A widow dedicating herself to taking care of her orphan children

28-10-2007 | IslamWeb

Question:

I have been widowed recently and i wanted to know if i am obligated to pay zakat on any savings i have.Also i wanted to know,being a widow and mother of 3 children,if i spend the rest of my life as a widow and do not remarry,bring up my kids and try to fullfil all my duties as a mother and a muslim what will my status be on the day of judgement infront of Allah tala.Will i be re-united with my husband in jannah?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

 

If the money which you possess, either gold or silver, cash money or tradable items reaches the Nisaab (minimum amount liable for Zakat) and a whole lunar year elapses on it, then it is an obligation to pay Zakat on it, even if the money belongs to a widow or an orphan that is invested. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 93584.

As regards the reward for cultivating your children, you should know that if a woman nurtures her children well, then she will have the reward of sponsoring orphans as the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: The person who sponsors his own orphans or other people's orphans, I will be in Paradise with him like this: and he pointed putting his index and middle fingers together."

It is also confirmed that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “I will be the first one to whom the door of Paradise would open, but a woman will rush towards me, I would ask her: “What is the matter with you? Who are you?” She would respond: “I am a woman who dedicated herself to taking care of my orphan children. [Abu Ya'la]

The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) also said: I and a woman with some blackness on her cheeks [due to hardships and difficult life] will be in paradise like this, [pointing with his index and middle fingers] a woman who became a widow and she restrained herself to their nurturing until they grew old or died (and did not get married). [Ahmad and Abu Daawood]

Therefore, glad tidings to you of a great reward from Allaah and we ask Allaah to reunite you with your husband in Paradise.

For more benefit on a woman who will be with her husband in Paradise, please refer to Fatwa 83305.

Allaah Knows best.

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