Ramadan: The Season of Genorosity - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Ramadan: The Season of Generosity

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا.

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ.

The Prophet's Character in Ramadan

The companions, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, described for us the way that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to be in this month of Ramadan. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would approach this month with a sense of determination, a sense of ambition, a sense that he wanted to excel in his worship of Allah. So we have those ahadith that describe to us the worship and the ibadah of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ during this month of Ramadan.

But there is also another aspect that the companions, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, also described to us concerning the way that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was in this month of Ramadan. This set of narrations and these particular texts describe to us the personality of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in this month. They describe to us his mindset. They describe to us the way that he would approach other people and the way that he would deal with them.

So in this month of Ramadan, it is not just about our worship of Allah — meaning our personal worship of salah and fasting and giving charity, which is very much personal to us — but also a major component of Ramadan is the way that you treat others, the way that your character comes across. And just as you excel and you are better in this month of Ramadan when it comes to your Quran, and your prayer, and your fasting, and those personal acts of worship, then it is also a part of Ramadan that you improve your character.

The Most Generous of All People

The famous illustrious companion Abdullah ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhuma, in what is collected in Sahih al-Bukhari, described to us this aspect of the Prophet's صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ character in Ramadan. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6)

Our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was the most generous of all people. He was the kindest of all humans. But he would be at his most generous in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel alayhi salam would descend from the heavens and he would revise the Quran with him. And then he describes his level of generosity — he used to be like the rihul mursala, like the free-blowing breeze. The breeze that, when you open your window on a day that is stifling and hot and stuffy, you feel that breeze coming in through the window or through the door — it is a sense of relief and ease. It is a breeze that touches everything and anything within its path. It is a breeze that gives and it does not hold back. That is how our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to be in this month of Ramadan.

He was the most generous of people anyway. Jabir radiyallahu anhu described him صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2311)

Our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was never asked for anything and he said no. In another narration, Anas radiyallahu anhu also affirms the same thing — the same lifestyle, the same mentality of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2312)

Our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was never asked about anything when it came to this religion for the sake of Allah except that he gave it. Until a man once came to him from another place outside of his city — a traveler — and he asked for wealth. So he gave him all of the flock of sheep between two mountains — everything in the valley he took. So this man went back to his people and said, "O my people, accept Islam, for verily the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is a man who gives and gives and does not fear poverty."

That is how our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to be. His sense of kindness, his sense of generosity — it is something that used to touch everyone around him. Irrespective of the different demographics of his community — the elderly and the young, the poor and the rich, the male and the female, the people who are of status and the people who had no status within their community and society — our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would spend time with each and every single one. He would give to each and every single one their due, to the extent that even a stranger would think that he was more beloved to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ than anyone else.

Generosity Beginning at Home

The Prophet's صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ generosity and his kindness would start at home. He would be at home with his wives and his family, and his wife Aisha radiyallahu anha was asked later on, after his death, to describe how he was at home. Remember, this is a man — a Prophet of Allah — who not only has a family, is a father and has children, but is also the leader of a community, the messenger of Allah who has to convey the message of Islam. He has people who are attacking him, people who are trying to kill him and assassinate him, people who are trying to destroy his message, people who are persecuting and oppressing his followers. Yet despite all of that pressure and despite all of those issues going on around him, she says that when he came home, he was a man who used to be in service to his family. He would come home and he would serve his family صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ wouldn't just stop there with his wives. Even when his daughter Fatima radiyallahu anha would come and visit her father — when she would come to his house — he would often get up and walk to the door to greet her. He would take her and kiss her on her forehead, then take her by her hand and make her sit in his own place صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Look at that level of attention and care and detail that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would give to a single interaction.

The companions say the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would sometimes be walking in the streets of Medina and a young girl would be able to come and take him by his hand and walk with him wherever she wanted in any of the streets of Medina, and he would just follow her. He would just go with her because she is a young child who wants to take him and be with him. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would do that for her.

So it wasn't just the generosity of wealth — it wasn't just that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would give people money — but it was the generosity of personality as well. A generosity and a kindness of character such that each and every single person is treated in the right way. The poor companions would have their station with the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, despite the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ himself being relatively poor in the manner of speaking. He didn't have much that he possessed, didn't have much wealth. Months would come and they would go and he wouldn't light a fire in his house. They would survive on dates and water. But when someone would come and give him a gift of food or drink or milk, he would go and he would share it with the homeless companions first. He would give it to others before he would start with himself and his own family صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would even be kind to a stranger who would come, or just a companion that he wasn't especially close to, but just a member of his community. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was on one occasion given a cloak that someone had specially tailored for him. It is said in that narration in Sahih al-Bukhari that he was in need of the cloak — he didn't have much — and it was a beautiful tailored cloak. But when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ came out with his companions, one of those companions said, "O Messenger of Allah, that is an amazingly beautiful cloak — why don't you give it to me?" The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, despite his need of that piece of cloth, gave it to that companion and then left those companions and went back home.

The other companions there became upset and began to rebuke him, saying, "You know that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was in need of that — so why did you ask him for it?" He said, "I wanted it so that I would be able to be shrouded in it at the time of my death." But look at how the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would not say no — he would give and he would give and he would give. And that is the meaning of this hadith where Ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhuma described the personality of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Training Ourselves in Ramadan

This, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, is an aspect of Ramadan that we also need to train ourselves upon. These 30 days — or these three odd weeks that are left of this month of Ramadan — we need to train ourselves not only in those aspects of worship that this month entails, but also when it comes to the way that we look upon others, the way that we treat them, the way that we deal with others. Not only those people who are in need or come and ask for our help, but even with our own families. That we spend some of our time in this month of Ramadan helping the elderly members of our family. We help those people within our family who are ill or sick, or those people who genuinely need some help. We spend some time in this month of Ramadan paying attention to our own children, teaching them the beauty of this month of Ramadan.

It is not right that the month of Ramadan should come and go and our children yet do not understand the amazing nature of this month — its status and its virtue in Islam, its many benefits in this religion. They should know that it's not just about eating and drinking for some reason they don't understand, or that we come at night and pray taraweeh and again it is something odd to them. They should understand and appreciate Islam. That is part of Ramadan.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would have this generosity of personality because of his ibadah. It is because he was reciting and revising the Quran with Jibreel alayhi salam that he would become more generous. And it is unfortunate that we spend time reading the Quran but it is at the expense of being generous and kind. We are so tired from our ibadah that we have nothing left in the tank for anyone else. But the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — it was because of his extra worship that he would be inspired to be even more generous and even more good. This is what Ramadan is about.

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was generous all the time anyway. These narrations that I mentioned to you are general narrations. This is how he was throughout the year — this is how he was day in and day out. It is just the way that he was. But in the month of Ramadan, that level of generosity would increase. That character and that good personality would increase and it would touch everyone.

The Obligation of Zakah

And so, as they say, charity begins at home. Our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that when it comes to this aspect of generosity and personality, there are certain things that are an obligation upon us — certain things that me and you as Muslims are obligated to do in terms of our generosity and in terms of our kindness. And the first of those obligations — that it is extremely important to remember, especially in this month of Ramadan — is the pillar of Zakah.

That pillar of Zakah, which unfortunately is often neglected by mass swathes of the community. Zakah is a pillar of Islam. Allah in the Quran, nearly 30 times, links it with salah — mentions the two of them together in the same verse. Zakah is something which Allah has obligated upon us. So as we are generous in our sadaqah and in our ibadah and in everything else that we do — in our personality — we always begin with what Allah has obligated upon us.

Our Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhuma, when he sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu anhu to Yemen to teach those people and to bring them to Islam and to convey the message to them. He said to him: "You are coming to a people who follow the scriptures. So the first thing that you call them to is la ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah — none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Fa in hum ata'uka lithalik — if they accept that and they agree to it and they follow it, then let them know that Allah has made obligatory upon them five prayers every single day and night. And if they agree to it, fa in hum ata'uka lithalik — if they agree to it and they submit to it — then let them know that Allah has obligated upon them a Zakah that is taken from their wealthy and given to their poor.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1458; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 19)

That is what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ sent him with. That pillar of Zakah is an extremely important component of Islam. And I mention this today because the vast majority of Muslims will give their Zakah — or aim to give their Zakah — in the month of Ramadan. So in this month of Ramadan, if your Zakah is due and you haven't paid it yet, it is now the time to pay that Zakah. Zakah is an obligation upon you whenever it is due upon you.

Our Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in a number of ahadith about the punishment of those people who withhold their Zakah — they don't give their Zakah, they don't pay their Zakah, for whatever reason it may be, having neglected this major pillar of Islam. In the time of Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu, he was willing to go to war because there were certain people in the Arabian Peninsula who rejected Zakah — they rejected the principle and the pillar of Zakah. He went to war against those people because they rejected a major component of Islam. We, insha'Allah, do not reject Zakah, but unfortunately there are many Muslims who are very lazy when it comes to their Zakah — very lax when it comes to offering their Zakah. Many years have gone by and they have yet to offer their Zakah.

Our Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith collected in the Sunan of Ibn Majah, when he spoke about the evils of not paying Zakah, that those people who don't give Zakah — Allah withholds the rain from them, and were it not for the animals in the land they would receive no rain. Meaning the blessings of Allah that come upon us as a community, upon you as an individual, upon your family — it is because of that sadaqah and that Zakah that you give.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4019)

In yet another hadith, the Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — narrated by Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu and collected in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 987)

There is not a person who has gold or silver — meaning wealth, money, and cash — and they don't give its due right, meaning the right of Zakah, except that on the Day of Judgment that same gold and silver, that same wealth and money and cash, it will be made into sheets that will then be placed in the fire of Hell in order to make them hot. And when they are cast-iron hot, those same sheets will be used and they will be pressed upon his face and upon his back and upon his side. Every time those sheets of iron — or those sheets of gold and silver — cool, they will be placed in the fire of Hell again to burn and then again placed on that individual, on a day whose length is 50,000 years. That will continuously happen to that individual. The Day of Judgment is 50,000 years — for 50,000 years, until Allah finishes the accounting of His creation — and then that person will know his place, whether it is towards paradise or towards the fire.

In another hadith, the Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ likewise concerning those people who have wealth — Allah gave them the blessing of wealth, He gave them money and they are comfortable, and yes, they may not be rich, they may not be millionaires, but they have enough to be able to give the Zakah — and there are people within the community and within the world who are more in need of their wealth, who need that help and need that financial aid. But they withhold it. Our Prophet told us صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the hadith of Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 987)

The person who has wealth that Allah gave to them — that's what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said; Allah gave that wealth to you — but they don't give Zakah on it: on the Day of Judgment that wealth will turn into a bald-headed snake, a poisonous, venomous snake. That snake will come and it will twist itself and encircle and squeeze that person, and then it will begin to bite with its venomous bite upon his cheeks, and it will say, "I am your wealth, I am your money, I am your treasure." And that will take place on the Day of Judgment.

These ahadith are there to tell us how serious this issue of Zakah is — to tell us that we as Muslims have to fulfill these pillars of Islam. Allah has made it obligatory upon you to give your sadaqah voluntarily — to give it to any aid project if you wish — but what Allah has made an obligation upon you is to give your Zakah. So if you have gold or silver, if you have money in the bank, if you have shares or you own a business, and it is over the nisab — that minimum amount upon which Zakah is due, which is only a few hundred pounds these days — then you must give 2.5% every Islamic year, every Islamic calendar lunar year. 2.5% is due.

And if you are someone who hasn't given Zakah for the past few years, this Ramadan is the time for you to make tawbah, to turn back to Allah and show the generosity of spirit that our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to have. Realize that when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is described in the month of Ramadan, those descriptions do not speak about the pillars of Islam or his obligations, because they went without saying — they were part and parcel of the life of a Muslim. So those ahadith don't stress those issues; rather they stress those voluntary issues, because that is how we should be in Ramadan — excelling in optional deeds. But when we are falling short in some of our basic pillars of Islam and our obligations that Allah has placed upon us, it is important that we go back and assess ourselves in terms of this month of Ramadan and what it is that Allah wants from us.

Taqwa: The Goal of Fasting

Alhamdulillah. Allah when He describes the month of Ramadan and describes His great obligation of fasting, He says:

O you who believe, O you who prescribe to Iman — fasting has been made an obligation upon you just as it was made an obligation on those who came before you, so that you may attain Taqwa. This word Taqwa and this concept of Taqwa — loosely translated in the English language as being God-fearing or having piety — is one that is repeated many times in the Quran and many times in the Sunnah of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

What Taqwa means at its most basic level — this great objective and goal of the month of Ramadan and of fasting — is to construct between yourself and the punishment of Allah a barrier. To place between you and Allah's punishment, His wrath and His anger, a barrier that will save you from the fire of Hell. And you construct that barrier by fulfilling your obligations — by praying your five salawat, by fasting this month of Ramadan, by giving your Zakah, by performing Hajj if you have the ability to do so. That is how you construct that barrier. And then once you have built that foundation of that barrier, then you increase in all of those other optional deeds that we always hear about. That is the essence of Taqwa and that is the meaning of Taqwa.

The importance of Taqwa in this month is especially realized in this amazing act of worship that is fasting — because fasting, from all of the acts of worship that Allah has placed upon us, is one of the most secretive and personal acts of worship. When you pray, people know that you're praying. When you give Zakah and charity, people can see you dipping your hands into your pockets and giving money. When you are performing Hajj, people can see you making Tawaf and Sa'i — they see you on the plain of Arafah and in Mina and Muzdalifah. They see these things. But when you are fasting — even outside of the month of Ramadan — no one knows that you're fasting except you and Allah. It is an intensely private act of worship.

And what it helps you to do is build up that component of Taqwa, because one of the main cornerstones of Taqwa is to know that Allah knows you better than anyone else — that Allah is all-hearing and all-seeing and all-knowing — that Allah knows what is in the deepest recesses of your heart. Allah knows your intention and He knows your level of sincerity. And that is why in the month of Ramadan, or even outside of the month of Ramadan when we fast, we don't hide at home, we don't close and lock a door and then eat and drink in secret because no one else knows and no one else will see — we don't do it because we know, and Ramadan builds within us this component of Taqwa, that Allah knows, that Allah sees. So even though we may deceive everyone else, we cannot deceive ourselves, and more importantly we do not deceive Allah.

Making the Most of Ramadan

So in this month of Ramadan, as we come to the masjid and we worship, as we stay at home and we worship, as we fulfill these pillars of Islam, and as we help people through our generosity of spirit — through our kindness, through our good character and our personality — it should always be done with that component of Taqwa in mind. The month of Ramadan is a training round. It is once a month out of 12, because Allah wants us to take these lessons on for the remaining 11 months. So we need to take stock of ourselves towards this beginning of Ramadan and think about what it is that we want to achieve and the goals that we want to tick off, insha'Allah ta'ala, in this month of Ramadan, so that not only do we utilize this month of Ramadan as we should, but also that the month of Ramadan is something that helps us for the remainder of the year.

And on a final note — and in that sense of generosity of spirit — I ask you once again, with your generosity on this blessed day of Jumu'ah, the first Jumu'ah in this month of Ramadan, that you give generously to this masjid and that you spend in the way of Allah helping your local masjid. This masjid is your masjid. And from all of the people that deserve your charity — and there are many, and I know that there are many — your masjid has a place within that hierarchy. And not only does it deserve your charity, but one of the things that I want to stress upon you in this month of Ramadan is that you make du'a for this masjid as well — its imams and its leadership, its management, and all of you, the people that come to this masjid. We often neglect in our du'as our imams and our leaders and our masajid, but they are most often in need of our du'as because of the responsibility that they have upon their shoulders.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah that He blesses us, that He showers His mercy and forgiveness upon us in this month of Ramadan, that Allah accepts all of our good deeds and that He makes this a month in which we are emancipated from the fire of Hell, that Allah takes us into His mercy and into His paradise and saves us from the punishment of the fire. We ask Allah that He gives cure to those of our family who are ill and sick in this month of Ramadan, that Allah showers His mercy upon those of our family members who passed away before this month of Ramadan. We ask Allah to ease the suffering of all people across the world and that Allah makes their affairs easy for them in this blessed month of Ramadan.