There’s this amazing story of a companion. His name is Abu Dahdah رضي الله عنه, this beautiful, beautiful man who lived with the Prophet ﷺ.
He owned one of the most amazing gardens in Madinah.
If you were to ask anyone in Madinah, “Who has the greatest orchard? Who has the greatest palm gardens?” they would say:
“Abu Dahdah.”
One day, a young orphan came to the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ.
He came complaining, and the Prophet ﷺ immediately empathized with him because he was an orphan.
This young boy’s father had recently passed away, and suddenly the responsibility of looking after the entire family fell upon his shoulders.
Now in the desert of Arabia, if you did not keep your animals fenced properly and protected, they would wander off into the desert and die.
So this young orphan went to his neighbor and said:
“I want to build a fence between my land and your land so my animals don’t run away. But there is one tree standing exactly on the boundary between our properties. I need you to either give me that tree or sell it to me so I can cut it down and continue the fence.”
But the man refused.
And technically, he had the right to refuse because it was his tree.
The young boy kept asking him again and again for weeks.
But every single time, the man said:
“No.”
Finally, the orphan came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, my father has died. I’m trying to take care of my family. I’m overwhelmed. I’m exhausted. And I’m only asking this man for one tree so I can protect our animals. Please speak to him on my behalf.”
The Prophet ﷺ called the man and sat him beside him with honor and dignity.
He did not humiliate him.
Then the Prophet ﷺ gently asked him:
“Will you give him the tree out of generosity?”
The man replied:
“No.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked:
“Will you sell it to him?”
Again he replied:
“No.”
In fact, his arrogance became even stronger because the complaint had reached the Prophet ﷺ.
He thought:
“How dare this little orphan bring my issue before Muhammad ﷺ? Now I will never give it to him.”
So the Prophet ﷺ said to him:
“If you give this tree away, I guarantee you a tree in Jannah.”
Imagine that.
One tree in dunya for a tree in paradise.
But the man still said:
“No.”
Sometimes the heart becomes so hard that even Jannah no longer moves it.
Now Abu Dahdah رضي الله عنه was sitting in the masjid listening to all of this.
He was not involved in the situation at all.
But the moment he heard the Prophet ﷺ promise a tree in Jannah, he immediately ran after the man.
And he said:
“Will you sell me that tree?”
The man said:
“Yes.”
Abu Dahdah then said:
“I will give you my entire garden in exchange for that one tree.”
The man became shocked.
“Are you serious? Your whole orchard for one tree?”
Abu Dahdah replied:
“Yes.”
The man accepted immediately.
Afterward, Abu Dahdah رضي الله عنه went back to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, I have bought that tree and I give it to the orphan. Will I still get the tree in Jannah?”
The Prophet ﷺ smiled and said:
“How plentiful are the sweet date clusters that Abu Ad-Dahdah has in Paradise!)” In another narration, the Prophet said, How many a date tree that has lowered down its clusters, which are full of pearls and gems in Paradise for Abu Ad-Dahdah!
Then Abu Dahdah رضي الله عنه went home to his wife.
He stood outside the garden and called her:
“O Umm Dahdah! Come out! We have sold this garden to Allah!”
And without hesitation she replied:
“What a profitable transaction!”
Then she gathered her children and even shook the dates from their hands because the garden no longer belonged to them.
This was the level of iman they had.
The way they treated an orphan…
The way they rushed toward Jannah…
The way they trusted Allah سبحانه وتعالى…
And this is why Allah reminded the Prophet ﷺ in the Qur’an:
“Did He not find you as an orphan then sheltered you?”
And then Allah says:
“So do not oppress the orphan,”
Because the Prophet ﷺ himself knew what it felt like to be vulnerable, alone, and in need of kindness.
And Abu Dahdah رضي الله عنه understood that lesson perfectly.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 