Ramadan 11, 1437AH
Assalamu alaykum warahmatullah! Allah asked “who is he that will lend Allah a
goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him
many times?” (Q2:245). Does Allah require a loan? For
what? If He does, who can give Him
the loan knowing that “… Allah is
free of all needs and you (mankind)
are poor …” (Q47:38). The loan request is a call unto you to do good
to others through sharing your endowment with
others so that Allah will benefit you more. The benefits which Allah gives you for
the paltry loan you have advanced
come in manifold. For our appreciation,
Allah says: “The likeness of those who
spend for Allah’s sake is as the
likeness of a grain of corn, it grows seven ears, every single ear has a
hundred grains, and Allah multiplies
(increases the reward of) for whom He
wills, and Allah is sufficient for His
creatures’ needs, All-Knower)
.” (Q2:261) Brethren! Do not fear poverty and refuse to
donate to Allah’s cause practice charity
because Abu Hurairah (RA) reported Allah’s
Messenger (SAW) as saying: “Charity does
not in any way decrease the wealth and the
servant who forgives, Allah adds to his respect; and the one who shows humility, Allah
elevates him in the estimation (of the people)
.” (Muslim)
Abu Hurairah (RA) also narrated that the
Prophet (SAW) said, '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 wants to give in charity, his
cloak spreads over his body so much so that it
wipes out his traces. But 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 get connected to
his collar-bones.’ Abu Huraira heard the
Prophet (SAW) saying, 'The miser then tries to
widen it but in vain.' (Bukhari) Abu Hurairah (RA) also narrated that the
Prophet (SAW) said, “Every day two angels
come down from Heaven and one of them
says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who
spends in Your cause’, and the other (angel)
says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser’” (Bukhari) .
Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that: “the Messenger
of Allah (SAW) was the most generous of
people [in doing good], and he was most
generous of all in Ramadan when Jibreel met
with him, and he used to meet him every night in Ramadan and teach him the Qur’an. The
Messenger of Allah (SAW) was more
generous in doing good than a blowing
wind” (Bukhari). It is this goodness practiced
by the Prophet, which you claim to follow, that
Allah calls you to. Surprisingly “among you are some who are niggardly. And whoever is
niggardly, it is only at the expense of his
ownself” (Q47:38) Do not forget that all the charities
that you give while in this world is
your savings for the Hereafter and
“whatever you send forth for
yourselves , you will certainly find it
with Allah, better and greater in reward” (Q73:20).
