Orphans & People in Need

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «السَّاعِي عَلَى الأَرْمَلَةِ وَالمِسْكِينِ، كَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، أَوِ القَائِمِ اللَّيْلَ الصَّائِمِ النَّهَارَ».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us that the one who tends to the needs of a woman whose husband has died and has none to look after her or the needy person, and provides for them seeking the reward from Allah Almighty will have the same reward as the one who fights in the cause of Allah, or the one who performs the voluntary night prayer and never gets tired, and the one who always fasts incessantly.

• Promoting cooperation, solidarity, and the act of fulfilling the needs of the weak.
• Worship includes every good deed and looking after the widows and the needy is an act of worship.
• Ibn Hubayrah said: "This means that Allah Almighty combines for him the rewards of the one who fasts on a regular basis, the one who observes voluntary night prayer on a regular basis, and the one who engages in Jihad altogether. This is because he took care of the widow in place of her husband and took care of the needy person who was unable to take care of himself, thus, spending the surplus of his provision and giving his forbearance in charity, which makes his benefit equal to that of fasting, praying at night and engages in Jihad."

صحيح البخاري (7/ 62) (5353). صحيح مسلم (4/ 2286) (2982). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم بن عيد الهلالي (1/ 351). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك (ص198). رياض الصالحين (ص107) (265). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (3/ 99). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (275).

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَنْ عَالَ جَارِيَتَيْنِ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَا جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَنَا وَهُوَ» وَضَمَّ أَصَابِعَهُ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that one who is granted two daughters, or two sisters, and he takes care of them by providing for them, raising them, directing them to goodness, and warning them against evil and the like until they grow up and reach puberty, he will come on the Day of Judgment along with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) like these two, and he joined his index and middle fingers.

• The great reward for the one who looks after his daughters by providing for them and raising them until they get married or reach puberty, and the same applies to his sisters.
• The reward for looking after daughters is greater than that of looking after sons, as nothing similar to this was mentioned about them. This is because providing for daughters and taking care of their affairs is greater than taking care of the sons' affairs since they are ‘Awrah (should be covered) and cannot manage their affairs or act like boys. Moreover, a father does not aspire to seek strength in his daughters against enemies, as is the case with his sons, or to depend on them to keep his name alive and the continuity of his progeny. Hence, one who provides for his daughters needs to be patient, sincere, and have a good intention, and this is why the reward is great, as he will be a companion of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on the Day of Judgment.
• Signs of puberty for a woman: reaching the age of fifteen, menstruating even before the age of fifteen, having pubic hair, which is the coarse hair that grows around the genitals, or having a nocturnal emission, which is the discharge of semen during sleep.
• Al-Qurtubi said: By reaching puberty, he means reaching a state of independence, and in the case of women, they reach this state only when their husbands consummate the marriage with them. So, he is not referring here to their reaching puberty by menstruating and becoming religiously accountable, since a girl can get married before this and becomes in no need of a caretaker other than the husband, or she may menstruate without being independent in any of her interests, and if she is left alone, she might be lost and her affairs might be ruined. Rather, in this case she is even more entitled to support and protection and needs her caretaker to provide her with full protection until she gets married. Based on this meaning, our scholars stated that a girl's father is not exempted from providing for her when she reaches puberty but only when her husband consummates the marriage with her.

صحيح مسلم (4/ 2027) (2631). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 352). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص198). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (5/ 144). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (3/ 105). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 276).