Right to water, food, shelter

In a hadith, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) stated, “There is no right that the son of Adam is more entitled to other than these (four) rights: A home to live in, a garment to cover his nakedness, a piece of bread, and water.”[At-Tirmidhi].

Allah (SWT) alludes to the people of sadaqa in this ayat, “And those within whose wealth is an acknowledged right, for the needy and the destitute – those who ask (beggars) and those who are forbidden from asking (either self-imposed or forbidden by law or culture).”

People must know that others have a right to their wealth. From both the ones who openly ask and those who do not ask.

If you cannot find someone who asks of you, then it’s obligatory upon you to look for people who require help so they don’t have to ask for their needs to be fulfilled.

In a hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas, the Holy Prophet (SAW) said, “The Muslims are partners in (co-owners of) three things: water, pasture and fire – and their price is unlawful.”  The Prophet (SAW) isn’t referring to water from a store that someone sells but is referring to public water, like an open stream. This makes it clear that someone cannot claim a stream of water for themselves and refuses access to others. There must be a system and it can’t be used in a way that would prohibit others or be detrimental to a community.

Saeed ibn Jubayr said, “Allah curses a man who has a wealthy plot of land with fruits, vegetation, and water and closes it off while people around him starve and go thirsty.”  In this hadith, the Holy Prophet (SAW) emphasizes water the most. 

According to the scholars, one of the greatest sins is to contaminate a water supply or withholding water, or confiscating water from a people that it belongs to, spoiling and endangering their water stream.

The right to water is such a highlighted right in Islam that if you read the tafseer of the ayah that says “Zakah spending is for the poor and for the needy” (9:60), the ulema constantly mention water, food, clothing, and shelter but they will always stress and mention water first.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the following hadith emphasizes the importance to provide for both the physical needs (well) and spiritual needs (masjid) of people: “Whoever constructs a well of water, no human being, no jinn, no bird, and no wild beast will drink from it except that Allah (SWT) will give him reward for that on the day of Judgment. And whoever builds for Allah a masjid even if it’s the size of a bird’s nest, or even smaller, Allah will build (for that person) a house in Paradise.”

The Holy Prophet (SAW) built a home in a masjid for a poor woman. Also, he (SAW) did this for an entire group of people, the people of Suffah – they were poor Sahaba who could not afford a home so they lived in the back of the masjid. The Prophet (SAW) used to sit with them, chat together, share his food and drinks with them.

“The child of the street” is a term used in the Quran for the homeless. Being without a home is as nearly as catastrophic or more than being without parents. Being homeless is also a feeling of being an orphan. If you can’t provide a home for homeless people, do what you can to ease some of their stress.

After housing, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) mentioned the importance of clothing. Anas Ibn Malik mentioned about the Prophet (SAW) that no one ever asked him for a garment except that he took it off his back and gave it to them.

The Prophet (SAW) saw a non-Muslim tribe covering themselves with skins and became angry with the people for not stepping up to provide for them. He (SAW) ordered the community to give the people clothes. This is also seen in the fiqh of captives, as they were required to be clothed from the same clothing as the captors themselves. Scholars say clothing is the greatest symbol of wealth and social status.

Zubaida, wife of Khalifa Haroon ar-Rasheed, was one of the most charitable women of her generation. She built a huge road from Baghdad and Makkah over 1,200 kilometers long. People found it very difficult to travel to Makkah and so everyone coming from this region would take this road. Zubaida paved the entire path so everyone could travel easily and established 40 stations on the way.

These stations comprised of shelters for the travellers, stables for the animals, and wells every 10-15 kilometers.  Also, she set up pools so people could cool down, guest houses, as well as over 50 masjids. Zubaida set up security posts and minarets to illuminate the path. This road lasted over 1,000 years and it was known as the Road of Zubaida. If you are fortunate enough to perform Hajj or Umrah, this path can be seen today.

In a Hadith, Saad (RA) said his mother passed away and asked what was the best form of sadaqa he could do on her behalf. The Holy Prophet (SAW) replied “Water”. Thus, Saad constructed water well and said it was on behalf of his mother.