Virtues of the righteous
CHAPTER 11
Selflessness, magnanimity and generosity
THE ESSENCE OF GENEROSITY
Know that the reality of generosity is that it is not difficult for you to give. They also said, “Generosity is readiness to sacrifice at its first thought.” The righteous ad- Daqqaq said, “It is not considered generosity when a rich person gives to the poor. Generosity lies in the needy giving to those who are well off.» Almighty Allah said (meaning), “And those who lived in Medina and were believers before the arrival of the Meccans, love those who emigrated to them from Mecca and do not feel in their hearts any sort of need for the property given to them and that preference was accorded them over themselves, even though they are in a straitened position.
And those who have overcome their greed for worldly wealth will be the successful.” (Sura Al-Hashr, ayah 9) This ayah was sent down regarding the Ansars who lived in Medina before the Muhajirs from Mecca migrated to them. The Ansars loved the Meccans who moved to them and were not troubled by any want of a share that was allotted] only for the immigrants from Mecca and they were not jealous of them for this. In their hearts there was not the slightest objection to the ruling of Allah in which He favoured the Muhajirs, although the Ansars themselves were in need and in straitened circumstances.
It is also said that this ayah was revealed with respect to one of the Medina Muslims who was given a sheep’s head. He went around to seven houses in search of someone to whom he could give it, but the inhabitants of each house suggested that he give it to another; so in the end he returned to the first house. It is also said that this ayah was sent down in relation to yet another person from Medina.
When a guest came to visit him, the Ansar set food before him and put out the candle, so that he would think that the owner would also eat with him. So this Ansar gave preference to his guest before himself and his family. And it was in this regard that the ayah was revealed by the Almighty. They say that, “Magnanimous is one who builds a house for his guests and his brothers, and mean is one who builds one for himself.” They also say, «A selfless person accords preference to a man who has already eaten his full when he himself is hungry.
It is narrated in a hadith that “Never has a people gathered in this world but among them are generous and miserly, except for the Ansar, for they are all generous and are not mean” The companion Huzayf al-`Adawi said, “On the day of the battle of Yarmouk, I went in search of my cousin. I had some water with me. When reached him, I said, ‘I will give you a drink,’ and he nodded his head in agreement. Then we heard the groan of someone dying of thirst.
My cousin made a gesture for me to give this man water. It turned out to be Hisham ibn al-`As . I asked if I should give him water and he nodded yes. Then Hisham heard the groan of another dying of thirst and gestured to me to go to him. When I got to him, he had already died. Then I returned to Hisham t but he also had died. Then I returned to my cousin but I found him dead also.” These are examples of the sacrificing of one’s nafs in order to save the lives of others. This kind of self-sacrifice is much higher than the sacrifice of property.
In the book “at-Takmilah” it is said, “The most authentic attribution of this ayah is that it was sent down concerning the companion Abu Talha al-Ansari . When a guest came to visit the Messenger of Allah there was nothing at his house with which to treat him. Then the Prophet turned to his companions, ‘Is there someone among you who will treat this person? May Allah have mercy on him!’ Then Abu Talha got up and went home with the guest and said to his wife, ‘Show respect to the guest of the Messenger of Allah .’
Then she put the children to bed, extinguished the light and fed the guest. The hosts pretended to eat with him but in fact did not do so. Then the ayah of the Quran was revealed.” The righteous predecessors had much more ability to limit themselves what was available and there was much more contentment of hearts and their blessings were abundant. It is narrated that a certain king said to his vizier, «Scholars are better in spiritual state and hearts than Sufis.» But the vizier disagreed and then added, «We will test them in two situations.»
1. He sent a man with several thousand dirhams to a madrasa and told him to say to the scholars, “The king has ordered me to give these dirhams to the most worthy and perfected among you. So who is he?” One of them then said, “It is I!” but another objected, “He lied, I am the most worthy!” Thus each of them began to challenge superiority. Then the messenger said, “I cannot determine who is the most worthy of you,” and did not give this money to anyone. He returned and related what had happened. Then the vizier sent these monies to the lodge of the Sufis, who did exactly the opposite of what the scholars did. Each of them said, “He is better than me! He is worthier than me!”
2. The vizier handed the messenger a sword and told him, “Go to the lodge of the Sufis and tell them, ‘The king has ordered me to cut off the head of your leader. Who is he?’ One of them said, ‘I am the head’, and the other objected, ‘No, I am.’ Thus, each of them declared superiority in order to save his brother and chose to ransom himself for his companion. The messenger said that he could not determine which of them was the leader, returned and related what had happened. Then he was sent with the sword to the scholars who did the opposite of what the Sufis did. The argument of the vizier thus turned out to be weightier than that of the king.
Nowadays, you see that muridin in cities and villages behave quite differently from those times. The great righteous Abu Yazid al-Bastami f said, “A young man from the people of Balkh overtook me and asked, ‘What is the limit of asceticism (zuhd) for you?’ So said, ‘If we are given something, we are grateful, and if we are denied something, we persevere. He replied, This is what the dogs here in Balkh also do. However, if we are given something, we prefer (to give it to someone else and if we are denied we are grateful.”
THE VIRTUE OF MAGNANIMITY AND GENEROSITY
It is transmitted from Aisha, the mother of the faithful, that the Messenger of Allah said, “A generous man is close to Almighty Allah, to people and to Paradise and is distant from Hell. But a mean person is far from Almighty Allah, from people and from Paradise and close to Hell. Almighty Allah loves an ignorant but generous person more than one who is occupied with worship but is mean.” The Prophet also said, «The hand which gives is better than the hand which takes.»
Bishr ibn al-Harith said, «The sight of a person who is mean makes the heart callous.» It is said that once the ruler of the faithful, Ali ibn Abu Talib , was weeping. When asked what made him cry, he replied, “It has already been a week since guests visited me. I fear that Almighty Allah has abased me with this.” It is conveyed that the companion Anas ibn Malik , said, «The zakat of a house is the presence in it of a separate room for guests.»
FROM THE BOOK “VIRTUES OF THE RIGHTEOUS” BY SHEIKH AHMAD-AFANDI MUFTI DAGESTAN
