Khutba on Generosity, the Heart of Good Character
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أحب لنفسه الكرم والجود، وجعله لعباده من الخُلُق المحمود، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.
We talked last week about futuwwa and mentioned it as being one of the key pillars of the science of the heart, but in one sense, futuwwa, and the components that make it up, the qualities of good character such as generosity, courage, preference are pretty abstract and difficult to relate to. It is all very well, for example, saying that a person must be generous or brave, but what does it mean to be generous or brave and is it possible for a person to acquire such qualities? Are we defined by the qualities with which we are born or can we change and develop our nature? The answer is clearly the latter – change is possible for every human being. Our nature at birth does not have to define us – the noblest of people can start with the meanest of beginnings. Allah can open the heart of anyone to belief, even those seemingly totally lacking in any quality of good character. The Prophet said,
كل الخلالِ يُطبَعُ عليها المومنُ إلا الخيانةَ والكذب
“The believer may naturally have every imperfection of character except for treachery and lying.” But their story does not stop there. Being Muslim does not simply mean believing in and worshipping Allah, it means moulding and adapting ourselves to be worthy of being in His Presence and in the company of His beloved slaves, for such was the teaching and example of our noble Messenger, who said,
إنما بُعثت لأتمِّمَ مكارمَ الأخلاق
“I have only been sent to perfect good character.” Just as we purify our bodies every time we come to the prayer, so must we purify our hearts. And our entire time on this planet, every minute of it, is preparation for our meeting with our Lord, so we must make full use of it to be as clean and pure as possible. There is no doubt that certain praiseworthy qualities come more easily to some, but that does not mean that they are denied to others. It just means that they have to struggle more to get them, they have to work at them and remind themselves of them on a constant basis. They have to fight and combat their nature – this is why it is called jihad. And eventually even their nature will become changed and what was once difficult will become easy by the mercy of Allah.
Of these qualities, few are as important as generosity. On its own, it can lift a human being up to the ranks of nobility. It will make him beloved by Allah and beloved by creation. The Prophet said,
إن الله جوادٌ يحب الجود كريم يحب الكرم
“Allah is Generous and loves generosity. And Benevolent and loves benevolence.” It will earn him the respect of everyone, friend and foe alike. The Prophet said,
جودُ الرجل يحبِّبُه إلى أضداده، وبخله يُبغِضه إلى أولاده
“Generosity causes a man to be loved by his enemies, while miserliness causes him to be hated by his own children.” In the eyes of Allah, generosity even outranks knowledge. The Prophet said,
وجاهل سخي أحب إلى الله من عالم بخيل
“An ignorant man who is generous is preferable to Allah than an alim who is miserly.” And that is because generosity is the key to everything that is good in the human being. If a person is totally bereft of it, he is bereft of all that is worthwhile. He is a totally worthless being, regardless of whatever other qualities he possesses.
مُدحت امرأة عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقالوا: صوّامة قوّامة، إلاّ أن فيها بخلاً. قال: فما خيرها إذًا
A woman was praised in the presence of the Messenger of Allah. They said of her, “She prays and fasts a great deal, her only issue is that she is miserly.” So the Prophet replied, “What good is there in her then?”
The essence of generosity is giving – the more one gives out, the more generous you become and the more generous you become, the more you give. This applies not just to one’s wealth and material goods, but to one’s time and energy. And it is not necessarily about quantity but quality and intention. An hour of service given by a very busy man can be more valuable than a week given by a man whose time is all free. A single loaf of bread given by a poor man can be a far greater expression of generosity than a million dinars given by someone who is wealthy. There is a famous story of Hatim at-Ta’i, who was once asked if he had every met anyone who surpassed him in generosity. He said yes, a young orphan boy whose home he had occasion to visit. This orphan boy owned ten sheep and nothing else. When Hatim came to his house, he went out and slaughtered one of the sheep and served him the choicest parts of the meat, amongst which was the brain, a particular favourite of Hatim. When Hatim expressed his delight with it, the boy went out to get some more and slaughtered another sheep to get it, and then another and then another. And he kept on doing that until his guest had had his fill. When Hatim finished, he went out and saw a huge amount of blood covering the ground around the house and saw that the boy had slaughtered every single one of his sheep, so he asked him why he had done that. The boy replied, “Subhanallah, what sort of person would I be if you liked something I owned and I neglected to give it to you!” When he finished recounting the story, Hatim was asked, “How did you repay him?” He replied, “I gave him 300 camels and 500 sheep.” They said, “That makes you more generous than him.” He replied, “On the contrary. He was the more generous for he gave away everything he possessed while I only gave away a small portion of what I owned.”
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.
الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.
The world as we know it is geared towards acquisition and not expenditure, towards accumulation and not distribution. Even when we are forced to give, it is often unwillingly, for no one enjoys paying taxes. The welfare of the less well-off is left in the hands of nanny states, and the general populace wash their hands of them and consider them to not be any of their concern. I recently witnessed a video in which a French actor dressed up as a homeless man and then pretended to collapse to the ground in the middle of a busy walkway. Not one person stopped to help him or even to enquire about his well-being. It is the rare occasion when we hear of true generosity, and when we do it is seen as something extraordinary and noteworthy. There was a recent example of a homeless man in the UK who came across a young female student stranded late at night with no means to get home, and so gave her the £3 he had on him. This story has received such widespread coverage because of how rare and unusual such occurrences has become.
“Greed is good,” such is the message of the dominant system across the globe. This message is drummed in to everyone from the moment they enter kindergarten to the moment they leave university, and it is very few who do not succumb to it at one level or another. Perhaps the only community who have inbuilt defences that protect them against this are us, the Muslims, the Umma of the Prophet. And that is part of the mercy of Allah. The way the entire deen is structured inculcates generosity and ensures its continued presence among us.
We have said that giving is the essence of generosity, and this deen of ours guarantees that people continue to give to one another. It makes nafaqa/spending on one’s family obligatory, and rewards you for it as if it were voluntary. Zakat is taken, but it is also given, and people are rewarded for it even more heavily than any other form of sadaqa.
Thus, every Muslim is conditioned to give. But that is only enough to realise the very lowest levels of generosity. To truly become generous in the fullest sense of the word, you must do more.
First you must give of what you love. Allah says,
لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ
the translation of which is, “You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love.” And Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْفِقُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ
the translation of which is, “You who have belief! give away from out of the good things that you have earned.” Your prized possessions, the things you value the most, they are the things you should be giving away, not simply the things you can do without and to which you have no attachment.
Second, you should give not to be seen to be giving but for the sake of Allah, to please Him not just to please people. Allah says, describing the qualities of the successful,
وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِيناً وَيَتِيماً وَأَسِيراً إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلا شُكُوراً
the translation of which is, “They give food, despite their love for it, to the poor and orphans and captives: ‘We feed you only out of desire for the Face of Allah. We do not want any repayment from you or any thanks.’” Indeed, giving in order to make people feel grateful and indebted nullifies any of its good effects. Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُمْ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَى
the translation of which is, “You who have belief! do not nullify your sadaqa by demands for gratitude or insulting words.” If that is the way that you give then it brings you harm rather than benefit and strips away your good character rather than promoting it. Allah says,
فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ صَفْوَانٍ عَلَيْهِ تُرَابٌ فَأَصَابَهُ وَابِلٌ فَتَرَكَهُ صَلْدً
the translation of which is, “His likeness is that of a smooth rock coated with soil, which, when heavy rain falls on it, is left stripped bare.”
If you fear yourself to be susceptible to this when you come to give sadaqa and fear that your intention is to find praise rather than to please Allah, then the best way to give is in secret. That will protect you and guarantee its acceptance. Allah says,
إن تبدو الصدقات فنعما هي، وإن تخفوها وتوتوها الفقراء خير لكم ونكفر عنكم من سيئاتكم
the translation of which is, “If you make your sadaqa public, that is good. But if you conceal it and give it to the poor, that is better for you, and We will wipe away from you some of your bad actions.” I remember one time in Slough when we are at event and asked people if they could donate towards some matter fi sabilillah and many people came forward and gave generously. Then, after we had gone back to the zawiya, a anonymous blank envelope was pushed through the letter box that contained more than everything we had raised up to that point. That was the definition of giving in secret.
One does not have to have money or food to be generous. Giving of your time is equally and sometimes even more valuable. Visiting your sick brother is sadaqa, as is maintaining your ties of kinship. A smile and a glance can bring more joy than any meal. You give what is needed and required in the situation, not what is not. If we want to move forward as a community, if we want good for ourselves and success, then we must rediscover these higher levels of generosity. We must freely and willingly give of our wealth, our time and our energy in order to be pleasing to our Lord. We must follow the example of our Prophet and his Companions and the Awliya and give without fear of poverty, trusting that our Lord will recompense us manyfold. Such is His guarantee and such is His promise and He never goes back on a promise. Control of this dunya and mastery over it will only come to those who are prepared to give it away freely. Generosity is the key to Islam once again becoming uppermost in the land. As the Prophet said, “The upper hand is above the lower hand.” We ask Allah to make us people of the upper hand, and grant us a generosity that is untainted and free of strings. And we ask Him to restore this deen to its rightful place.
إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وعن أم المومنين عائشة التي أمرنا الله في سورة النور أن ندافع عنها، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ، وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.
رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.
إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.