This land of mine was situated on the way to a well, named Roma. Once, a whole year had passed but it bore little fruit and even they were not fully ripe. During the harvest season, the Jewish man, as was his custom, came to acquire repayment of the loan taken from him. However, I had not harvested any fruit that year.” He further says, “I requested respite from him for another year, but he refused. He intended that perhaps in this way the entire orchard would fall into his possession. When the Holy Prophet (sa) was informed about this incident, he said to his companions, ‘Let us go to request respite from the Jewish man on behalf of Jabir.’”

He then says, “The Holy Prophet (sa) along with a few companions, entered my orchard and spoke to the Jewish man. However, he said ‘O Abu Qasim! I will not give him any respite.’ He addressed the Holy Prophet (sa) in this manner. Observing this conduct of the Jewish man, the Holy Prophet (sa) walked around the date palms once and again spoke to him. However, he refused again. During this time, I took some dates from the garden and presented them to the Holy Prophet (sa), which he ate. Following this, he said ‘Jabir, where is the canopy (where one takes rest), which is commonly found in orchards?’ I informed the Holy Prophet (sa) of its location, upon which he said, ‘Lay down a mat for me there so that I may rest for a short while.’”

He then continues the narration, “I acted in accordance with this guidance. The Holy Prophet (sa) fell asleep. When he woke up, I once again brought him a handful of dates, from which he ate a few. He then stood up and spoke to the Jewish man once again. Yet, he still refused. The Holy Prophet (sa) walked around the garden again and said to me, ‘Jabir, harvest the dates and pay off the loan taken from the Jewish man’. I started to harvest the fruit and in the meantime, the Holy Prophet (sa) stood among the date palms. I harvested the fruit and repaid the entire loan taken from the Jewish man, yet even then some dates were left over. I informed the Holy Prophet (sa) of this good news to which he replied, ‘I bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah.’”

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitabul At’amah, Hadith No. 5443).

(This miraculous event transpired because God Almighty hears my prayers and blesses my endeavours.)

Thus, from this incident where we observe the kindness and the acceptance of the prayers of the Holy Prophet (sa) – as a result of which the fruit was blessed – at the same time we also witness the eagerness of the companions in relation to paying off their debts.

This spirit should be the distinctive characteristic of a true believer. At times, we see in our society that despite calling ourselves Ahmadis, we do not pay any heed towards this and prolong the matter of paying off debts. Sometimes years pass by in which the lawsuits are ongoing. Therefore we should always be mindful of this and also remember the words of the Promised Messiah(as) where he stated that having taken the oath of allegiance with him, one should adopt and follow the examples of the companions. Only then can that beautiful society be established, which was destined following the advent of the Mahdi and the Messiah.

(Malfuzat, Vol. 7, p. 413)

There is another narration by Hazrat Jabir in relation to the importance of paying off debts. However before I relate this, I will mention another incident. In some narrations it is stated that when Hazrat Umar (ra) learnt that the debt had been paid off, he also arrived at the same place. The Holy Prophet (sa) said to Hazrat Umar (ra) to ask Hazrat Jabir about the incident that had just occurred. Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “There is no need for me to ask. The reason for this is that when you walked around the garden once, I was certain that his entire debt would now be paid off. Furthermore, when you walked around the second time, this certainty grew even stronger.”

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitabul Istiqraaz, Hadith No. 2396)