Today's Hadith

Transferring Property

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “When a man dies the angels say, ‘What has he sent forward?’ And the people say, ‘What has he left behind?’” [Bayhaqi]

The angels inquire about the deeds that the person has done, this is what the deceased takes with him, while the inheritors wonder about the wealth that he has left behind for them. Of the good deeds that we can send forward for ourselves is charity:

Sahl Ibn Adbullah Tusturi used to spend liberally in the path of Allah Ta'ala. His mother and brothers complained to Abdullah ibn Mubarak that Sahl wanted to spend everything and they feared that he would become a pauper. 

Abdullah ibn Mubarak enquired from Sahl about the matter. 

Sahl in turn asked Abdullah ibn Mubarak: "If a person wanted to migrate from Madinah to the city of Rustaqq in Persia, where he had already purchased land, would he leave anything behind in Madinah?" 

The reply was that nothing would be left behind. 

Sahl then said that that was his real purpose. 

While the people thought he was going to migrate to another place, he had actually meant transfer to the next world. [Virtues of Charity by Shaikh-ul-Hadith Muhammad Zakariyya]

People who have personal experience of moving permanently from one country to another, know that first you try to transfer all your belongings and property before actual migration so that you can settle well in your new home with your transferred funds. 

This is exactly the state of affairs of every single person leaving this world. As long as he is living, he has the power to transfer his property and belongings to the next world (Akhira) by spending it in the path of Allah Ta’ala.