Bedouins and Hijrah (Hadith No. 1231)

Bismillah.

Volume 2, Book 24, Number 532:

Narrated Abu Sa`eed Al-Khudri (radiallaahu `anhu):

A Bedouin asked Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) about the emigration. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “May Allah have mercy on you! The matter of emigration is very hard. Have you got camels? Do you pay their Zakat?” The Bedouin said, “Yes, I have camels and I pay their Zakat.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Work beyond the seas and Allah will not decrease (waste) any of your good deeds.”

This statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) “The matter of migration is very hard” indicates that this incident took place before the Conquest of Makkah. Because after that, there’s no Hijrah.

Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) told him not to do Hijrah, since he was a Bedouin. Bedouins have a different way of life than the city people. It’s not easy for them to settle down. They keep moving. They like the desert. So he (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said “The matter of migration is very hard”. Then he advised him to continue his work saying “Allah will not decrease any of your good deeds”. Meaning he didn’t have to do Hijrah. If Hijrah was binding on him, and he did not make the journey for it, Allah wouldn’t accept any of his deeds. So Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) is reassuring him.

And yes, Bedouins pay Zakah too.

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