Where the story is told

The Prophet ﷺ told this story, and Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated it. It is found in Sahih Muslim (2984). The number covers two narrations, and the second one has a slightly different ending, described below.

It is not a Quran story. The Prophet ﷺ gives no time, place or nation for it.

The story step by step

A man was in an open land, far from any town, when he heard a voice from within a cloud saying: "Water the garden of so-and-so." The voice named a particular person.

The cloud moved away and poured its water on a harra, a rocky area of dark stones. One of the channels there took in all of that water.

The man followed the water and found another man standing in his garden, turning the water with a spade.

He asked him: "O servant of Allah, what is your name?" The garden owner gave the very name the man had heard in the cloud. He asked: "Why do you ask me my name?"

The man explained that he had heard a voice in the cloud that this water came from, saying "Water the garden of so-and-so", using his name. Then he asked: "What do you do with it?"

The garden owner answered: since you ask, I look at what comes out of it. I give a third in charity, my family and I eat a third, and I return a third to it.

In the second narration in Sahih Muslim (2984), the charity part is described as a third that he puts for the poor, for those who ask, and for the traveller in need.

What the hadith does not tell us

The hadith does not give the name of the garden owner, the place, the time, the size of the garden or how much he gave. It does not say what became of the man who heard the voice.

It also does not say who spoke from the cloud. Some commentators say it was most likely an angel in charge of the clouds by Allah's command, but the text itself does not state this, and we should hold to what is reported.

What commentators drew from it

Commentators on the hadith point out that the owner's three parts cover three duties: giving to others in need, caring for his own family, and looking after his source of income so that the garden keeps bearing fruit. Returning a part to the land means he did not take everything for himself.

The hadith tells what this man did. It does not lay down a rule that everyone must divide their income in thirds, and it does not say that charity must be exactly one third.

Related teachings about charity and provision

The Quran gives the picture of a seed that grows seven ears, with a hundred grains in each ear, for those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah (Quran 2:261). It also says that whatever you spend, Allah will replace it, and He is the best of providers (Quran 34:39).

The Prophet ﷺ said that charity never decreases wealth (Sahih Muslim 2588).

Lessons from this story

  • Charity and provision are linked. In the story, the garden that was watered by a special command was the garden of a man who gave from its harvest.
  • A believer can give generously and still care for his family. The garden owner kept a third for himself and his household.
  • Looking after your source of income, with honest work, is part of being responsible with what Allah gave you.
  • Allah's care for the righteous may reach them in ways they do not see. The owner did not know a cloud had been sent for his garden.
  • A person who gives in secret can be known to Allah, and Allah knows every good deed done, whether it is seen by people or not.

General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.

Sources