Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 1489
sahih

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

`Umar bin Al-Khattab gave a horse in charity in Allah's Cause and later he saw it being sold in the market and intended to purchase it. Then he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked his permission. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not take back what you have given in charity." For this reason, Ibn `Umar never purchased the things which he had given in charity, and in case he had purchased something (unknowingly) he would give it in charity again.

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ بُكَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ عُقَيْلٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ تَصَدَّقَ بِفَرَسٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَوَجَدَهُ يُبَاعُ، فَأَرَادَ أَنْ يَشْتَرِيَهُ، ثُمَّ أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاسْتَأْمَرَهُ فَقَالَ ‏

‏ لاَ تَعُدْ فِي صَدَقَتِكَ ‏

‏ فَبِذَلِكَ كَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ لاَ يَتْرُكُ أَنْ يَبْتَاعَ شَيْئًا تَصَدَّقَ بِهِ إِلاَّ جَعَلَهُ صَدَقَةً‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 24, Hadith 89
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 24, Hadith 566 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Giving in charity for the sake of Allah, Exalted be He, is considered one of the best and most rewarding good deeds. It necessitates that when a person gives something in charity hoping for its reward and blessings from Allah alone that he does not wish to have it back again or request that it goes back to his possession. In this hadeeth, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that his father ’Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) gave in charity a horse to a man so he can mount it in fighting for Allah’s cause. Afterwards, he (may Allah be pleased with him) found that this horse in the market is offered for sale. The reason the man wanted to sell the horse was because it became fatigued and no longer suitable to participate in battles like other horses. According to another report in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, the ownership of the horse was transferred to the man, which explains the reason he wanted to sell it afterwards. When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) found the man selling his horse in the market, he presumed that the man may sell it for less than its actual value and that he was no longer able to afford looking after it. For this reason, he wanted to buy it but before doing so he consulted the Prophet ﷺ about his plan. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: “Do not take back what you have given in charity” because it was given for the cause of Allah and no person may buy his charity because a person no longer owns anything that he has given away for the cause of Allah. ‘Umar complied and refrained from proceeding with his plan. For this reason, whenever ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would buy something that he gave in charity before, he would only do it so he can give it away in charity one more time. It is as if he understood the order of the Prophet ﷺ to only apply to whose intent is to bring back his charity into his possessions and not whose intent is to give it away in charity again. This hadeeth highlights the virtue of donating to the Muslim army to help and support them in their fighting for the cause of Allah. It shows that it is impermissible to buy that which a person has given in charity because it will be considered as if one reconsidered his charity..
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