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

The man said, “How strange! The daughter of Hatim al-Ta’i − the one renowned for his generosity in this land!” She replied, “Our father’s generosity has led us to this state, as you can see!” Allah says, “Make not your hand tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that you be73 Generosity come blameworthy and destitute.” So whilst the generous person is praised, the one who is wasteful is criticised. This is why Allah has forbidden us from both clenching our fists tight and opening them up completely, and ordered us instead to be balanced. The Prophet  was the most generous of people. He did not have any form of greed and did not cater for his own interests while ignoring that of others. Abu Hurayrah – may Allah be pleased with him – said, “I swear by Allah − the One besides whom there is no god! I was so hungry once that I was sitting down on the ground with a stone tied around my stomach! For a whole day I sat in the path where people make their way out of the mosque. Abu Bakr passed by me and I asked him about a verse from Allah’s book. I did not ask him except in the hope that he would ask me to go with him, but he didn’t. Then ‘Umar passed by me, and I asked him about a verse in Allah’s book only in the hope that he would ask me to go with him, but he didn’t.” The Companions at that point were experiencing a severe food shortage. If any of them had a guest, he probably would not have had anything to offer. Abu Hurayrah continued, “Then Abul-Qasim  passed by me and smiled as he saw me. He instantly realised by looking at my face what I needed. He said, ‘Abu Hurayrah!’ I said, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘Come along!’ Generosity He said that and walked off as I followed him. He entered his house. I asked his permission to enter and he gave me it, so I entered. He found some milk in a utensil and asked, ‘Where did this milk come from?’ His family said: ‘So-and-so gave it to you as a gift.’ He said, ‘Abu Hurayrah! I said, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘Go to the people of as-Sufa and ask them to come over.’ Ahl as-Sufa were the ‘guests of Islam’. They were a group of people who had accepted Islam, left their cities and decided to live in Madinah in the mosque, not worrying about family or wealth. The Prophet  would feel pity for them. Whenever he received anything in charity, he would send it to them directly, without having taken anything from it. Whenever he received something which was sent as a gift to them, he would share it with them. This bothered me. I thought to myself, ‘Why give this milk to Ahl as-Sufa? I am more deserving of drinking this milk to strengthen myself a little.’ When Ahl as-Sufa came, he ordered me to serve them. I wondered what would be left for me of this milk. However, there was no escape from obedience to Allah and His Messenger. I went and invited them to the Prophet’s house. They came, Generosity the Prophet  gave them permission to enter, and they began to take their seats in the house. The Prophet  said, ‘O Abu Hurayrah!’ I said, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘Take this and give it to them.’ I took the bowl and began to serve it to them one by one, so a person would take it and drink his fill from it and return it to me. I would then give it to the next person who would drink to his fill and return it to me. I would then give it to the third person who would do the same. This happened until I finally reached the Prophet . By this time all of them had drunk to their fill. The Prophet  took the bowl and placed it in my hands. He looked at me with a smile and said, ‘O Abu Hurayrah!’ I said, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘It seems only you and I are left.’ I said, ‘That’s right, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Have a seat and drink.’ I sat down and drank some. He said, ‘Drink more, so I drank more.’ He continued to say, ‘Drink more, until I finally said, ‘No. I swear by the one who has sent you with the truth, I do not have any space left!’ He said, ‘Give it to me, then.’ I gave it to him. He praised Allah, said ‘Bismillah’ and drank the rest of the milk.’” (al-Bukhari) Generosity The art of generosity has many secrets.