On Charitable Giving from the Discourses of Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir

1.
On Charitable Giving the Beloved of Allah encouraged and transmitted the following:

Loving generosity is alone the true demonstration of universal religion.

Charitable giving extinguishes negativity as effectively as water extinguishes fire.

To mediate justly between two people is charitable giving. To help a person with his mount or baggage is charitable giving. To offer a single good or kind word is to give generously in charity. Every step taken on the way to prayer is pure charity to the world. Just to remove a harmful or dangerous object from a road is to give in charity to all humanity.

Whosoever helps any person in any form of pressing need, Allah Most High will immediately change his destiny, both here on earth and in eternity.

Allah Most High will offer special assistance to His humble servant as long as that servant continues consistently and kindly to assist his bothers (and sisters).

O children of Adam, pour forth whatever wealth has been given to you upon anyone in any kind of need, and I will pour forth My Divine Wealth upon you.

~ Sacred Tradition (Hadith) of Islam, from sayings of the Last Prophet and the Universal Messenger to Humanity, Muhammad Mustafa, as quoted from Lex Hixon's book Atom from the Sun of Knowledge


2.
Portrait of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani
One of the greatest representative of Prophet Muhammad and the Sultan of Saints, Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani in one his discourses touch upon the subject of Charitable giving and spending on the poor. The following discourse is part of his discourses that he delivered at his school in Baghdad as compiled in his book Purification of the Mind (Jila’ Al-Khatir) translated by Shetha Al-Dargazelli and Louay Fatoohi.

As in all of his sermons and writings, the Shaikh explains in these discourses to his audience how to draw nearer to God. His words are the fruit of years of personal strife against his lower self and complete dedication to God, thus telling the fascinating story of his attainment to nearness to God. The Shaikh addresses many spiritual diseases — such as envy, greed, arrogance, and attachment to this world — and the qualities that the seeker of God must acquire — such as love, renunciation, humility, satisfaction, patience, and truthfulness. He explains in a simple but very powerful and effective way to the wayfarers how to have their spiritual diseases healed and what qualities they need to acquire for their journey to God. The Shaikh’s words and advice are not targeted at certain people, but they address various spiritual states and stations. His words provide a drink for everyone who thirsts for knowledge that takes him nearer to his Lord.

Discourse of Spending on the Poor


Woe to you, O rich one! You must not think that offering thanks for your wealth is to merely say: “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” The real giving of thanks is comforting the poor by giving them some of what you have. You must pay to them the obligatory alms, then you must console them by giving them further as much as you can. You must give them without reminding them that you are doing a favor to them, for this harms the hearts and makes the donation impure. Many of the poor would rather endure the fire of poverty than bear the fire of being reminded of the favor.

Give the gift without deliberately reminding the receiver of your present, otherwise do not give at all. Have you not heard the following words of Allah (mighty and glorified is He): “O believers, do not make your alms void by reminding the recipient of your favor and causing harm” (from 2.264)? The nullification of alms means that they merit no reward, so the donor who reminds the recipient of his favor loses his money and reward and his heart becomes tarnished, because the donor’s reminder to the recipient of his favor is an act of associating partners with Allah. The believer gives and does not give a reminder of his favor but he rather offers thanks to Allah (mighty and glorified is He) for enabling him to give alms. He believes that Allah (mighty and glorified is He) is the Giver not himself. He believes that He is one with no partner, who takes from him and gives to others. He believes that it is He who gave him what he has and it is He who takes from him and gives to others.

O rich people, O You who have been granted affluence! Do not be misled by your wealth, do not boast of it, and do not use it to show arrogance to the poor, for this will cause your fall into poverty! And you, O young people, do not be misled by your youth and might over the poor, using your youth and might in acts of disobedience to Allah (mighty and glorified is He)! The works of disobedience are poison for the bodies of your religions. They are a beast that devours the flesh of your religions, good health, and wealth. How good this piece of poetry by one of them is:

    If you were in a state of favor, take care to maintain it,
    for the acts of disobedience remove the favors!

You will not earn anything without giving something. The men of knowledge and the men of wisdom are agreed that the state of bliss has to come to an end and that the real bliss can be attained only by renouncing bliss. ...The person who comes to know Allah (mighty and glorified is He) loves Him, and the person who loves Him obeys Him.

The believer exerts strenuous effort to give charitable donations from his possessions and prefer others to have them, for he knows that these charitable donations will be kept hidden for him should he need them. He exercises pious restraint and does not assume that everything he gets is pure and hence lawful. He, therefore, avoids many things in order to get one thing the root and branch of which he knows well. He tries hard to find reasons for donating anything in his possession to give to charity. He does not touch what he inherits from his father and mother saying to himself that they may have earned them while not exercising pious restraint, so he donates them to the poor and the needy.

O son of Adam, how stingy you are to yourself! Has He not asked you for a loan yet you refuse to lend Him? Have you not heard His (mighty and glorified is He) following words: “Who is he that will lend to Allah a good loan” (from 2.245)? If you give Him a loan through the hands of the poor, Allah will multiply it for you manifold and will give you, today and on the Day of Resurrection, much more than what you gave. Do business with Him and then you will make profit. Go ahead and do business with Him without putting Him to test first. When Imām Ja‘far Aṣ‑Ṣādiq (peace be on him) would find himself in need of five hundred gold coins while he had only fifty, he would donate the fifty gold coins so that a few days later five hundred gold coins would come his way. If the money would not come, however, he would not have doubts about his Lord (mighty and glorified is He), protest against Him, or accuse Him of niggardliness.

O miserable one, when a poor person comes asking for a loan, go ahead and lend him and never say: “Who is going to give me?” You must disagree with your lower self and give him a loan, and after a while make it a donation to him. Among the poor is one who disapproves of begging for alms, preferring to ask for a loan, with every intention of paying it back. He has confidence in Allah (mighty and glorified is He), and on the basis on this confidence he borrows. So, if he approaches you for a loan, O wealthy one, lend him and never face him with a request to pay back, for this would further humiliate him. If a long time past without you receiving any repayment, go to see him, ask him to accept that loan as a gift, and absolve him of his obligation. Thus, you will be rewarded for his first joy [when you gave him the loan] and for his second one [when you turned the loan into a gift.] The Prophet (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) has said: “A beggar at the door is a gift from Allah (mighty and glorified is He) to his servant.”

Woe to you! How can the beggar not be a gift from Allah (mighty and glorified is He) when he takes from your share in this world to add to your share in the hereafter? He saves for you something that you will find when you need it. The amount that you give him will vanish and disappear anyway, yet on account of giving it to him you will be promoted by several degrees in the eyes of Allah (mighty and glorified is He). Woe to you, O servants! Do not you feel ashamed that you worship your Lord so that He gives you Paradise, houris, and young servants? Paradise is the abode, but where is the Neighbor? One who seeks the face of Allah (mighty and glorified is He) is different from one who seeks Paradise, different from one who seeks this world, and different from one who seeks the creatures.

O people, you have to comfort the poor and give them preference over yourselves! When faith is still weak, you have to prefer them over yourselves. When faith is strong, you have to comfort them and prefer them over yourselves while smiling. Receive the poor with generosity or send them away in the kindest way when you have nothing to give. The Prophet (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) is reported to have said: “A beggar at the door is a gift from Allah (mighty and glorified is He) to his servant.” Woe to you! You hate Allah’s gift, reject it, and do not accept it? You will soon find out. Poverty will come to you, drive out your affluence, and replace it. Disease will come to you, drive out your good health, and replace it. Do not jeopardize the capital of favors that your Lord (mighty and glorified is He) has given you. The believer knows that the True One (mighty and glorified is He) sent the beggar to him so that He will give him from the favors that He has kept for him. He will find out that when he gives him, treats him with respect, and accepts to loan Allah through him, He will reward him with something that is more and better than his gift, both in this world and in the hereafter.

O backslider, you build relations with the sultans, the princes, and the rich seeking power and further worldly things, yet you do not do business with the King of kings, the Wealthiest of the wealthy, the One who never dies, the One who never becomes poor, the One who repays your loan to Him multiplied manifold! He gives you ten silver coins in return for everyone in this world, apart from your reward in the hereafter. He gives you blessings in this world and rewards you in the hereafter. Have you not heard that He (high is He) has said: “And what you spend He replaces it” (from 34.39)? O Allah, grant us [the favor of] working for You! Make it pleasant for us to serve You and stand at Your door among Your servants and “give us good in this world and good in the hereafter and protect us from the torment of the Fire.”

Woe to you! If you shut your doors in the faces of the poor, Allah (mighty and glorified is He) will shut things up in your faces, and if you open your doors to them, Allah (mighty and glorified is He) will open up things for you. If you spend your wealth for the sake of the face of Allah (mighty and glorified is He), He will replace them for you, and if you spend them for the sake of the creatures, He will impoverish you. Spend and do not be stingy, for generosity is from Allah (mighty and glorified is He) and niggardliness is from Satan. Allah (high is He) has said: “Satan promises you poverty and orders you to commit indecency” (from 2.268). Allah (high is He) has promised you reimbursement of any expenditure as He (high is He) has said: “And what you spend He replaces it” (from 34.39).

Woe to you! You lay claim to Islam, yet you disagree with the Messenger (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) and introduce into his religion what your passion desires! You have lied about your embracement of Islam. You are not a follower but a deviator. You are not compliant but discordant. Have you not heard that the Prophet (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) has said: “Follow and do not introduce heretical innovations for you have been provided with all that you need” and: “I have left you on a clear, unambiguous way”? You reject his sayings and contradict his words yet claim that you follow him?

Worshipping is the relinquishment of habitual practice. Worshipping abrogates habitual practice. The Law abrogates habitual practices and removes them. Adhere to the Law of your Lord (mighty and glorified is He) and give up your habitual practices. The learned person stands on the side of worshipping, whereas the ignorant one stands on the side of habitual practices. Accustom yourselves, your children, and your family members to doing what is good and to continue doing so. Accustom your hands to charitable spending of material things of this world and accustom your hearts to renouncing them. Do not behave with niggardliness, withholding them from those who need them. Do not turn down the request for help, otherwise Allah (mighty and glorified is He) will reject your plea for help. How would not He turn down your request when you have turned down His gift? The Messenger of Allah (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) has said: “A beggar at the door is a gift from Allah (mighty and glorified is He) to his servant.”

Woe to you! Do not you feel ashamed that you are sure of the poverty and hunger of your neighbor yet you deprive him of your help because of a false assumption? You say: “He has hidden gold but pretends to be poor!” You lay claim to faith, yet you go to sleep while your neighbor is starving, and you have a lot to spare but you do not give him anything! Your wealth will soon be snatched from your hand. Your feast will be taken from your hand. You will be humiliated and impoverished, and this world, which is your beloved darling, will abandon you. Give up this world by your own will not out of coercion.

Look at your allotted worldly shares, not at the shares of others. Be content with as little food as you need for survival and as little clothing as you need to cover your private parts. If anything else was destined for you, it will certainly come your way at the appointed time. This is how the intelligent and experienced people conduct themselves. They have relieved themselves of the burden of greed and humiliation. The ascetics have come to know this world. They have given it up on account of knowingness and experience. They have known that it comes forward then turns its back, gives then takes, enthrones then dethrones, loves then hates, fattens then devours, and raises to the top of the heads then lowers to the ground. Give it up with your hearts and your essences. Never drink from its breast. Never sleep in its lap. Never wish for it because of its ornament, the softness of its skin, its clothes, its nice speech, and the sweetness of its food, for its food is poisonous. It is deadly, charming, cunning, and perfidious. It is not the abode of permanent residence and honor. Look at what happened to those before you who went along with this world and how it treated them. Do not kill yourselves in your attempts to seek more things from this world, for it cannot give you more than your due. Give up seeking more.

Hold up your tongue, behave politely, be content, and say: “Allah has spoken the truth concerning His promise, and the Messenger (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) has spoken the truth when he said: ‘Your Lord has completed the creation, the assignment of subsistence, and the appointment of the times of things. The Pen with which He wrote everything that is to happen until the Day of Resurrection has already run dry,’ and in saying: ‘When Allah created the Pen He said to it: “Write!” It said: “What shall I write?” He (high is He) said: “Write down My decree about My creatures until the Day of Resurrection”. (Credit)


3.
The one who is intimate with the Lord of the Worlds relates these tender words directly from the Most Merciful:

"I will divinely proclaim on the awesome Day of resurrection, "O children of Adam, I was ill and you refused to nurse Me." They will reply, astonished, "How could we nurse You Who are the Lord of the Worlds?" I will then respond individually to each soul, mentioning the name of someone whom it knew on earth, "Do you not remember when My servant fell ill and you failed to visit him? If you had come to nurse this person, you would have found Me through him. Precisely the same is true about all those you have not fed or given drink."

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Technology of the Heart: On Charitable Giving from the Discourses of Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir
On Charitable Giving from the Discourses of Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir
Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani's Discourse on Giving to the Poor / Charitable Giving quoted from Purification of the Mind (Jila’ Al-Khatir): Discourses by Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani
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Technology of the Heart
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