Prophetic Qualities: Generosity
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ
“Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you.”
(Surat Al-Hujurat, Verse 13)
(Translation by Ahmad Zaki Hammad)
To be a Muslim means to follow the Sunnah of Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ, which is to strive to embody his teachings and sayings into us and our lives. To follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ means to be generous, or to have “Karam.” Thus far in our series of the Prophetic qualities of our beloved Messenger ﷺ, we have covered mercy, compassion, honesty, and forgiveness. For this month, the prophetic quality and character trait that we will be studying is generosity and Karam.
Islam is a religion that teaches us to have the best of morals and character. Practicing Muslims who strive to please Allah ﷻ and follow the footsteps of our Prophet ﷺ have the best character and morals than all other humans that walk this earth. This is because they have Islam. Alhamdulilah, Islam shows every Muslim a taste of what it feels like to be a generous person through one of the five pillars: Zakat. Through Zakat, we pay our share of the money that Allah ﷻ has blessed us with to provide for our less fortunate brothers and sisters in our own communities and abroad. Through this pillar, Islam literally paves the way for people to develop the most noble trait of “Karam.”
One of the first names of Allah ﷻ that was introduced to us in the Quran is that Allah ﷻ is “Al-Akram.” This is revealed to us in Surat Al-Alaq, Verse 3. This directly translates to that Allah ﷻ is THE Generous. Not that Allah ﷻ is just generous. Specifically, He ﷻ is the “The” generous. No one can even compare to the generosity of Allah ﷻ of course.
This name of Allah ﷻ is derived from the word “Kareem.” Kareem means the one who gives money outwardly and enjoys it inwardly as well. Meaning it is one thing to give money and be happy about it on the outside but in reality, you may feel a little bad about it because you are giving money away. However, it is a completely different level of generosity to be able to not just give from your money for the sake of Allah ﷻ, but to truly enjoy it and feel relief on the inside as well as the outside while doing this righteous deed.
For that reason, the trait of Kareem also equates to the trait of Nobility. Kareem = Nobility. The one who is Kareem truly gains far more than that which he or she is giving. They gain far more valuable things as a result such as honor, love of Allahﷻ, and the love of the people. Of course, the love of the people is not and should never be an intention when giving for the sake of Allah ﷻ. However, if the intention is pure, then that is a benefit and gift from Allah ﷻ that comes from it as well.
Allah ﷻ also uses the traits of “Kareem” and “Nobility” synonymously with one another in the Holy Quran. You cannot be noble without being generous and giving. Allah ﷻ says in Surat Al-Hujurat, Verse 13:
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْۚ
“Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you.”
Now that we have a clear understanding of what it truly means to be generous and earn such a noble character trait, let us learn from the Seerah (life/history) of our beloved Messenger ﷺ. This story is one that displays not only the generosity of the Prophet ﷺ, but also the love the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet) had for him as well.
One day the Messenger ﷺ was walking and one of the sahaba noticed that the thobe, or cloak, that the Prophet ﷺ was wearing was a little but worn out from the bottom and had a few holes in it. Immediately, out of love for him, this companion went to the market and purchased a brand-new high-quality thobe as a gift for the Prophet ﷺ. A quick side note here: in another hadith, the Messenger ﷺ said that “the best of you are those who love for your brother what you love for yourself.” In this case, this sahabi of course loved to dress nicely and out of love for the Prophet ﷺ, he wanted the same for him as well. As a result, he purchased this thobe as a gift for him. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ accepted the gift, as it is his Sunnah to do so, and went to his home to put it on. Upon exiting his home with the newly gifted thobe on, another sahabi noticed it immediately and asked Rasulullah if he could have it for himself. Many of the other sahaba saw this and became angry because it was a gift for the Messenger ﷺ. However, out of his generosity and compassion, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ happily gifted his gift to him. What this sahaba said next was truly astounding and humbling. He stated, “I only wanted this thobe from Rasulullah ﷺ because I would like to be wrapped in it as my Kefen in my grave on the day I die so that I have a piece of Rasulullah ﷺ) with me. A Kefen is the white cloth used to wrap the deceased people before they are placed in their casket/grave. Imagine this kind of generosity of our Messengerﷺ and the level of love and compassion that he had for his companions as well as they had towards him.
Giving generously for the sake of Allah ﷻ is not just an action done by someone that has Karam. It is truly a way of life and an essential component of their faith. In next month’s article, we will discuss the hate that Allah ﷻ has for stinginess.
We ask Allah ﷻ to make us among the people of Karam. 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