GENEROSITY
AND THOUGHTFULNESS WHEN SPENDING IN GOODNESS, WHILST HAVING DEPENDENCY ON ALLAH
(تعلى)
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء مِنْ
عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُ وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ
خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
34:39
Allah tells the believer to spend from what He has
provided and that his spending will never decrease his wealth – Allah will substitute
it for him.
-as-Sa’di
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لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن
يَشَاء وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلأنفُسِكُمْ وَمَا تُنفِقُونَ إِلاَّ
ابْتِغَاء وَجْهِ اللَّهِ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ
لاَ تُظْلَمُونَ
Then
Allah tells us who…
لِلْفُقَرَاء الَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ضَرْبًا فِي الأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ الْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَاء مِنَ
التَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُم بِسِيمَاهُمْ لاَ يَسْأَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافًا وَمَا
تُنفِقُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ
2:272-273
Those who live their lives in the obedience of Allah –
you will recognise their truthfulness with through their deeds, piety and
chastity; NOT their begging.
-as-Sa’di
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544-"Envy is permitted only in
two cases: A man whom Allah gives wealth, and he disposes of it rightfully, and
a man to whom Allah gives knowledge which he applies and teaches it."
People spend
for one of two reasons:
1-Desires
2-To please
Allah
Meaning,
that which benefits and that which doesn’t.
-Ibn al-Uthaymin
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545- "Who of you loves
the wealth of his heir more than his own wealth?" The Companions said:
"O Messenger of Allah! There is none of us but loves his own wealth
more." He (ﷺ) said, "His wealth is that which he has sent forward, but
that which he retains belongs to his heir."
Losing possession of one’s property can either be:
1-physical – trade, inheritance etc.
2-metaphorical – reward, Barakah, benefit, the Akhirah etc.
-Ibn Uthaymin
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Virtues of
Spending:
Giving protects
from the fire…
546-"Protect yourself from
Hell-fire even by giving a piece of date as charity."
It is what he
came to show us…
547-Jabir (May Allah
be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never said 'no' to anyone who asked him for anything.
He will get the Dua’ of the Angels
548-"Everyday
two angels descend and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate (more) to the
person who gives (in charity)'; while the other one says, 'O Allah! Destroy the
one who withholds (charity, etc)".
Allah will compensate it for you…
549-"Allah, the Exalted, says,
'Spend, O son of Adam, you will also be spent upon."
It is from the
Fadail al-A’mal…
550-'Abdullah bin 'Amr
bin Al-'as (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
A man asked Messenger of Allah (ﷺ),
"Which act in Islam is the best?" He (ﷺ) replied, "To feed (the poor and the
needy) and to greet those whom you know and those you do not know."
It is a trade that
he is actually making…
551- "There are forty
kinds of virtue, the highest of which is to gift a (milking) goat. He who
practices any of these virtues, expecting its reward (from Allah) and believing
on the verity of the promise made for it, will enter Jannah."
Meaning, there are many different types of virtue but the best kind is
to give to others which will make them self-sufficient, reoccurring making it
an ongoing Sadaqah for the donator.
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552-"O son of Adam, if you
spend the surplus, it will be better for you; and if you retain it, it will be
bad for you. You will not be reprimanded for keeping what is enough for your
need. Begin with those who are your dependents, and the upper hand (i.e., the
one that spends in the way of Allah) is better than the lower hand (i.e., the one
that receives charity.)"
Examples of these Ahadith were used
in practice to help spread the true nature of Islam…
After the Fath of Makkah, let’s see
what the Messenger of Allah did at a place called Ja’ranah:
553-Anas (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
was asked a thing by one who is about to accept Islam but he would give it. A
man came to the Prophet (ﷺ)
and he gave him a herd of sheep scattered between two mountains. When he
returned to his people, he said to them: "O my people! Embrace Islam
because Muhammad gives like one who has no fear of poverty." Some people
would embrace Islam only for worldly gains, but soon Islam becomes dearer to
them than the world with all what it contains.
He preferred
himself and gave up his own share of the Dunya because of the importance of
this chapter:
554-'Umar (May Allah
be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) distributed some wealth and I said to him,
"O Messenger of Allah! Do you not think that there are other people who
are more deserving than these whom you gave." He (ﷺ) said, "They had, in fact, left no
alternative for me except either they should beg of me importunately or they
would regard me as a miser; but I am not a miser."
555-Jubair bin Mut'im (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
While I was walking with the Prophet (ﷺ)
on his return from the battle of Hunain, a few bedouins caught hold of him and
began to demand their shares. They forced him to a tree and someone snatched
away his cloak (which got entangled in that thorny tree). The Prophet (ﷺ)
said, "Give my cloak back to me. Were I to have camels equal to the number
of these trees, I would have distributed them all among you, and you would not
have found me a miser, or a liar, or a coward."
One of the greatest causes of Islam spreading in his lifetime, and
after, was generosity NOT the sword.
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556-"Wealth is not diminished
by giving (in charity). Allah raises the honour of one who forgives; and one
who displays humbleness towards another seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah
exalts him in ranks."
557- Abu Kabshah 'Amr
bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I swear by Allah for three
(qualities) which I am going to tell you about. Remember them well:
(1) The wealth of a man will not diminish by Sadaqah (charity).
(2) Allah raises the honour of a man who endures an oppression patiently.
(3) He who opens a gate of begging, Allah opens a gate of poverty (or he said a
word similar to it)."
He (ﷺ)
also said, "Remember well what I am going to tell you: The world is for
four kinds of people.
(1) One upon whom Allah has bestowed wealth
and knowledge and so he fears his Rubb in respect to them, joins the ties of
blood relationship and acknowledges the Rights of Allah on him (and fulfills
them); this type will have the best position (in Jannah).
(2) One upon whom Allah has conferred
knowledge but no wealth, and he is sincere in his intention and says: 'Had I
possessed wealth, I would have acted like so-and-so.' If that is his intention,
his reward is the same as that of the other.
(3) One whom Allah has given wealth but no
knowledge and he squanders his wealth ignorantly, does not fear Allah in
respect to it, does not discharge the obligations of kinship and does not
acknowledge the Rights of Allah. Such a person will be in the worst position
(in the Hereafter).
(4) One upon whom Allah has bestowed neither
wealth nor knowledge and he says: 'Had I possessed wealth, I would have acted
like so-and-so (i.e., he would squander his wealth).' If this is his intention,
both will have equal sin."
This
summarises how Islam spread because Sadaqah (financial or not) has two
benefits:
1-Goodness
spreads
2-Reward and
Barakah is multiplied
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Some narrations about hoarding and holding
back…
558- 'Aishah (May Allah
be pleased with her) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had slaughtered a sheep and distributed
major portions of its meat. Then he (ﷺ) asked, "Is there anything
left?" She replied, "Nothing, except the shoulder." Thereupon he
said, "All of it is left except its shoulder."
559- "Do not hoard; otherwise,
Allah will withhold from you."
560- Abu Hurairah (May Allah
be pleased with him) reported:
I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
saying: "The case of a miserly man and a generous man who gives in charity
is similar to that of two persons who are clad in armour from their breasts up
to their collar bones. When the generous man gives in charity, his armour expands
so much as to cover his fingertips and toes. When the miser intends to spend
something the armour contracts and every ring of it sticks to the place where
it is (sinks into his flesh). He tries to loosen it but it does not
expand."
561- "He who gives in charity
the value of a date which he legally earned, and Allah accepts only that which
is pure, Allah accepts it with His Right Hand and fosters it for him, as one of
you fosters his mare, until it becomes like a mountain."
A miracle given
to a man to show the importance of the spending…
562- "While a man was
walking through a barren land, he heard a voice coming out of a cloud saying:
'Irrigate the garden of so-and- so.' Thereupon the cloud drifted in a certain
direction and discharged its water over a rocky plain. The streamlets flowed
into a channel. This man followed the channel until it reached a garden and he
saw the owner of the garden standing in its center, working with his spade
spreading the water (changing the course of the water). He asked him: "O
slave of Allah, what is your name?" He told his name, which was the same
that he heard from the cloud. The owner of the garden then asked him: "O
slave of Allah, why did you ask my name?" He replied: "I heard a
voice from a cloud which poured down this water saying: 'Irrigate the garden of
so-and-so.' I would like to know what do you do with it." He said:
"Now that you asked me, I will tell you. I estimate the produce of the
garden and distribute one-third of it in charity, I spend one-third on myself
and my family and invest one-third back into the garden."
PROHIBITION
ON STINGINESS AND MISERLINESS
وَأَمَّا
مَن بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى
وَكَذَّبَ
بِالْحُسْنَى
فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ
لِلْعُسْرَى
وَمَا
يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّى
92:8-11
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُوا وَأَطِيعُوا
وَأَنفِقُوا خَيْرًا لّأَنفُسِكُمْ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ
الْمُفْلِحُونَ
64:16
563- "Beware of oppression,
for oppression will be darkness on the Day of Resurrection; and beware of
stinginess because it destroyed those who were before you. It incited them to
shed their blood and deem unlawful as lawful."
There’s a correlation between a persons own wretchedness (الشح) and stinginess (البخل):
The first is worst than the second because wretchedness leads to a
person wanting good for himself alone, even if it be taken away from others,
and he has no regard to perform acts of good with it.
-Ibn Uthaymin
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GIVING
TO OTHERS FROM WHAT YOU ARE ATTACHED TO
وَالَّذِينَ تَبَوَّؤُوا الدَّارَ وَالإِيمَانَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ
يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً
مِّمَّا أُوتُوا وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ
وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
59:9
وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ
عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا
76:8
Spending on
others and preferring them over oneself is of types and rulings:
1-Wajib -
Zakat
2-Haram – when
you or your dependants actually need it. This kind of spending is not Zuhd,
its blameworthy.
3-Makrooh –
that which will cause hardship to you or something you need to benefit
yourself and could cause regret.
4-Mustahab –
something you need but you can bear to live without it, then preferring
others because a default state. This
is the state of the people of Jannah.
-Ibn al-Uthaymin
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564- Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
A man came to the
Prophet (ﷺ)
and said; "I am hard pressed by hunger." He (ﷺ) sent a word to one of his wives who
replied: "By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, I have nothing except
water." Then he sent the same message to another (wife) and received the
same reply. He sent this message to all of them (i.e., his wives) and received
the same reply. Then he (ﷺ)
said, "Who will entertain this (man) as guest?" One of the Ansar
said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will." So he took him home and said to
his wife: "Serve the guest of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."
The Messenger
was from the final category.
The Ansari man
was from the third one.
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What happens when
a person tries the above…
565- "The food for two
suffices for three; and the food for three suffices for four persons."
566- Abu Sa'id
Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Once we were on a journey with Messenger of Allah
(ﷺ)
when a rider came and began looking right and left. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
said, "Whoever has an extra mount should offer it to him who is without it,
and whoever has surplus food should give it to him who has nothing;" and
he continued mentioning other properties until we thought that none of us had
any right to surplus of his own property.
567- Sahl bin Sa'd (May
Allah be pleased with him) reported:
A woman brought a woven piece of cloth to
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
and said to him: "I have woven this sheet with my own hands for you to
wear." He accepted it as he was in need of it. He later came out
wearing it as a lower garment. Someone said: "How nice it is! Kindly give
it to me." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Very well." He remained
in our company for some time, then he went back, folded it and sent it to the
man. The people said (to that man): "You did not do well. Messenger of
Allah (ﷺ)
wore it and he was in need of it, and you asked him for it when you are well
aware that he (ﷺ)
never refuses a request." He said: "I swear by Allah that I did not
ask it for wearing. I asked him for it so that it might be my shroud after my
death." Sahl (the narrator of this Hadith) said: And in fact it was used
as his shroud.
568-
Abu Musa (May
Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When the Ash'ariyun run short
of food in the Jihad or when they are at home in Al-Madinah, they collect all
the provisions they have in a sheet and then divide it equally among
themselves. They are of me and I am of them."
A tribe from Yemen (that goes back to Qahtan) and he described them as
having the softest and gentle of hearts. This was shown in their actions and their
consideration for others.
He also called them bravest of people and then said, “They are from me
and I am from them.”
They were also known for their beautiful voices and they used to
recite the Quran so much, he said, “I can hear them at night and I know where
they are – even if I can’t see them.”
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And Allah know best.
