Will you write the verses of the Quran and hadiths related to generosity?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Along with accepting generosity as a virtue and elevating it, the religion of Islam stops it from being a means of satisfying egoistic feelings and makes it acquire an ethical content consisting of the consent of Allah and love of humans.   

The Quran insistently emphasizes that the acts of those who spend their property to show off, not for the sake of Allah, do not have any ethical values and that helping others must be based on the intention of doing favors to people (birr) and showing respect to Allah (taqwa). (see al-Baqara 2/264; al-Maida 5/2; al-Layl 92/1720)

In the Quran, generosity is primarily shown among the attributes of Allah. Allah has infinite grace and generosity (ar-Rahman 55/27, 76; al-Alaq 96/3).

One of the names of Allah is karim (generous). (al-Infitar 82/6)

In addition, the divine names like Rahman (merciful), Rahim (compassionate), wahhab (giver of all), latif (subtle), tawwab (acceptor to repentance), ghaffar (forgiving), afuww (pardoner), rauf (kind) and hadi (guide) are concepts that express generosity through various aspects.

The following is stated in a hadith: “Allah is generous and likes generosity.” “Jawad”, one of the names of Allah, is used for the word “generous” in the hadith. (Tirmidhi, “Adab”, 41)

There are many narrations about the generosity of the Prophet (pbuh) in hadith books. The Prophet (pbuh) is introduced as the most generous person among people in the hadiths reported from famous Companions. (see Bukhari, Badul-Wahy, 5, Sawm, 7, Manaqib, 23; Muslim, Fadail, 48, 50).

The Companions like Anas b. Malik, Jabir b. Abdullah and Hz. Aisha said that the Messenger of Allah did not reject anyone who mentioned him about his need. (see Musnad, VI, 130; Muslim, Fadail, 56, 57)

After this information, we will quote the translations of some verses and hadiths about generosity:

The translations of some verses about generosity:

- “And nothing do ye spend in the least (in His cause) but He replaces it.” (Saba, 39)

- “If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed.” (al-Qasas, 84)

- “He that doeth good shall have ten times as much to his credit.” (al-Anam, 160)

- “The Evil one threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promiseth you His forgiveness and bounties. And Allah careth for all and He knoweth all things.” (al-Baqara, 268)

- “Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the "Face" of Allah. Whatever good ye give, shall be rendered back to you, and ye shall not Be dealt with unjustly.” (al-Baqara, 272)

- “And whatever of good ye give, be assured Allah knoweth it well.” (al-Baqara, 273)

- “Make not thy hand tied (like a niggard´s) to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that thou become blameworthy and destitute.” (al-Isra, 29)

- “So he who gives (in charity) and fears (Allah).” (al-Layl, 5)

- “But those most devoted to Allah shall be removed far from it,- Those who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification.” (al-Layl, 17, 18)

The translations of some hadiths about generosity:

- “Do not wish to be like anyone except in two cases:

A person, whom Allah has given wealth and who spends it righteously.

The one whom Allah has given knowledge and wisdom and who acts according to them and teaches them to others.” (Bukhari, Ilm 15, Zakah 5, Ahkam 3; Muslim, Musafirin 268)

- The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked his Companions: “Who among you considers the wealth of his heirs dearer to him than his own wealth?”

The Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah! There is none among us but loves his own wealth more.”

The Prophet said, “A person’s wealth is whatever he spends during his life on good deeds while the wealth of his heirs is whatever he leaves after his death!” (Bukhari, Riqaq 12)

- “Protect yourself from Hell-fire even with half a date.” (Bukhari, Zakah 9, 10, Manaqib 25; Muslim, Zakah 66-68)

- “Two angels come down every morning.

One of them says, 'O Lord! Give to every person who does charity.'

The other says, 'O Lord! Destroy the property of every miser.” (Bukhari, Zakah 27; Muslim, Zakah 57)

- The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Allah Almighty said,

‘O Son of Adam! Give away for Allah so that you will be given.’” (Bukhari, Tafsiru Surah (11) 2; Nafaqat 1; Tawhid 35; Muslim, Zakah 36, 37)

- Somebody asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh): “What deed of a Muslim is better?”

The Prophet said, “Giving food to the people you know and you do not know and greeting people.” (Bukhari, Iman 6, 20; Isti’dhan 9, 19; Muslim, Iman 63)

- “There are forty virtuous deeds and the best of them is the lending a female goat to a person so that he will milk it and benefit from it. If anyone does one of these virtuous deeds hoping for Allah's reward with firm confidence that he will get it, Allah will make him enter Paradise.” (Bukhari, Hiba 35)

- “O son of Adam! It is better for you if you spend your surplus (wealth), but if you withhold it, it is evil for you. There is (however) no reproach for you (if you withhold means necessary) for a living. And begin (charity) with your dependents; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand.” (Muslim, Zakah 97)

- Anas reported:

“It never happened that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was asked anything for the sake of Islam and he did not give that. Once, a person came and he gave him a large flock of sheep...” (Muslim, Fadail 57-58)

- Hz. Ummar narrates:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) distributed some goods. I said, “O Messenger of Allah! The others besides them were more deserving than these people, to whom you gave charity.

The Prophet said:

“They had in fact left no other alternative for me. They would either beg importunately from me or they would regard me as a miser, but I am not a miser” (Muslim, Zakah 127)

- Jubayr Ibn Mut’im narrates:

While we were in the company of the Messenger of Allah with the people returning from the Battle of Hunayn, Bedouin Arabs started to ask for their share of the booty insistently. Eventually, they made him stop under the tree called Samurah. His cloak was entangled by the tree. The Prophet stopped his camel and said,

“Give me my cloak. If I had as many camels as these trees you see, I would distribute them amongst you and you would not find me a miser or a liar or a coward.” (Bukhari, Jihad 24, Khumus 19)

- “Charity does not decrease the wealth. As a slave forgives others, Allah adds to his honor. If a person shows humility, Allah elevates him.” (Muslim, Birr 69)

- “There are three things for which I swear and narrate to you about; so, remember them.

The wealth of a slave shall not be decreased by charity.

No slave suffers injustice and is patient with it except that Allah adds to his honor.

No slave opens up a door to begging except that Allah opens a door for him to poverty.

And I shall narrate to you something else; so, remember it.

(First) A slave whom Allah provides with wealth and knowledge; so, he acts respectfully toward his Lord with it; he nurtures the ties of kinship with it, and he knows that Allah has a right in it. That is the most virtuous rank.

(Third) And a slave whom Allah provides with knowledge but does not provide with wealth. He has a truthful intention, saying: 'If I had wealth, I would do the deeds of so-and-so with it.' He has his intention; so, their rewards are the same.

(Third) A slave whom Allah provides with wealth but does not provide with knowledge. He spends his wealth rashly without knowledge, nor acting respectfully toward Allah, nor nurturing the ties of kinship; and he does not know that Allah has a right in it. That person is in the most despicable rank.

(Fourth) And a slave whom Allah does not provide with wealth or knowledge. He says: 'If I had wealth, I would do the deeds of so-and-so with it.' He has his intention; so, their sin is the same.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd 17)

- According to what is reported from Hz. Aisha, the family of the Messenger of Allah slaughtered a sheep. The Prophet (pbuh) asked, “What has remained of it?”

Hz. Aisha said “Nothing has remained of it except its shoulder.”

Thereupon, the Prophet said, “So, all of it has remained except its shoulder” (Tirmidhi, Sifatul-Qiyama 35)

- “Do not shut your money bag; otherwise, Allah too will withhold His blessings from you” (Bukhari, Zakah 21)

- “Do charity; do not keep counting your money; otherwise, Allah will withhold His blessings from you. Do not hide your money in a pot; otherwise, Allah will withhold His blessings from you.” (Muslim, Zakah 88)

- “The example of a miser and the one who gives in charity is like the example of two men wearing iron cloaks so tightly that their arms are raised forcibly towards their collar-bones. So, whenever a charitable person gives in charity, his cloak spreads over his body so much so that it wipes out his traces. However, whenever the miser wants to give in charity, the rings of the iron cloak come closer to each other and press over his body, and his hands gets connected to his collarbones. The miser then tries to widen it but in vain.” (Bukhari, Jihad 89; Zakah 28, Talaq 24; Libas 9; Muslim, Zakah 76-77)

- “If one gives in charity what equals one date-fruit from the honestly earned money - and Allah accepts only the honestly earned money - , Allah takes it in His right (hand) and then enlarges its reward for that person who has given it, as anyone of you brings up his baby horse, so much so that it becomes as big as a mountain.” (Bukhari, Zakah 8; Tawhid 23; Muslim, Zakah 63, 64)

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