Chapter 2.3. The Competition Between Abu Bakr And Umar

So here is Umar bin al-Khattab competing with Abu Bakr with respect to spending in charity as is established in the Sahih (of al-Bukhari) from Umar bin al-Khattab, that he said:

The Messenger of Allah commanded us to give in charity, and this coincided with my possessing some wealth. So I said (to myself): 'If there is a day that I can better Abu Bakr than it is this one.' So I went with half of my wealth and the Messenger of Allah asked me, 'What have you left for your family?' I replied, 'The same amount.' Then Abu Bakr came with everything that he possessed and the Messenger of Allah asked him, 'What have you left for your family?' He replied, 'I have left Allah and His Messenger for them.; So I said, 'I will never be able to better you in anything!'

So what umar did here was competition and the permitted type of jealousy (ghubta), but the state of af-S iddiq was better than his, and thus he would generally be the victor in such competition due to his indifference to the condition of others.

• Between Hasad And Ghubta
• Moses Displays Ghubta

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