Hatem al-Haj – ADB029 Al-Adab Al-Mufrad – ADB029 Al-Adab Al-Mufrad – Chapter on Joking

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The speakers discuss the importance of "naught" in Arabic to indicate emotional maturity and clarity in relationships. They stress the need for navigating emotions and moments in relationships and using "lighthearted and playful gestures" to validate emotions. The segment also touches on the use of "empowerment" in Islam, the importance of honoring the Prophet's promises for small things, and the importance of sharing Yo' Yo' small generosity for small things.
AI: Summary ©
Surah As-Salamu ala Rasool Allah wa ala
alihi wa sahbihi wa man wa ala asam
ma'a ma'a ba'd Al-Imam al
-Bukhari rahimahullah said in his book Al-Athab
al-Mufrad Bab al-Muzah al-Mizah Al
-Muzah is the verbal noun, so it's joking.
Al-Muzah would be jokes.
Chapter on jesting or joking.
Arabic Arabic Arabic
Arabic Arabic Arabic Arabic
Arabic Arabic And as reported from the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wa sallam that he once passed
by some of his wives among whom was
Um Sulaym.
He said, O Anjasha, take it easy while
leading the caravan with the delicate ones.
Abu Qilaba said, the Prophet ﷺ said a
word, which if some of you had said,
others would have rebuked him for it.
He said, take it easy while leading the
delicate ones.
Qawarir means what?
The fragile vessels.
So he is referring to women as al
-Qawarir, and he's saying to his ḥadda, the
person who like leads the caravan by chanting.
You know, when you lead a caravan of
camels, you sing for the camels to basically
regulate the movement of the entire caravan and
stuff.
So and Joshua had a beautiful voice.
So sometimes when he sings for the camels,
the camels start to move a little bit
faster and more forcefully.
So this would cause the women on top,
you know, the camels, basically the disturbance of
the strong movements of the camels or the
forceful, rapid movement of the camels.
So he said to him, رويدًا سوقك بالقوارير
Take it easy while leading the caravan.
Take it easy with the delicate ones.
And Abu Qilaba says that the Prophet ﷺ
spoke this word, which tells you that cultures
change.
You know, cultures change and what is acceptable
in one culture may not be acceptable in
another culture.
And you pay attention to these things.
Now this does not mean that the thing
has an inherent value and the inherent value
changes.
So remember when we said that the Prophet
ﷺ entered the Mecca with four braids.
Well, it doesn't mean that the Prophet always
braided his hair, but you know, this was
not something that people would frown upon to
braid your hair for a man, you know,
for a man like the Prophet ﷺ.
So this was not something that people would
frown upon.
Nowadays, I guess, people frown upon braiding, you
know, for men.
So would you pay attention to this?
Yes, you would pay attention to this, you
know, the scholars have said that these matters
change and you pay attention to the culture.
Now if you see someone with hair braids,
do you condemn this act because it's inherently
bad?
Of course not.
If the Prophet did it, then it is
not inherently bad.
It cannot be inherently bad.
The Prophet did it.
We have a benchmark.
Our benchmark is the Prophet ﷺ.
So it can't be inherently bad.
Now would you, you know, so if someone
does that, and it depends also on the
culture and it depends on circumstances.
So someone doing this in New Jersey is
different from someone doing this in Lahore and
Cairo.
It depends on the culture and how acceptable
it is within the culture.
So but would you advise people to pay
attention to the culture?
Yes, you would advise people to pay attention
to the culture.
Anyway, so certain things that people said or,
you know, that they may be subject to
cultural or that they may be subject to
cultural changes, mizah or joking is basically
a sign of emotional maturity, sign of emotional
maturity.
You know, when serious men joke or make
lighthearted comments, this is a sign on their
emotional maturity that they are able to navigate
a spectrum of emotions still with integrity, purpose
and grace.
Doing this is basically more complete than the
people who are serious all the time.
To show that you're able to navigate different
emotions at different times, different circumstances.
And you're not monotonous, like, because monotonous people,
they may be naturally inclined to that.
And sometimes it may be fake.
They may be pretending, maybe pretending to be
like serious all the time.
You know, the serious people, religious and pious
person or something.
But the, you know, the Prophet and his
companions have shown us their ability to navigate
different emotions at different times and different circumstances
with ease, spontaneity, you know, and maturity.
So the next hadith.
Abu Huraira reported people said, Oh, Messenger of
Allah, you just were a joke with us.
He replied, Indeed, but I only speak the
truth, but I only speak the truth.
And that's, like I said, you know, navigating
the whole spectrum with sort of integrity.
I mean, it doesn't lie, you know, purpose.
He's still aware of the purpose of life
and everything.
And he's using, you know, within acceptable measures,
lightheartedness and joking as a way of refreshing
and a way of connecting and bonding with
people.
And that's what he used to do.
But at the same time, he only spoke,
he only spoke the truth.
Now, if you say a joke that is
not true, that is not true, and people
know that it is not true, it's likely
okay.
It's likely okay, but it is not befitting
of the status of the Prophet ﷺ.
It's not befitting of the position of prophethood.
But people who make jokes nowadays and people
like, you know, people know that they are
not lying.
People know that this is not true.
Like it would be lying if people actually
believe that what you're saying.
But if people know that it's a joke,
then it's not lying.
It's not lying.
It's likely permissible.
Was that even that befitting of the Prophet
ﷺ?
No, of course not.
Because, you know, nothing came out of it
except the truth of his mouth ﷺ.
Then, So examples of
what the Prophet ﷺ, just to make it,
you know, when the woman came to him
and he told her, your husband has white
in his eyes, referring to this white.
And, you know, that would have meant her
cataract, like white in the blackness.
No, he meant the white, the eye white.
So he didn't say anything but the truth,
but it was lighthearted.
Or when he says to someone, we will
give you like the child of a camel
or like a child of a camel.
And then he said, what am I going
to do with a child of a camel?
I need to travel.
I need like a camel.
And he said, every camel is a child
of a camel.
Something like this.
And, you know, no old woman will enter
the Jannah.
And then he told her, you will be
young, etc.
All of these are examples of, you know,
lighthearted jokes that were still true.
Then, Bakr ibn Abdullah
said, the
companions of the Prophet ﷺ would playfully throw
watermelon rinds at one another.
But when it came to serious matters, they
were the most resolute of men.
They were the true men.
They were rijal, true men, most resolute of
men.
And that shows you the same concept.
Navigate the whole spectrum with integrity, with, you
know, composure, with grace and purpose.
So when it was time for them to
throw watermelons at each other, they did it.
Of course, you may say, it was likely
not Abu Bakr and Umar.
Perhaps, maybe, yeah.
Perhaps Abu Bakr and Umar were likely not
throwing watermelon rinds at each other.
But these are still great men.
These are still great sahaba, you know.
And it doesn't mean that you have to
do this.
You know, it doesn't mean that you have
to do this with everyone in every circumstance.
It depends on the context.
They did it within the right context.
They did it when it did not offend,
you know, the others.
And they did it within the right context
when it was not, basically, it didn't cause
any frowns.
It didn't cause any displeasure or frowns.
So if people do this nowadays, they should
not be blamed.
You know, like friends with each other.
If they want to be lighthearted and if
they want to be playful and do something
like this, that is not blameworthy.
In fact, if people refrain from this, sort
of to pretend seriousness, then that is blameworthy.
You know, you don't want to elevate yourself
above the sahaba to pretend something that you're
not.
To pretend something that you're not.
No one is asking you to basically throw
watermelon rinds at, you know, just like as
a sunnah.
Because it's not a sunnah or anything.
You know, there's no sunnah in throwing watermelon
rinds at other people.
But, like, if you think that you're above
this, then you're arrogant and you don't know
your place.
So Ibn Abi Mulaikah reported that Aisha gestated
in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ.
Her mother said, O Messenger of Allah, this
is just some of the playful gesting of
the people of Kinana.
The Prophet ﷺ replied, No, it is part
of our gesting.
And honestly speaking, there is some awkwardness in
this wording of the hadith.
And I even consulted, you know, Fadlullah al
-Samad, a commentary on al-Athab al-Mufrad
and other commentaries on al-Athab al-Mufrad.
And people recognized that there is something that
doesn't make a lot of sense.
Why is the Prophet ﷺ saying, بَلْ بَعْضُ
مَسْحِنَ هَذَا الْحَيِّ No, it is part of
our gesting.
Anyway, there is no reason to say but
here.
There is no reason to say no, it
is.
Because they are from Kinana.
Anyway.
But the point is, Aisha, you know, the
hadith is da'if to begin with.
But if you accept the hadith, then Aisha
used to joke around with the Prophet ﷺ.
Well, that is a given.
Yes, she used to.
So this is not telling us anything new.
So the fact that this is da'if
doesn't mean anything because it is not telling
us anything new.
So Aisha used to make jokes with the
Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ used to
tolerate the jokes.
If that is what the hadith is telling
us, then it is not telling us anything
new.
Then hadathana muhammad ibn al-sabah qala hadathana
khalid huwa ibn abdullah an humayd al-taweel
an anas ibn malik qala ja'a rajul
al-nabi ﷺ yastahmiluhu faqala ana hamiluka ala
waladi naqa qala ya rasulullahi wa ma asna
'u bi waladi naqa faqala rasulullahi ﷺ wa
hal talidu al-ibilu illa al-nuq wa
hal talidu al-ibila illa al-nuq qala
anas ibn malik reported a man came to
the Prophet ﷺ asking him for a mount.
Like a ride.
The Prophet ﷺ said, I will carry you
on the child of a she-camel.
The man asked, O Messenger of Allah, what
can I do with the child of a
she-camel?
The Prophet ﷺ replied, Do camels give birth
to anything but?
Or do she, you know?
Wait a second.
Are camels anything but the children of she
-camels?
Then he said, Chapter Joking with Children.
Anas ibn Malik said, The Prophet ﷺ used
to mix with us even to the extent
that he would say to my younger brother,
O Abu Umair, what happened to the little
bird, al-Nughayr?
And, you know, there is something profound about
this hadith also because, you know, people have
different concerns.
This validation of emotions, you know, emotional intelligence,
emotional intelligence depends to a great extent on
your validation of people's emotions no matter how,
you know, no matter what their significance is
to you.
Like, you know, this child, so the Prophet
ﷺ has tons of concerns about the ummah
and about, you know, you know, the deen
and about everything.
But this, this kid, this kid's main concern,
you know, is his bird, his little bird.
So the Prophet ﷺ validates his emotions, asks
him about his little bird.
This acknowledgement and validation of emotions is extremely
important for emotionally intelligent people.
They need to be able to, you know,
because oftentimes we think, you know, people are
dying in Gaza and you're talking about, certainly
alhamdulillah, that the massacre and the genocide has
ended.
But great things could be happening, grave things
could be happening for, you know, part of
the ummah somewhere or for you, yourself.
But then you may want to validate smaller
concerns of other people, you know.
So that little child, you want to validate
their concern about their bird.
Even though Quraysh may be plotting to attack
you or the Romans may be moving their
troops or whatever it is that is happening.
But you want to validate the emotions and
the concerns of that little child.
And this is one of the hallmarks of
emotionally intelligent people.
And emotional intelligence may be more important ultimately
for the cultivation of your virtues than other
types of intelligence.
Next.
Abu Huraira reported the Prophet ﷺ took the
hand of either al-Hasan or al-Husayn.
Placed their feet on his feet and said,
climb up.
So he used to play with children.
And that's a given.
We know this.
Abu al-Darda said there is nothing heavier
in the scale than good character.
There is nothing heavier in the scale than
good character.
This is the Bab of Husn al-Khuluq,
the Bab of good character.
And we said al-Khuluq is your internal
image.
Al-Khalq is your external image.
And they are the same, right?
Wait a second.
So al-Khalq al-Khuluq or al-Khulq.
So they don't look the same here, right?
Anyway, you get it.
Wait a second.
So it's the same.
But you have the diacritics here are a
little different.
So this is al-Khalq al-Khuluq or
al-Khuluq.
This is your internal image.
This is your external image.
These are your external features.
This is your size, your shape, your color.
This is your internal image.
Your character.
And so they used to say you this
this is perceived through eyesight.
This is perceived through insight.
You perceive people's khalq through your eye through
eyesight.
And you perceive people's khuluq through insight.
al-Khaluq and al-Khuluq.
And of course al-Khuluq more important than
al-Khuluq.
So Allah created you with two images.
An internal one and an external one.
The internal one is al-Khuluq or al
-Khuluq.
And the external one.
So what is al-Khuluq?
You know we said it's your internal image.
But the definition of al-Khuluq they say
حالة أرهي أراسخة في النفس تصدر عنها الأفعال
من غير فكر ولا روية or حالة للنفس
تؤدي إلى الأفعال من غير فكر ولا روية
they have different definitions for al-Khuluq or
al-Khuluq.
So حالة أرهي أراسخة it means like a
stable established state of the soul.
It's a state of the soul.
It's the state of your inner being.
The state of your inner being تصدر عنها
الأفعال من غير فكر ولا روية that motivates
action or results in action without deliberation.
Without deliberation.
So generous people they don't think when they
give.
It's without deliberation.
You know so you pass by like a
poor person and generous people they don't deliberate
because they have in part of their inner
image part of their internal image is the
character of generosity.
And there is we said that remember when
we talked in the beginning of this series
we talked about we said that تزكية is
three elements spirituality that's روحانيات and that's the
basis of everything the basis of everything and
then character or conduct that is الأخلاق and
then أداب etiquettes character, conduct, ethics all of
this is called الأخلاق.
And then etiquettes etiquettes are basically the manifestations
of your character.
So giving is a sign of generosity.
Giving is a sign of generosity.
What is the خلق?
The خلق is generosity.
The أدب or the action that resulted emanated
from that خلق is the giving.
Okay and then all of this is based
on spirituality on the state of your spirit
and your connection with Allah SWT because Allah
is the source of all good.
So why are atheist people generous?
Some of them are generous.
We said that this is herd generosity.
These are things that were acquired because Allah
SWT from Allah still from Allah because the
natural disposition of human beings Allah SWT created
human beings with natural disposition.
So the source is still from Allah even
though they may reject it or deny it.
But certainly eventually eventually when that prevails when
the denial of God prevails those أخذاك will
be will dry up gradually.
That could take centuries but they will dry
up because they are disconnected from the source.
They are disconnected from the source.
Anyway so الخلق the internal image the state
of being of inner being the state of
your soul that results in actions without deliberation.
This is what we are talking about here.
These ethics are what we are talking about
here.
You could say that this is as far
as you are concerned but as far as
ethics are concerned there is like a bundle
of principles and principles and guidelines that were
regulated by the Sharia that lead to wholesome
living and that lead to you know success
success in this life and the hereafter.
The Prophet ﷺ said that there is nothing
heavier in the scale than good character which
highlights the importance and the significance of good
character in our deen.
And this is also an invitation to people
invitation for people to cultivate virtue in themselves
because at the end of the day you
will be put in the scale they say
that people you yourself will be put in
the scale.
Who are the ones that are thaqalat mawazinahum?
The people who cultivated those virtues they will
come and they will be placed in the
scale and they will be heavier.
That's why the Prophet ﷺ said that the
legs of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud the legs
of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud weigh heavier than
the mountain of Uhud are heavier than the
mountain of Uhud because they will be weighed.
How do you weigh the legs?
It's not the muscles it's not the bones.
Whatever these legs were used for you know
all of this will be weighed.
Then he says Abdullah ibn
Amr
said the Prophet ﷺ was neither obscene nor
vulgar he would say the best among you
are those who are best in character the
best among you are those who are best
in character.
That's a benchmark a measuring stick a yardstick
you know if you want to measure people
if you want to measure yourself then you
see you have a way to do this
the Prophet ﷺ gave you something objective to
measure yourself with.
Because like I said these akhlaq manifest in
adab manifest in proper etiquette proper behavior proper
you know so you can measure yourself.
So Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father
from his grandfather reported that the Prophet ﷺ
said to them shall I inform you of
the one most beloved to me and the
closest to me on the day of judgment
the people remain silent.
He repeated it twice or three times they
said yes O Messenger of Allah he replied
the best of you in character the best
of you in character Abu
Huraira said the Prophet ﷺ said I have
only been sent to perfect righteous character I
have only been sent to perfect righteous character
or ethics to perfect ethics to perfect righteous
character you notice a few things here you
notice the one it highlights what it highlights
the importance of good character good conduct in
Islam of course if he is sent to
perfect good character then that highlights the importance
of good character in Islam the other thing
here is that you notice that he said
I have only been sent to perfect righteous
character or good conduct in Islam been only
sent to perfect so this is not to
initiate this is not to introduce this is
to perfect this is a recognition that you
are born with these character they are built
into you but the Prophet ﷺ was sent
to refine them perfect them polish them make
them shine so it is refinement and perfection
it's not initiation it's not introduction and there
is also a recognition here of the previous
messages that this is an ongoing work an
ongoing work it will be fulfilled and perfected
by me but this has been an ongoing
work next Aisha
said whenever the Prophet ﷺ was given a
choice between two matters he would choose the
easier of the two as long as it
did not involve sin but if it involved
sin he would distance himself from it more
than anyone else he never took revenge for
himself but if the sanctity of Allah was
violated he would avenge it for the sake
of Allah he would avenge it for the
sake of Allah so this hadith is about
the Prophet ﷺ and the nature of the
Prophet ﷺ he liked ease did not like
hardship as long as ease did not involve
sin he would always go for ease not
hardship and it also shows the impartiality of
the Prophet ﷺ and the magnanimity of his
character he never avenged himself but he would
only avenge the you know the rights of
Allah ﷻ sanctities of Allah ﷻ and certainly
he was our benchmark the ultimate basically form
of the ultimate realization of the ultimate realization
of virtue was the Prophet ﷺ so we
were given the book we were given the
instructions we were given the guidance but we
were given also the example to follow along
with this guidance so it was not only
theory that we were given that was passed
down to us but the example as well
was given to us in the Prophet ﷺ
and thereafter his disciples رضي الله عنهم then
he said قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدَ بِنِ كَثِيرِ قَالَ
أَغْبَرَ نَوْسِفِيَانَ عَنْ زُبَيِّدَ عَنْ مُرَّىٰ عَنْ عَبْدِ
اللَّهِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَ قَاسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَخْلَاقَكُمْ
كَمَا قَاسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَ يُعْطِي
الْمَالَ مَنْ أَحَبَّهُمَنْ لَيُحِبَّ وَلَيُعْتِي الْإِيمَانَ إِلَّا مَنْ
يُحِبَّ فَمَنْ ظَنَّ بِالْمَالَ أَنْ يُنْفِقَهُ وَخَافَ الْعَدُوَّ
أَنْ يُجَاهِدَهُ وَهَابَ اللَّيْلَ أَنْ يُكَابِدَهُ فَلْيُكْثِرْ مِنْ
قَوْلِ la ilaha illallah, wa subhanallah, wa alhamdulillah,
wa allahu akbar so Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
says and when he says Abdullah it's usually
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
says indeed Allah has distributed character among you
just as he has distributed sustenance certainly you
know everybody is happy with their character but
people, most people are not happy with their
sustenance they say that you know that Allah
distributed intellects and sustenance so everybody was happy
with their intellect but nobody was happy with
their sustenance a wise person should do the
opposite everybody is happy with their character I
guess, everybody is happy with their intellect they
think that they're the smartest and the most
behaved but very few people are happy with
their sustenance anyway so Allah gives wealth to
those he loves and those he does not
love and look at this, look at the
precision here, he gives wealth to those he
loves and those he does not love wealth
is not a bad thing and Allah gives
wealth to those he loves but he also
gives wealth to those he doesn't love but
he grants faith only to those he loves
so whoever is stingy in spending his wealth,
fears fighting the enemy is hesitant to endure
hardship of the night in prayer he didn't
say let him get lost he said let
him increase in saying there is no god
but Allah, glorified is Allah praise be to
Allah and Allah is the greatest there is
no god but Allah praise be to Allah
and Allah is the greatest so that, you
know whether this is from Abdullah bin Mas
'ud or it's traceable to the Prophet it
sounds traceable to the Prophet sounds like the
speech of the Prophet but you see this
is consistent in the teaching of the Prophet
peace be upon him to open avenues for
people to come closer to Allah even if
you're not up to fighting, if you're not
up to qiyam al-layl if you're not
up to a lot of the noble things
that a lot of people fall short of
at least try to say there is no
god but Allah, glorified is Allah praise be
to Allah and Allah is the greatest so
he's not telling you get lost, he's telling
you you still have a chance try, you
know, maybe you can do this then Babu
Sakhawat al-Nafs chapter on the generosity of
spirit the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said wealth is
not having many positions but true wealth is
the richness of the soul true wealth is
the richness of the soul richness or self
-sufficiency and ghina in truth is self-sufficiency
because you're not ghani until you're self-sufficient
you're not ghani unless you're content with what
you have you're always faqir, in need you
know if you're not content with what you
have but once you're content with what you
have you're ghani, meaning what?
mustaghni, meaning what?
self-sufficient you don't need anything other than
what you have so that's true wealth or
richness self-sufficiency then he said he...
Anas said, I served the Prophet sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam for 10 years for 10 years
and he never said to me a word
of annoyance you know he never said to
me for anything I did not do, why
didn't you do it nor for something I
did why did you do it this hadith
is extremely strong very established from the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Sulaiman ibn Harb this
hadith is is all basris here all people
from basra all the narrators here are basris
Sulaiman ibn Harb was basri Ahmad ibn Zaid
basri Thabit al-Bunani basri Anas lived in
Basra you know so all of these are
from Basra and all of these are great
you know trustworthy narrators great trustworthy narrators Hamad
ibn Zaid is Hamad ibn Zaid ibn Dirham
there are two Hamads that are known for
Basra Hamad ibn Zaid ibn Dirham and Hamad
ibn Salama ibn Dinar these are two very
great narrators from Basra both of them were
imams they are different from the teacher of
Imam Abu Hanifa his name was Hamad ibn
Abi Sulaiman and he was a little bit
older than the two of them than Hamad
ibn Zaid and Hamad ibn Salama and of
course the teacher of Abu Hanifa was Kufi
so Anas reports the Prophet ﷺ was merciful
no one came to him except that he
promised to help them so he says if
he had something he would fulfill it so
whenever the Prophet ﷺ was asked he would
either honor the mas'ala he would either
give or promise give or promise you know
later when things get better when I have
money when I have this come back to
us so he would not basically say no
but he would either give or promise he
says if he had something he would fulfill
it even when the prayer was about to
begin like an Arabi a Bedouin man came
to him tugged on his garment and said
I have only a small need and I
have only a small need left I have
only a small need left so it appears
that the Prophet was tending to his needs
before that but then it was time for
the prayer and they called to the prayer
the Prophet went to pray to the man
grabbed him from his garment and said I
only have a small need left و أخاف
أنساها and I am afraid or I fear
forgetting it so the Prophet ﷺ left with
him fulfilled his need and then returned to
pray the Prophet left with him fulfilled his
need and then returned to pray well sometimes
you may say that if you allow people
to do this to all people and so
on and so but Allah did not basically
Allah wanted to show that the Prophet was
the greatest exemplar of beauty and generosity so
it doesn't mean that a behavior like this
must be tolerated all the time you know
the behavior of the Bedouin man must be
tolerated all the time the Imam may say
to the Bedouin let's finish the prayer first
and I will tend to your needs people
are waiting something of that nature but the
Prophet ﷺ was showing here his forbearance to
the Sahaba you know like a was a
moment for teaching then he says so
Jabir said the Prophet ﷺ was never asked
for anything and replied no as we said
he would either give or promise does that
mean he never replied no you have to
put this in the right context didn't they
ask him to worship his God were there
Gods one year and he worships his God
one year when he said no so he
would say no but we're talking here you
know if there is no if there is
no sin involved or you know the request
was not basically an excessive or bad request
then the Prophet ﷺ would honor all requests
by you know giving or promising and this
is also a very strong Hadith this
is likely this is likely this could
be this could be that's the problem when
they give you the first name only because
Qabisa reported from both most of the time
he reported from and both they both reported
from and both reported this Hadith so
likely but could be then anyway Arabic
Arabic Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr that's the son
of Asma said I have not seen two
women more generous than Aisha and Asma.
Aisha is his aunt, and Asmaa's mother.
Their generosity was different though.
So he's saying that the generosity of Asmaa
and Aisha was different.
Aisha would gather things until she had enough
to distribute, while Asmaa would not keep anything
for the next day.
Asmaa would not keep anything for the next
day.
Which tells you that, you know, generosity can
have different manifestations, and different people have different
ways of exhibiting that generosity.
Generosity is a state of being.
How you express it is different.
These are different etiquettes.
People have different ways of doing this.
They both have that state of being.
They both have it.
The quality of generosity, they both have it.
But every one of them have a different
rationale and different way of expressing and displaying
that generosity.
So some people like to have certain times
where, you know, they save, and then when
they have enough, they give.
And some people don't keep, you know, anything.
They just regularly give out the excess.
And as we said, they're giving out the
excess.
They need first to suffice the needs of
their households and their dependents, and then they
give out the excess or the surplus that
they may have.
But this is a good hadith to end
the chapter on sikhawatin nafs.
And I wanted to say that sikhawatin nafs
is not limited to monetary generosity.
In fact, monetary generosity may be the least
of the different forms of generosity.
Spending from your time, spending from your status,
your position, your influence, spending from your emotional
reserve, spending from your wisdom and your knowledge,
spending from your skills, all of this is
sikhawatin nafs.
Sikhawatin nafs, the generosity of spirit.
And the monetary part of it is certainly
an important part of it, but that's not
the most important part.
As we said before, if you give some
time to listen to someone who wants to
vent out, like an elderly person in the
masjid who wants to vent out or wants
to complain or wants to talk, wants to
chat, feels lonely, that may be even greater
than giving five dollars, you know, putting five
dollars in the donation box.
Wallahi, it sometimes is greater and sometimes is
more meaningful and more powerful than putting five
bucks.
It's very easy for wealthy people to put
five bucks or ten or twenty or one
hundred in the donation box, but many people
may be too stingy to sit down with
someone who needs to talk and listen to
them, even if they are not making much
sense.
Just sit down and listen to them.
That's sikhawatin nafs, generosity of spirit.