The Wind That blows As Heralds Of Generosity

Undoubtedly, in every society those who give are held in high esteem more than those who receive..

In an authentic hadith on the strength of Hakim bin Hizam (RA) The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The upper hand is better than the lower hand (i.e he who gives in charity is better than him who takes it). Bukhari.

Generosity is not a virtue that is found ONLY in the wealthy but ALSO in the poor. It is a thing of the heart and has nothing to do with money.

In Saheeh Muslim the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was reported to have said that: "It is better for one among you to bring a load of firewood on his back and give in charity out of it and be independent of people than to beg of people, whether they give him anything or refuse him."

Today beggars that ask of men on the streets and in people's houses in the name of poverty, the world should know that Islam never encourages that, nay it frowns at it.

He [Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ] never said 'NO' except when he made Tashahud, Had it not been for the Tashahud, his 'NO' would have been 'YES'. -An Arab poet

Today we always say 'NO' when asked and only say 'YES' when we are expecting something in return from the one we are aiding.

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) once gave an entire flock of sheep that were so numerous that they filled the valley separated by two mountains.

Once a man asked the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for the very shirt he had on his back; in response to the strange request, the Prophet removed his shirt and handed it over to the man.

And let me set the records correctly, my Habib (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never showed generosity in anticipation of something in return.

Some are generous today so that in return people will respect, admire, love and display loyalty to them. This is a counterfeit generosity

The Jews, the Bedouins, the enemies, and the hypocrites all ate with Nabiy (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as his guests. I challenge the world on this generous gesture.

And I tell you, to be generous means when you give, you are happier than the person that receives. This was the attitude of our Nabiyy (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

On the strength of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir (RA); The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Every person will be under the shade of his own charity(on Qiyamat), until judgment is rendered among people"

And on the strength of Abu Hurayrah (RA); My Habib (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Charity never causes one's level of wealth to decrease." Muslim.

In the words of Shaykh Ai'dh al-Qarni: "His (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) table-spread was like a complementary food stand-any and all comers were welcome to it."

Give when you have abundance of wealth and even when your provision is restricted.

If only the world can shift away from hypocritical slogans of charity and put the spotlight on the generosity of Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we will be better off in giving out charity to those that really deserve it.

I challenge the world to present to me a more generous man than Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)..

Your charity is not accepted until you R convinced that you need the reward more than the beggar needs the money-Uthman bin Affan(RA)

And Shaykh Sulaiman Moola said: "The pious never believed they give money, but rather they tell the poor that we are giving you your money which Allaah has kept with us"

Just be generous and surely your reward is with Allaah. Every good action triggers a positive reaction. That's it!

Man! To give is to be blessed.

May Allaah infuse and imbibe within our bosoms the great virtue of generosity.