al-Farra', Tha'lab, and Ibn Qutaybah, based on the saying of Allah the Almighty: "Or a needy person (miskin) in a state of destitution (dhi matrabah)" (Surah al-Balad: 16). This refers to one who is thrown onto the dust due to the intensity of his need. They cited as evidence (3):
As for the poor man whose milch animal was equivalent to the needs of his family, he was left with nothing (4).
Thus, he informed that the poor person's milch animal was sufficient for his dependents. Our argument is that Allah the Almighty began with the poor (al-fuqara'), which indicates that they are more important. Furthermore, Allah the Almighty said: "As for the ship, it belonged to poor people (masakin) working at sea" (Surah al-Kahf: 79), informing that the masakin owned a ship with which they worked. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "O Allah, grant me life as a poor person, cause me to die as a poor person, and gather me among the group of the poor (al-masakin)" (6). He used to seek refuge from poverty (al-faqr). It is not permissible to ask Allah the Almighty for the intensity of need or to seek refuge from a state that is better than another.
Furthermore, poverty (al-faqr) is derived from the vertebrae of the back (fiqar al-zahr); it is a fa'il in the sense of maf'ul, meaning "the one who is deprived," for his spinal column has been broken (8). The poet said (9):
When Labad saw that the vultures had flown away, he raised his primary feathers like a helpless, poor (faqir) man (10).
Meaning he was unable to fly, like one whose spine has been broken. The term miskin is a mif'il form derived from al-sukūn (stillness), referring to one who has been made still by need, and one whose spine is broken is in a more severe state than one who is still. As for the verse, it is actually an argument for us, for Allah the Almighty's description of the miskin as being "in a state of destitution (dhi matrabah)" indicates that he does not merit this description merely by the application of the name "miskanah" (misery), just as one says "a garment with a mark" (dhū 'alam). It is permissible to express the meaning of the poor person (faqir) using the term miskin, by way of contextual evidence or otherwise, and the poetry is also an argument for us, for it informed that the one whose milch animal was sufficient for his family was left with no trace of anything (12), and thus became a faqir who possesses nothing.
(2) Surah al-Balad: 16. (3) The verse is by al-Ra'i al-Numayri, and it is in his Diwan, p. 55. (4) Al-sabad: a small amount of hair. One says "he has neither sabad nor labad" (two words with vowels on the first letters), meaning neither a little nor a lot. (5) Surah al-Kahf: 79. (6) Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on what has been narrated that the poor among the Muhajirun enter Paradise before the wealthy among them, from the chapters of Asceticism (Zuhd). 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 9/213. And Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on sitting with the poor, from the Book of Asceticism. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/1381. (7) In the manuscripts: "yar'ab" (he will fear), which is a misreading and distortion. (8) In A and M: "sahibuhu" (his companion). (9) He is Labid ibn Rabi'ah al-'Amiri. His Diwan, p. 274. (10) Labad: This is the seventh of the vultures of Luqman ibn 'Ad. A legendary ancient pre-Islamic figure, whom they claimed lived the lifespan of seven vultures. (11) In B and M: "wa-al-sikkin" (and the knife).
