In broad terms, generosity is a great characteristic that assumes ten degrees, as listed below:
1. Generosity by means of sacrificing one’s life, which is the highest degree.
2. Generosity through one’s leadership when a leader selflessly meets his people’s demands and needs.
3. Generosity by sacrificing one’s rest and by working hard for the benefit of others instead.
4. Generosity by teaching others, which is a higher degree than financial generosity.
5. Generosity through one’s esteem or status, for example, interceding for others.
6. Generosity by doing favors to others, such as judging in disputes, helping someone to get on a means of transportation and placing his luggage on board, or saying a kind word to someone. All three are forms of charity.
7. Generosity by one’s honor, such as forgiving those who backbite, insult, or tarnish one’s honor, as Abu Dhamdham, may Allah be pleased with him, did.
8. Generosity by means of having patience, endurance, and suppressing one’s anger; and this is better than financial generosity
9. Generosity by means of being good-natured, smiling at others and being cheerful. This is a better type than generosity by having patience
10. Generosity by not coveting what others have
Every form of generosity touches people’s hearts in a special and distinct way. Allah The Almighty guarantees to give generous people more than they give to others and to destroy what the miserly withhold from others. From Allah The Almighty alone do we seek help.
The Prophet, , practiced all forms of generosity. The following are some examples of this.
The First Example: Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, describes his generosity
In a Hadeeth on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, “It never happened that the Prophet withheld anything that was asked for by anyone in return for embracing Islam. Once a man came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi was sallam, and the Prophet gave him sheep that were enough to fill the space between two mountains. Hence, the man returned to his tribe, and said, ‘People, embrace Islam, for Muhammad grants as generously as if he does not fear poverty.’” [Muslim]
This wise conduct of the Prophet, , indicates his great generosity. It should be noted that he would give money to people seeking the Pleasure of Allah The Almighty and to encourage people and attract their hearts to accept Islam. It might have happened that some people embraced Islam to gain such favors, but their hearts would soon afterwards accept the reality of faith and develop firm commitment to Islam. Later on, to these people, Islam was worth the world. This was thanks firstly to the grace of Allah The Almighty, then the grace of the Prophet, , and the light of Islam.
The Second Example: Safwaan, may Allah be pleased with him, describes his generosity
It was narrated that theProphet, , went to the Conquest of Makkah, and then he set out with the Muslims to Hunayn to fight there. Allah The Almighty granted victory to His religion and the Muslims. After the battle, the Messenger, , gave one hundred camels to Safwaan ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, then another hundred camels, and then another hundred camels. Hence, Safwaan ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “By Allah, the Messenger gave me what he gave me [and my state of mind at that time was] that he was the most detested person amongst the people in my eyes. But he continued to give to me until he became the dearest of people to me.” [Muslim]
Another similar Hadeeth on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, states, “A man would embrace Islam for the sake of worldly favors, but soon after he would became Muslim, Islam would become dearer to him than the world and all what it contains.” [Muslim]
If the Prophet, , sensed that a Muslim had weak faith, he , would bestow upon him generous gifts, as he was reported to have said: “I give to a person while another is dearer to me for fear that he [the first] may be thrown in Hell on his face [if he were to abandon Islam].” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] That is why he, “Would give some people from Quraysh one hundred camels.” [Al-Bukhari]
The Third Example: His generosity with a polytheist woman
A mark of the generosity and great manners of the Prophet, , is his conduct with a polytheist woman who had two water skins. After he asked for water from her for his Companions to drink and she gave them some, they returned to her the skins filled with more water than they had taken. After that, the Prophet, , asked the Companions to collect food for her. They collected dates and flour until they formed a large quantity of food and packed it up in a bundle, helped her mount her camel and put the bundle in front of her. The Prophet, , addressed her: “Go and feed this to your children. You know, by Allah, that we did not decrease your water. It is Allah who provided us with the water to drink.”
The woman returned to her family, and said, “I have met the greatest magician, or prophet, as they claim.” After she told them what had happened, Allah The Almighty guided her people to Islam by means of her, and thus, all of them, including her, embraced Islam. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Another version of this incident states that Muslims would launch incursions on the disbelievers living around her precinct but did not approach her people. Therefore, she said one day, “I do not see that such people are leaving you alone for no reason. Would you embrace Islam?” They obeyed her and became Muslims. [Al-Bukhari]
There are two things that caused the woman to embrace Islam:
First: The miracle of the Prophet, , when he and the Companions drank some of her water and yet it did not decrease in quantity. This was a miracle that confirms the truthfulness of the message of the Prophet, .
Second: The generosity of the Prophet, , when he asked the Companions to collect some food for her, and they raised a large amount.
She made her tribe embrace Islam as the Muslims would not attack them by approval of the Prophet, , for the purpose of attracting their hearts to Islam. This caused them to embrace Islam.
Here we have given just a few examples that highlight the generosity of the Prophet, , whom we need most to follow and seek his light and guidance in his Da‘wah (call) and other affairs. Help is to be sought from Allah The Almighty.