What Is the Punishment for Denying Food to the Needy?
ما جزاء من يمنع الطعام عن المحتاج أو المسكين؟
What is the punishment of someone who denies a needy or poor person food?
The answer gathers the warnings against withholding food: the one who did not urge the feeding of the poor is seized and cast into Hell (Al-Haqqah 69:30-34), the denier of the Judgment does not urge it (Al-Ma'un 107:1-3), Allah will not look at the man who withholds surplus water, and a woman entered the Fire for starving a cat.
1. Deprivation of Divine Mercy
The absolute worst consequence for such hardhearted individuals is spiritual abandonment. Allah will not speak to them, nor look at them on the Day of Judgment, nor purify them, and they will have a painful punishment. This signifies the total loss of divine grace when they will need it the most.
2. The Quranic Warning
The Quran vividly describes the horrifying fate of those who refuse to feed the hungry. Allah Almighty says: (It will be said, "Seize and shackle them, then burn them in Hell, then tie them up with chains seventy arms long. For they never had faith in Allah, the Greatest, nor encouraged the feeding of the poor.") Surah Al Haqqah 69: 30 to 34.
He also says: (Have you seen the one who denies the final Judgment? That is the one who repulses the orphan, and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.) Surah Al Ma'un 107: 1 to 3.
3. Withholding Water from the Needy
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: (Three people Allah will not speak to, nor look at on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify, and they will have a painful punishment: a man with surplus water who withholds it from the wayfarer; Allah will say to him on the Day of Resurrection: Today I withhold My bounty from you as you withheld the surplus of what your hands did not make.) Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
4. Starving Animals
This strict ruling also applies to animals. In the hadith: (A woman entered the Fire because of a cat she confined; she neither fed it nor let it eat from the vermin of the earth.) And Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah pbuh said: "A woman was tormented because of a cat which she had kept locked up until it died, and she was thrown into Hell for that. She neither gave it food or drink when she locked it up nor freed it so that it would eat from the vermin of the earth."
ما جزاء من يمنع الطعام عن المحتاج أو المسكين؟
يجمع الجواب الوعيد على منع الطعام: آيات الحاقة في الذي كان لا يؤمن بالله العظيم ولا يحض على طعام المسكين (الحاقة 69:33-34)، وآيات الماعون في الذي يكذب بالدين (الماعون 107:1)، ومانع فضل الماء لا ينظر الله إليه، وامرأة دخلت النار في هرة حبستها.
الحرمان من رحمة الله
أسوأ عاقبة على الإطلاق لهؤلاء القساة هي الهجران الروحي. فلا يكلمهم الله ولا ينظر إليهم يوم القيامة ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم. وهذا يدل على الفقدان التام للرحمة الإلهية في الوقت الذي سيكونون فيه بأمس الحاجة إليها.
الوعيد القرآني
يصف القرآن الكريم بوضوح المصير المرعب لمن يرفض إطعام الجائع. قال الله تعالى: (خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ * ثُمَّ الْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ * ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ * إِنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ * وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ) الحاقة 69: 30 إلى 34.
وقال الله تعالى: (أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ * فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ * وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ) الماعون 107: 1 إلى 3.
منع الماء عن المحتاج
وورد في السنة عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (ثلاثة لا يكلمهم الله ولا ينظر إليهم يوم القيامة ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم: رجل على فضل ماء يمنعه ابن السبيل فيقول الله له يوم القيامة: اليوم أمنعك فضلي كما منعت فضل ما لم تعمل يداك) رواه البخاري ومسلم.
القسوة على الحيوانات بمنع الطعام
ينطبق هذا الحكم الصارم أيضا على الحيوانات. ففي الحديث: (دخلت امرأة النار في هرة حبستها، لا هي أطعمتها ولا تركتها تأكل من خشاش الأرض). وعن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: (عذبت امرأة في هرة سجنتها حتى ماتت فدخلت فيها النار، لا هي أطعمتها ولا سقتها إذ حبستها، ولا هي تركتها تأكل من خشاش الأرض).
1. The Water Hadith in Its Two Narrations | حديث فضل الماء في روايتيه
The hadith of withheld water in the answer joins two narrations of the same hadith. In Sahih Muslim 108: three whom Allah will not speak to on the Day of Resurrection, nor look at, nor purify, and they will have a painful punishment, among them a man with surplus water in the desert who withholds it from the wayfarer. In Sahih al-Bukhari 7446: and a man who withheld surplus water; Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Today I withhold My bounty from you as you withheld the surplus of what your hands did not make.
حديث منع فضل الماء في الجواب جمع بين روايتين للحديث نفسه: "ثلاث لا يكلمهم الله يوم القيامة ولا ينظر إليهم ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم: رجل على فضل ماء بالفلاة يمنعه من ابن السبيل" (صحيح مسلم 108)، و"رجل منع فضل ماء فيقول الله يوم القيامة: اليوم أمنعك فضلي، كما منعت فضل ما لم تعمل يداك" (صحيح البخاري 7446).
2. Not Urging the Feeding of the Poor | ولا يحض على طعام المسكين
Ibn Kathir explains the answer's verse in Al-Haqqah: he did not fulfil the right of Allah upon him by obeying and worshipping Him, nor did he benefit His creation and give them their right; Allah has a right over His servants that they worship Him alone, and the servants have a right over one another of kindness and cooperation in righteousness (Al-Haqqah 69:33-34).
قال ابن كثير في آية الحاقة التي ذكرها الجواب: "أي: لا يقوم بحق الله عليه من طاعته وعبادته، ولا ينفع خلقه ويؤدي حقهم؛ فإن لله على العباد أن يوحدوه ولا يشركوا به شيئا، وللعباد بعضهم على بعض حق الإحسان والمعاونة على البر والتقوى" (الحاقة 69:33-34).
3. The Cat Hadith in Al-Bukhari | حديث الهرة في البخاري
Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: A woman entered the Fire because of a cat she tied up; she did not feed it, nor did she let it eat from the vermin of the earth (Sahih al-Bukhari 3318). The answer's first cat hadith gives this meaning, and its second quotes Sahih al-Bukhari 3482 word for word.
عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما عن النبي ﷺ قال: "دخلت امرأة النار في هرة ربطتها، فلم تطعمها، ولم تدعها تأكل من خشاش الأرض" (صحيح البخاري 3318). والحديث الأول في الجواب بمعناه، والثاني بلفظ صحيح البخاري 3482.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What is the punishment for refusing to feed the needy?
The answer cites Al-Haqqah 69:30-34: the one who did not urge the feeding of the poor is seized, shackled, and cast into Hell; and Al-Ma'un 107:1-3 describes the denier of the Judgment as one who does not urge it.
What about someone who withholds surplus water?
Allah will not speak to him, look at him, or purify him on the Day of Resurrection (Sahih Muslim 108), and will say: today I withhold My bounty from you (Sahih al-Bukhari 7446).
Is starving an animal a sin?
Yes. A woman entered the Fire because of a cat she tied up and neither fed nor let eat from the vermin of the earth (Sahih al-Bukhari 3318).
Why is not urging others to feed the poor blamed?
Ibn Kathir explains that such a person fails the right of the creation to kindness and cooperation, just as he fails the right of Allah (Al-Haqqah 69:34).