Hadith record

5. Ahmad ibn Muhammad has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Fudayl from abu al-Sabbah al-Kinaniy who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘One who is poor can eat within the proper limits’, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘He is a man who holds himself back from making his living (to help the orphans). It is not harmful if he eats within the proper limits when he looks after their properties. If the properties are of a small amount he must not eat thereof.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘What is the meaning of the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “If you mix then they are your brothers in religion”?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘You must take out from their property an amount that is sufficient for them for a certain time and from your own property a similar amount which is sufficient for you; then you can spend it.’ I then asked about the case where certain ones are smaller and others are bigger and of different amount of expenses for food and clothing. He (the Imam) said, ‘In matters of clothes each individual pays what is spent for that individual, but in matters of food they all share; a small person perhaps uses as much food as a larger one.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.