Khutba on Generosity

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 have talked in recent weeks about the Messenger of Allah and have mentioned that he was vast in character, but what does that mean? You should know that every human being is defined by the characteristics with which he is endowed, some over which he has no control such as the beauty of his physical form, the strength of his intellect and the sharpness of his senses, and others which he can acquire such as knowledge, thankfulness and good manners. Of these characteristics, there are some from which human beings are naturally repulsed, and others towards which human beings are naturally attracted. Those are the characteristics of nobility and any person who has but one of those characteristics is universally admired and revered. That is shown by any glance one takes at the folklore or history of nations: take the pre-Islamic Arab world, for instance: their most celebrated figures were Abu Hatim at-Tayi on account of his extraordinary generosity and ‘Antar on account of his extraordinary bravery. Now, our noble prophet had, not just one, not just a handful, but every one of those admirable characteristics, and they were all innate to him, granted to him directly from his Lord. And that was the way of all the Prophets. For example, Allah says about Yahya:

وَآَتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا

the translation of which is, “We gave him judgement while still a child.” Yahya was given knowledge of the Book, according to the commentators, when he was still only two or three years old. When the other children asked him why he did not play with them, he replied, “Was I created for playing games?” Similarly, it is said that Ibrahim was fifteen months old when he sought a proof in the stars, moon and sun.
But we are not like the Prophets – most of us are not born with all those good qualities of character but have to acquire them – they are not natural or innate to us. Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas related that 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.” And that is why Allah, in His infinite mercy and desire of good for us sent us His Prophet. To show us which qualities we should strive to keep and develop and which we should try to avoid and get rid off. The Prophet said,

إنما بُعثت لأتمِّمَ مكارمَ الأخلاق

“I have only been sent to perfect good character.” He was our character model, and by studying his life and his sunna, we can see which qualities are those which comprise good character. One of those we propose to talk about today, and that is the quality of generosity. Generosity is giving freely without fearing poverty, and is one of the qualities of Allah that He has also granted to His slaves. Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas narrated that the Prophet said

إن الله جوادٌ يحب الجود كريم يحب الكرم

“Allah is Generous and loves generosity. And Benevolent and loves benevolence.” Every single slave that He has loved has possessed this characteristic – every Prophet and every wali. The Prophet said, 

ما جبل الله تعالى ولياً له إلا على حسن الخلق والسخاء

“There is no Wali of Allah who is not naturally inclined towards generosity and good character.” Our own noble Prophet was the greatest embodiment of this.

عن أنس قال إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يُسألْ على الإسلام شيئاً إلا أعطاه، وأتاه رجل فسأله فأمر له بشاءٍ كثير بين جبلين من شاء الصدقة، فرجع قومَه فقال: يا قوم أسلموا؛ فإن محمداً يعطي عطاء من لا يخاف الفاقة

Anas said, “The Messenger of Allah was never asked anything in Islam but the he gave it away. A man once asked him for something, so he commanded that all the sheep between two mountains be given to him. So the man returned to his people and said, ‘My people, become Muslim, for Muhammad gives the gift of a man who has no fear of poverty.’”
And his noble Companions followed in his footsteps,

ذاتَ يومٍ أحضر عمرُ بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه مالا كثيرًا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فسأله صلى الله عليه وسلم:ماذا أبقيتَ لأهلك يا عمر. فقال: أبقيتُ لهم نصفَ مالي. ويأتي أبو بكر رضي الله عنه فيحضرَ ماله كله وعندما سأله النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: ماذا تركتَ لأولادك يا أبا بكر، قال تركتُ لهم اللهَ ورسوله.

One day, ‘Umar brought a huge sum of money to the Messenger of Allah, so the Prophet askd him, “What did you leave your family, ‘Umar?” “I left them half of my wealth,” he replied. Then Abu Bakr came and handed over all of his wealth to the Prophet, and when he asked him what he had left for his family, he replied, “I left them Allah and His Messenger.”
They knew that the only way to truly benefit from things we possess in this world is to give them away:

عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أنهم ذبحوا شاة، ثم وزعوها على الفقراء،  فسأل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عائشةَ: ما بقي منها فقالت: ما بقي إلا كتِفُها، فقال بقي كلها غيرَ كتِفِها}

Aisha narrated that they slaughtered a sheep and then distributed it to the poor. So the Prophet asked Aisha, “What is left of it?” She replied, “Nothing is left of it except for its shoulder,” so he said, “Rather, all of it is left except for its shoulder.” meaning that the part that was given away was the part that would continue to benefit them. And that benefit continues to reach a person even after his death. The Prophet said,

إذا مات الإنسانُ انقطع عنه عملُه إلا من ثلاث، إلا من صدقة جارية أو علم ينتفعُ به أو ولد صالح يدعو له

“When a person dies, all of his actions stop except for three: an ongoing act of sadaqa, knowledge from which he benefitted and a right-acting child who makes dua for him.” 
And in truth, generosity does not cost you anything – it is an investment with a guaranteed return, for you either receive what you have given tenfold in this world, or something even greater is stored up for you in the Next World. Allah say:

مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا

the translation of which is, “Those who produce a good action will receive ten like it.” 
It is related that the famous waliyya, Rabi’a al-Adawiyya was visited by two men who were very hungry and hoping for something to eat, so Rabi’a set before them a small loaf of bread. But, before they had started to eat, a beggar arrived at the door, so Rabia took the loaf and immediately gave it to the beggar, leaving the men sitting there with nothing. Then a short time later there was another knock at the door, and there stood a slave-girl bearing with her eight loaves fresh from the oven. “My mistress baked these for you,” she said. “But where are the rest?” Rabi’a asked, and she continued to press the slave-girl until she admitted to having eaten two. “How did you know?” asked the slave-girl. “Because,” Rabi’a replied, “Allah promises His slaves to give them back tenfold what they have given. So when you only brought eight, I knew there was something missing.”
Generosity not only makes a person beloved of Allah, but also beloved of his peers and even his enemies. In a well-known saying of the Arabs, it is 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.” And in a hadith of the Prophet, narrated by Abu Hurayra,

إن السخي قريب من الله قريب من الناس قريب من الجنة بعيد عن النار، وإن البخيل بعيد من الله بعيد من الناس بعيد من الجنة قريب من النار، وجاهل سخي أحب إلى الله من عالم بخيل

“The generous man is close to Allah, close to people, close to the Garden and far from the Fire. While the miser is far from Allah, far from people, far from the Garden and close to the Fire. An ignorant generous man is preferable to Allah than a learned miser.”
In fact, it is generosity that gives meaning to all a person’s good actions, for there is no good in a person who lacks it. 

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, but she does have an element of miserliness to her character,” so the Prophet replied, “What good is there in her then?” So we ask Allah to realise the quality of generosity in our hearts and protect us from greed and miserliness. And by means of that generosity, restore the brotherhood among the Muslims, join our hearts together and bring life and cooperation back to our communities.

أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله لي و لكم و لسائر 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.

Generosity is not an action but a state of being. Simply giving something does not make someone generous, just as simply withholding something does not make someone a miser. No, to be generous one must take pleasure in giving, and that can be acquired by training and conditioning the nafs. The more often you give sadaqa, the more natural it becomes to give and the less you have to force oneself. And it is especially important to give away those things to which you have formed an attachment, for love of this world is the biggest cause of miserliness, and giving them up is the swiftest path towards birr and generosity. 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” You should give things to which you attach value and things which are good and wholesome, for as we all know,

إن الله طيب لا يقبل إلا الطيب

“Allah is good, and does not accept anything unless it is good.” 
Then you should try to give whatever you give in secret so as to protect your heart from ri’aa – showing off, and to ensure that you are only giving what you are giving to obtain the pleasure of Allah. Giving openly can be good, but giving secretly is better. 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 erase some of your bad actions from you.” And when the Prophet lists the seven that Allah will shade on that day when there is no shade but his, he mentions one who hides the sadaqa he gives so well that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given.
Another matter that is important when it comes to giving is that you must never demand gratitude from those to whom you give, nor give to them in such a way that demeans them or makes them feel low.  For, if you do so, your physical gifts can never make up for what you have taken away from them in terms of self-respect. 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.” Instead, one should give with a smiling face, allowing the recipient to do whatever he needs to do to maintain his dignity. A story in the book of Amal illustrates this perfectly. When a poor man came into the zawiyya of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib asking for the money he needed to travel to Marrakech, the Shaykh turned to one of his murids and told him to take out his purse and give him the money. As soon as he received the money, the man fell to his feet crying and overwhelmed and tried to kiss the knees and feet of the murid who had given it to him, but that murid tried to prevent him from doing so. So the Shaykh became very angry and said, “No, leave him be. Let him do it.” Then after the poor man has kissed the murid’s feet and gone on his way, the Shaykh  angrily turned to the murid and said, “How dare you do that. You must not take away from him the right to cover his shame about his poverty.” Shaykh AbdalQadir as-Sufi adds, “This made me see that the real adab was not the giving of the money. The real adab was knowing how to behave when you gave the money.”
It is only when a person’s giving is pure and untainted that it engenders generosity. Otherwise, it has no effect and brings him no benefit. Indeed, it brings him harm, for as 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.” So we ask Allah to make us people who give freely of the best of what He has given us. And we ask Him to make us constant in our giving until giving becomes natural to us and we become one of the people of generosity. To that end, this mosque is intending to establish a weekly feeding program to feed the poorer Muslims of Cape Town, for feeding is one of the best and noblest forms of sadaqa. Ibn Mas’ud narrated that the Prophet said, 

إن الله تعالى ليباهى بمطعم الطعام الملائكة عليهم السلام

“Allah boasts to His angels of those who feed other people.” So take advantage of this opportunity to be among the ranks of those people. If you want to contribute, please see either Hajj Adnan, Hajj Abdussabour or Sidi Farouq after the prayer.

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، 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 (3) 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. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

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