109. Who are the Poor in Reality?

عن أبي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال أَتَدْرُونَ ما الْمُفْلِسُ قالوا الْمُفْلِسُ فِينَا من لَا دِرْهَمَ له ولا مَتَاعَ فقال إِنَّ الْمُفْلِسَ من أُمَّتِي يَأْتِي يوم الْقِيَامَةِ بِصَلَاةٍ وَصِيَامٍ وَزَكَاةٍ وَيَأْتِي قد شَتَمَ هذا وَقَذَفَ هذا وَأَكَلَ مَالَ هذا وَسَفَكَ دَمَ هذا وَضَرَبَ هذا فَيُعْطَى هذا من حَسَنَاتِهِ وَهَذَا من حَسَنَاتِهِ فَإِنْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ قبل أَنْ يُقْضَى ما عليه أُخِذَ من خَطَايَاهُمْ فَطُرِحَتْ عليه ثُمَّ طُرِحَ في النَّارِ

Abu Hurayrah (rta) reported that God’s Messenger (sws) said: “Do you know who is poor [among us]?” The companions replied: “A poor person among us is one who is penniless and is without provisions. At this, the Prophet (sws) remarked: “The poor of my ummah is one who would come on the Day of Judgement with prayers, fasts and zakah but he would have abused some person and falsely accused another of fornication, devoured the wealth of a person and shed the blood of another and beat up another. Then one good deed after another will be given from his account and given [to the one he had oppressed]. If these good deeds will fall short to pay back what he was liable for, the sins of those he had oppressed will be taken and credited into his account and then he will be thrown into the Fire [of Hell].”[1]

[1]. Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, vol. 4, 1997, (no. 2581).