5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

He was not generous to seek Allah’s pleasure, but only that of the creation - in order to show off and for fame. Here is the hadith in full: Sufyan said, “I entered Madinah and saw a man with a crowd of people around him. I enquired, ‘Who is this man?’ They said, ‘Abu Hurayrah.’ I came close to him and sat down in front of him as he spoke to the people. When he became silent and the people left, I said, ‘I ask you by Allah, tell me of a hadith you heard from the Messenger of Allah  and learnt.’ Abu Hurayrah replied, ‘I will. I will narrate to you a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah , which I have understood and learnt.’ Abu Hurayrah took a took a deep gasp, such that he fainted Generosity and remained so for a while, then he regained consciousness and said, ‘I will surely narrate to you what the Messenger of Allah  told me. The two of us were in this house and there was none other than us present.’ He then took another deep gasp, such that he fainted and remained so for a while, then he regained conscionsness and wiped his face. He then said, ‘I will surely narrate to you a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah . The two of us were in this house and there was none other than us present.’ Abu Hurayrah then took another deep gasp and fell forward onto his face, and I pleaded with him for a long time, then he regained consciousness and said, ‘The Messenger of Allah  told me that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will descend to judge between His servants, and you will see each nation humbled on its knees. The first people He will call are: i) A man who had memorised the Qur’an ii) A man who had been killed in Allah’s path iii) A rich man Allah will say to the recitor of the Qur’an: ‘Did I not teach you what I revealed to my messengers?’ He will say, ‘You certainly did!’ Allah will ask, ‘So what did you do with your knowledge?’ He will say, ‘I would be reciting morning and evening.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied!’ The angels will also say, ‘You have lied!’ Allah will then say, ‘You wanted the people to say that so-and73 Generosity so is a recitor, and this is what was said.’ (Meaning, you achieved your reward in the world since you were showing off with your actions. You wanted people’s praise and you achieved it, since the people praised you and said, ‘so-and-so is a recitor!’) The rich man will then be brought and Allah will say to him: ‘Did I not give you plenty such that you never needed anyone’s help?’ He will say, ‘You certainly did.’ Allah will ask, ‘What did you do with the wealth I gave you?’ He will say, ‘I used to spend it on relatives and give in charity.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied!’ The angels will also say, ‘You have lied!’ Allah will say, ‘You wanted the people to say that so-and-so is very generous! Now that was what was said.’ Then the person who was killed in Allah’s path will be brought. He will be asked, ‘Why were you killed?’ He will say, ‘You ordered me to make Jihad, and so I fought until I was killed.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied!’ The angels will also say, ‘You have lied!’ Allah will say, ‘Rather, you wanted the people to say that soand-so is brave! Now that was what was said.’ Abu Hurayrah said, ‘The Prophet  then placed his hands Generosity on my knees and said, “O Abu Hurayrah! Those three will be the first of Allah’s creation to be thrown to the fire as fuel on the Day of Resurrection.’” (al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim, Sahih) Hence, once you have purified your intention before being generous, then have good tidings of great fortune! Those most deserving of being the recipients of your generosity in exchange for their love are your family members, such as your mother, your father, your wife and your children, and so on. As the Prophet  said, “Start with yourself, and then whoever you look after.” “It is enough of a sin for a person to forsake those who is obliged to spend on.” A distinction must be made between generosity and wastefulness. A man once walked through an old road and passed by a house which seemed as though it was about to crumble. He saw a little girl sitting at the door wearing ragged clothes, looking like a beggar. He asked her, “Who are you?” She said, “I am the daughter of Hatim al-Ta’i.” Hatim al-Ta’i was a legendary figure, renowned for his generosity par excellence in Arab history.