Consistency
Abu Huraira narrated from the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) that once while a man was traveling in the wilderness he heard a voice in a cloud ordering the angel of the cloud to pour its rain on a particular farm. So the man followed the cloud and saw that it poured its rain on a rocky volcanic plain. All the water gathered in a stream and poured into a farm. The man saw the owner working in that farm and asked him his name. The name was the same one that he had heard from the cloud. The man then related what he had heard and seen, and inquired from the owner of the farm what was special about him that would explain all of this. Given the reason for the inquiry, the owner explained that he would plant his farm and then split the harvest into three equal parts. One part he gave as sadaqa, the second part he kept as food for himself and his family, and the third part he replanted. [Muslim]
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There are two important lessons that we obtain from this hadith:
1. The importance of consistency in doing good deeds: The man was giving one third of his earnings as sadaqa on a regular basis. This is why Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) was sending rain especially for him. Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) told us that the deeds most loved by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) are those that are done regularly even though they may be few. [Bukhari]
2. The importance of sadaqa: Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) was sending rizk to this man (in the form of rain) because of his sadaqa. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), therefore, used him as a channel to provide for the needy. Money is a trial from Allah (subhana wa ta'ala), it is not a sign of a person’s righteousness. Some of the prophets of Allah were poor and some of the enemies of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) were rich.
Allah's reward is the everlasting, beautiful Jannah, which contains only happiness and delight. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) says that if the significance of this world was even as much as the wing of a mosquito in His eyes, He would not give those who deny Him even a sip of water to drink. Therefore, the good things of this world are of no significance when compared to the Hereafter.
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