Forbidden Qualities: Stinginess

ٱلَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابًۭا مُّهِينًۭا

“Those who are stingy, promote stinginess among people, and withhold Allah’s bounties. We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.”

(Surat Al-Nisa, Aya 37)

(Translation by Ahmad Zaki Hammad)

Perhaps the greatest differences that distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims are our character traits. In a perfect world, we should never have to tell people that we are Muslim. As it is from the Sunnah, we should show people that we are Muslim. It is through our actions, good character, and interactions with everyone, including non-Muslims, that we show people what Islam is. For the previous several months, I have been covering a series called “Prophetic Qualities.” Last month, we covered the last major character trait in a Muslim for the purpose of this series. Certainly, we know that there are many more qualities that we are not able to cover for the purpose of the time and scope of this article. For the next couple months, we will wrap up this series by learning the forbidden qualities of a Muslim, of which many are the opposites of the Prophetic qualities we already covered. This short miniseries will be known as “Forbidden Qualities.” This month, our topic is Stinginess.

Last month, we learned about the value of generosity and Karam in the eyes of Allahﷻ. Now, it is important to see the opposite in order to understand just how much it is hated. Allah ﷻ curses stinginess and those who are greedy. Let us refer to the aya above. Allah ﷻ almost seems to compare the negative character trait of stinginess to the disbelievers.

In Surat Al-Nisa, Aya 37, Allah ﷻ states, “Those who are stingy, promote stinginess among people, and withhold Allah’s bounties. We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.” This is because this trait is expected to be observed in many disbelievers, not Muslims. It is supposed to be in the core values of a Muslim that he/she loves to give for the sake of Allahﷻ. There is a reason for this. Look closely at the aya. Allah ﷻ says specifically, “and withhold Allah’s bounties.” This is the issue right here. Anyone who is stingy or greedy has a lack of understanding of their Lord. It is Allahﷻ who has given them such a blessing of wealth. So indeed, that wealth belongs to Allah ﷻ and only Him. Allah ﷻ has simply entrusted you with it. So, if our money is not truly our money, then who are we to withhold it from actions of good? Allah ﷻ wants us to use our wealth to be generous.

Allah ﷻ also describes the generous and stingy people in Surat Al-Layl. Allahﷻ says,

“فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ () وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ () فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ

“As for he who gives and fears Allah. And believes in the best [reward]. We will facilitate for them the Way of Ease.” Allah ﷻ makes a promise for a special reward for those who are generous and love to give. These people believe in and only seek the eternal or “best” reward as stated in these ayat. This reward is in the hereafter and surely it is better than anything in this dunya. Only true believers who understand their purpose in this dunya would seek this reward.

However, in the same Surah, Allah ﷻ also states,

وَأَمَّا مَنۢ بَخِلَ وَٱسْتَغْنَىٰ () وَكَذَّبَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ () فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ

“And as for the one who is stingy and deems themselves self-sufficient. And ˹staunchly˺ denies the finest reward. We will facilitate for them the path of hardship.” These ayat are quite honestly very clear and straight to the point. These ayat go back to what I was discussing earlier. That your wealth was a gift from Allah ﷻ and it belongs to Him ﷻ. If you think that the money you have is yours because you worked hard for it and you do not acknowledge that it is from the will of Allahﷻ as well, then you can very much be taking part in this aya, in which Allah ﷻ says that you deem yourself self-sufficient. If this is the case, then Allah ﷻ promises a hardship in this dunya.

Now that we have briefly analyzed a little below the surface of what it truly means to be a stingy person as a Muslim, let us visit some examples from the Seerah of our beloved Messenger ﷺ.

It was narrated that one day, a beggar came to the home of the Messenger ﷺ. This beggar was of course not as fortunate with wealth as others at the time and she was seeking any kind of help for herself and her children. Specifically, this beggar was trying to feed her children. Just a note to remember, the Prophet ﷺ was the leader in Madinah. He was seen by the people as someone who was not only their leader but cared for all of his people as well. Through the love of the people that Allah ﷻ blessed our Messenger ﷺ with, the people of Madinah would naturally seek help from him if they were in any kind of need. This is an example of the blessings from Allah ﷻ for someone who is not stingy. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself did not have anything that he could give this beggar from his home besides one piece of date. Even though that is all he had for his own family, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave this date to the woman to split amongst her children.

In another instance from the life of our beloved Messenger Rasulullah ﷺ, during the final days of the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he asked our mother Aisha (RA) to gather all the wealth that was left in the house. Everything that was collected barely was equivalent to the amount of 7 silver coins in modern days, which is a very little amount. Nonetheless, he instructed our mother Aisha (RA) to distribute the remainder of his wealth amongst the poor people.

This was the generosity of our Messenger ﷺ. It was complete submission to Allah ﷻ and understanding that everything that we have and own belongs to Allah ﷻ. We have a moral obligation to abstain from stinginess and practice generosity as it is a core value for a Muslim. One question that must ask ourselves, if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was not stingy and was as generous as can be, then what about us?

We ask Allah ﷻ to make us among the people of Karam. We ask Allah ﷻ to keep us away from stinginess and greed. We ask Allah ﷻ to make us among the merciful and compassionate ones so that He will have mercy upon us. We ask Allah ﷻ to make us among those who forgive so that we may be forgiven for our shortcomings and unite us with our Prophet ﷺ in the highest level of paradise. Allahumma Ameen.

By Ahmad Salah