Nouman Ali Khan – Generosity is Delicate

Nouman Ali Khan
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes a parable about Islam that involves giving life to the dead and producing life from death. The story is a love for the Earth and a desire to be charitable, with various forms of generosity being discussed. The importance of good intentions is emphasized, including giving people who have good intentions to avoid negative consequences and offering good things to others. The speakers stress the need to avoid negative comments and offer good things to people, and emphasize the importance of giving things in a way that is the opposite of one's own emotions.
AI: Transcript ©
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So Takara is the largest source of the Quran, and towards the end of SoTL, dakara. Allah repeats, goes back to one of the most fundamental concepts of our religion allows power to give life after death. And that discussion actually starts with Ibrahim Ali Salaam, and you know, the story of the prophet who came by and he saw a ruined town and said, How could a loving life to this after it has died? And the story of Abraham it is, who asked a lot? How could you know? How would you give life to the dead? And I asked him, don't you already believe and he said, I just want to satisfy my heart. And then this is a story of the burbs.

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And I won't be talking about those stories. And of course, within that passage, also is I to see. And that makes a lot of sense. Because I typically see starts with Allahu La Ilaha Illa when you are young, though, the one source of all life, and the one who maintains all life. So it's actually in the context of those stories that the final thesis of them is actually it could see. And it you know, actually coming coming after that is these these stories of resurrection. And right after these stories of resurrection, Allah having the power to give life to the dead, alive changes the subject, which is really interesting. In the fact well, boy, the topic has switched so I could see

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then the stories of resurrection followed by a subject of charity, giving for the sake of Allah. Now, there's a really remarkable continuity in what Allah is saying. On the one hand, a lot of talks about how a dead animal was brought back to life in front of the eyes of Jose Rodriguez

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before that allows you to talk to him or his cell or whatever he'll after that rather over him and he said, I'm asked about how he gives life to the dead and birds came back to life. You know, fossil hoonah ilica. For so much, I lalla Khadija willamina. Just somebody Rhonda Tina casaya call on them, they will come back to you running. Right so there's that story. But right after that, Allah says, method will add on to poonawalla homefree sebelah, though the example of those who spend in the path of Allah is the example of somebody who plants a seed in the ground. Now interestingly, the example itself, I'll summarize here, the example is somebody who took a single grain, a seed, put it in the

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ground, and unless as um, but that's a that's a novel, it's sprouted a plant that had seven years, like seven sprouts coming out of that one stock. And each one of them has grains, like you can think of corn or something else wheat that has 100 seeds on it. So that one seed investment was into the wind into the ground and all of this came out. Now the connection should be obvious to anybody who pays attention.

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Allah is giving life to the dead Earth, and this one dead, you know, seed and producing life from it. Right. So it's still a continuity of the same subject of a love producing life from death. But it took another turn, there's something more being done here. It's not just something being resurrected, or a dead sea being brought to life, but it's being turned into much more than what it actually was. It's being multiplied 700 times. And then if that wasn't enough times, what love who you love if we remain sharp, and Allah multiplies above and beyond that, for whoever he wants, now, human human multiplication, you can see one turned into 700 in this parable. And then you can think

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of each one of those 700 being planted again, and turning into 700, each of them, and each of those multiplications tell turning 700 again, so 700 Square Square Square Square Square to infinity. That's the idea. But that's, that's within the ability of a human being to imagine that human multiplication. But at the end of this ayah, Allah says, And Allah multiplies on top of that, who have power for whoever he wants, below who you love, who is his ally, in fact, he multiplies in a way that only he can, for whoever he wants. And this is a lovely way of describing the power of being charitable. But that also produces a problem, because this surah was revealed. And much of it

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was revealed in early Medina, and the span of it, some of it is all the way into Lake Medina.

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And pretty much the entire life of the prophets a lot more than you send them in Medina, was spent almost almost all of it in near bankruptcy, there were times where the prophet SAW them didn't even have enough to eat for days, there were times where his own daughter would come to him and ask for food because she didn't have anything in her own household. And he would give her the kind of a lot to do instead, Lexus of harmala, 33 times 133 times etc. This is the state of what was going on in Medina at the time. If we were a well off society. in Medina, we wouldn't be fighting a military with a handful of weapons and everybody else is on armed. And they're going into battle. So this is

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an economically desperate situation. So the most of the Quran that's been revealed, it's been revealed in the context of people that are not wealthy. And this is something very important to understand. So when ally is going to talk about being charitable, he's not starting the conversation, talking to millionaires, yes, some of them are wealthy, some Sahaba do in fact own gardens. Some of them are very well off. But the vast majority of the companions of the Prophet slice of them are barely surviving subsistence level. And then on top of that, the lot did the unsolved, are taking care of the Mahajan own the people that are Medina, which are farming

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community, so they're not millionaires to begin with. And they're now they're they're supporting the larger group that have come from Makkah. So this is actually now their household size, and the number of dependents has increased dramatically. Not to mention, though battles have been offered even a single loss. And the loss in battles is the loss of heads of household, it's the men, it's the fighting and capable men, those men were a fundamental component of earning the livelihood for the family. So when those men died in battle, when we suffered the losses, and it wasn't just a military loss, it's a massive, devastating economic loss to that entire family, because the provider

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for that household, in many cases has died. You know, what are we going to do now? And so in this environment, Allah gave us I asked about charity. So the first question that is born out of that is why would Allah talk about charity to people that have nothing, almost nothing to give? And the answer to that comes from other places in the Quran, like, well, enfeeblement Majolica mustafina fee.

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Spend out of whatever Allah has left in your capacity. If Allah has left something with you be charitable with that, be generous with that. So some some person has knowledge, they should be generous with giving it someone has a talent, they should be generous in benefiting people with that talent. Somebody in fact has money, they should be generous with their money. Some kid at school has some extra stationery, they should be generous with sharing that pencil with a friend. And now I need all my five colors.

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Right? generosity is not being limited to writing a check, or to giving giving a credit card number or pulling out cash from your pocket. That is possible for many people. But generosity takes many forms. And spending takes many forms. Being giving to some give being giving to someone else takes many forms. And it's a lot incorporating all of the forms of generosity that can support this cause and then can support one another that allies bringing into into the conversation. So it begins with money and this is particularly alidium Fukuda, I'm wila home peace

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their money is what they own what they have, they give, but the money nowadays we think of money as like cash, right? But money back then it was like a sheep, can I borrow your sheep? You know, can I borrow this tool? Can I have that? Yeah, you can just take it we have enough we can take, we can take these plates. This is this was their unwind. If you ask somebody what their model is, they didn't point to a vault, or a bank account, or some liquid assets. That's not how they counted money back then, money was the things that are all around you that somebody else could benefit from and you don't have, you know, you can spare it. So you just give it this passage when this conversation

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starts in, in this ayah This is iron number now 261 of sort of Baccarat. So it's towards the end, is the longest set of ions in the Quran that give guidance on spending, like if you say what does the Quran have to say about charity and generosity and spending, the one place you can go is this place 261 onwards, and it goes on and on and on. Like this is such a big topic. Like if you compare this to other things that have been talked about in the Quran, as far as legalities, maybe inheritance is a couple of pages of this course, Divorce Law is a couple of pages of discourse. And then spending is a couple of pages of discourse, like something that you really need to drill in your head, you

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really need to get and if it's not set it with so much repetition, and so much explanation, it's not going to be internalized. This is the kind of subject Allah deemed in his wisdom, this is that it should get that much attention in the form. But what I wanted to highlight in today's code, but not just introducing this topic and how it's placed in the Quran, what I want you to think about today is just some of the things that alone gives us in this passage about I mean, obviously, his title is giving is a very beautiful thing, but I named the hood but strangely, generosity is delicate. Or it's fragile. Right? What Why did I say that? allows origin says listen to this.

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He says alladhina Yun, Fei poonawalla homefree Sevilla, those who spend their monies in the path of Allah allow you to be onomah and Falco Magnon without them,

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then they don't follow up. Whatever they had spent with two things, two things they don't do. So it's not enough that I gave. So what usually, once a lie is done, you have good intention you made will do all the prerequisites you met, you finish the prayer. Your good deed is accepted. Your good deed is accepted. Charity, however, isn't just a prerequisite I'm giving because of my sincere intention. I'm giving for good reason. I'm giving money I met the prerequisites. And I gave right. This is a regulation in our religion in which it's not just you meet the prerequisites, there are also post requisites there are post requisite What does that mean? That means after you have given

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after I have given, there are things that I might do, that will cancel out that act, it will not count in my favor. It will mean nothing.

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There's a scary thing. It says if Allah is good to say in this ayah, there are two things you can do that can completely nullify doesn't matter if you gave half your wealth and charity, all of your wealth and charity doesn't matter if you wrote a big check or a small check, doesn't matter if you did it at the time with good intention, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you meant well back then or not. None of that matters. If you do these two things afterwards, even those good intentions and that good deed will amount to nothing. Now what are those two things, he says Mannan one of them. So let's explore these two words. Midnight Arabic is to do a favor.

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But also to remind someone of a favor to remind somebody of a favor. So if I in order to do this, as Angela

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assigns a ton I like to remind someone what you did for them. Or and you can do so you know sort of hat and you can do it explicitly. You know how much money I gave you all these years? You know how much I financially supported you to know how many times I've given you my car whenever you ask for it. That's explicitly right. You can explicitly remind someone of how much of a favor you've done for them, you could do that.

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Another thing you could do is do so implicitly Can I attend?

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So you don't say it out? Right? You don't say that? Right? But there's body language. Or there's a comment or there's a sarcastic remark or there's a you know, intelligent way of making reminding someone that you've given a man I couldn't really use the car this weekend. But Al Hamdulillah it's for a good cause. He says, You made someone feel that they're a burden because you gave to them and they that you're doing a sacrifice by

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Give it to them. That's after the fact. You know, last month, yeah, it was just, I needed to make some investments. But you know, humble, that's okay. You did something. And then there's some people that are so good at this, I can't even come up with very good examples. Some people are really good at taking those jobs without taking without letting you be getting caught that they're taking a jab, right there. They're reminding you of what they've done for you. They're reminding you of a favor, and they're doing so in a very subtle, non direct kind of way. That's also men, men. Now how do you know that what you did is actually

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maybe the clarification of it is in the next word, London Wella. Oven, either in Arabic means to cause pain hurtfulness

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you don't do this in a way you don't remind somebody of you have the favor. By the way, when you remind someone of what you've done for them, you're hurting them anyway, it's embarrassing. Nobody likes to be in a place where they have to ask, right? Or be in a place of need. So the fact that somebody needed something from you is not something they're proud of. And it's a great thing to remind them that they were in need of whatever it was, whatever you help them with, you know what it was financial, it was material, or it was some something else. But the idea that when you give and then you remind somebody, what you've done is actually a blessing, you may have done it, it left

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your bank, it left you you lost that money. But don't expect that C to turn into 700 seeds and the 700 seeds starting to now that's not going to happen. Now.

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They because even if you didn't see sebelah, if you followed it up with this crime of reminding somebody of making some and then on top of that making somebody feel bad, what.

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So the other is Allah separated these two things, because even men itself has as I in it, when you remind somebody what you've done for them, it's going to hurt them anyway. So why even mentioned hurt separately, because hurt is understood in the first one. Because there are other forms of hurt. There are other forms of hurting because when you give somebody, then you might start feeling like you should have more of a weight, in your opinion should have more weight to them, because they're under your debt. So when you ask them to do something, they should just do it because of everything you've done for them. Right. And now you can even ask them to do or bees speak to them in a way

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that's hurtful, because you owe them now, I won't give you an explicit example of this, I'll give you just something I can relate to from personal experience. And this is not to call anybody out. But a long time ago, when I started, you know, engaging in speaking engagements, or getting invited from different institutions to go speak somewhere in some different countries or different city, etc. And it's, uh, you know, we're gonna pay for your flight, we're gonna pay for your hotel, we're gonna pay for this. So that as a matter of principle, I said, if I believe in your organization, and I believe in your cause, then I would rather cover my own expenses. I'd rather just go there and

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speak and you know, because I was naive enough one time to say, okay, sure you guys can cover the flight. And you guys can cover the where I'm going to stay. And what happened then is, and I had agreed to speak at whatever forum they had for about an hour. But the moment I got there, yeah, we need you to do this, this, this, this and this. And I was like, Well, no, but I have other obligations I came agreeing to do this time and this much. Yeah. And then then their comments, like, you know, Chef, we paid for your ticket and vote. And I was like, okay, you have your refund, there you go. But the point is when you give somebody even when you make an agreement, and then on top of

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that you now put expectations that weren't there. And use you're trying to now act as if you own somebody because you've done them a favor, that's a form of other too. When you do something for someone, that's not because you will gain a level of control over them, you gave out of the goodness of your heart you gave to please Allah, if you add anything to that intention, then Allah is no longer interested in what you gave.

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That's not going to count with a lot. Maybe that will count for chips and points in this life. It will come four points, and you can use it and remind them and exert your influence on them. You can do that. But it's not for a lot anymore. Anyway, just as for me, as a matter of principle, I would never like you know, and then then hobas right, massagin. And some people in Muslim countries, or actually, people that come from Muslim countries, in certain Muslim countries, Imams, and people that lead the prayer, they're seen in a very lowly light, actually, they're seen as people that are always in need of charity. They can't make their ends meet. You have to send them food from the

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neighborhood so their family can feed themselves. And some people come from you know, and this is actually the case in places like Pakistan where I lived for a year and I saw it, people treat the people who lead the prayer in a certain way. It's an almost like an industrialized thing.

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And so some people from countries like that, you know, when they're in America, they're like, if a hottie comes or a speaker comes in, they invite them, then they have to like they, they tried to give me a check, after I give the homebuyer mustard. And they handed it to me, you know how you hand like somebody sadaqa you shake their hand and you put it in their hand and you kind of like, you know, the guy shakes my hand and puts money in my hand. What are you doing? Because this is, you know, for the hobos, like, that was a bother, why would I want to ask you for money for that? No, but this is a you know, because for your family,

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my family's Okay, this is so that, you can put that somewhere else. But you know what also comes with that, first of all, I would never accept it. Second of all, if somebody does accept it, then what comes with that, then they can talk to them, like they're anything but they're garbage. And I've seen it.

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So this idea that when you give somebody and then by giving somebody you can exert influence and hurt on them, is actually a way of canceling out whatever. So the art we gave, whatever charities we gave, happens inside Islamic, unfortunately, Islamic organizations people give big donations to a Masjid

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will give donations to and then they're upset that they're not a board member. They didn't get elected, or their opinion was not taken.

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Did you give money so that your opinion would be taken? Or did you give money to Allah? Which one was it? Right? Was that so you can remind them of what you've done for them, therefore your opinion matters more? Or was it because you gave that's you know, you have you have to decide which one it is. So the first thing that Allah teaches us is pretty powerful. Other deeds are not as simple as this, were are not as complicated rather, as this, where you do something good. And even if at the time you had good intention, you're not you're no longer in danger of undoing it later. But with sadaqa, and a favor you've done to somebody and your goodness, you've done to somebody, you and I

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are in danger of undoing it. And it not counting for anything. Now it didn't count anything for it worth anything in this life. And it didn't count for anything in the next life. So allow you to be around them and munden whether other lahoma drew him and him it is those people that have their compensation, only those people will get their compensated compensation. But their master Well, hopefully I know him when we are soon. And they don't have any fear on them. They're not the ones that are going to be sad, in other words of lies, implying that there are other people who did give, they did give, they weren't charitable, but they were also not able to live up to the post

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requirements. And because of that, a day will come where they will be in sadness. Instead of being in enjoy. Allah azza wa jal has told us, we never lose anything by giving.

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You should not grieve over what you gave somebody. You shouldn't grieve over anything you gave somebody.

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Because once you gave it, you actually didn't give it to a person you gave it to a life your intentions were pure, you gave it to a lot. And when you give to a lot, you you know you are in a coma into lots of love, and it will absolutely be returned to you and you will not you're not the ones that will be wronged. You cannot be wronged when you give to a lot. So you and I have to get it out of our head that we're giving to a person or we're giving to an institution or we're giving to this, you know this

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this individual that you know later on we can we may may or may not get along with you didn't give to them. You and I gave to a lot. This was in the less path. This was to please Allah and that's it. That's where it ends for us. Because if it doesn't end there, if that intention isn't clear, that's the only way you can remind somebody it says if if you did anything else good you don't remind you know how much further I've prayed. It doesn't make any sense. You don't go back and remind somebody of the Bible you've done. You don't do it because you know, that's not how it works. You didn't do it for anybody else. The same applies to this some of my life, Verona and fulfillment and whether

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other lahoma Jerome and RPM, well I have an idea what that means. I'll conclude with this brief comment from the next dial colnago from

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anything decent to say anything decent to say,

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almost forgotten,

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or just an apology hieromonk mean solder cutting yet but

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that would be better than a charity that you give. followed, which after which What follows is hurtfulness what is Allah saying? Allah is saying that sometimes somebody needs something you're like,

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I don't know if I can give right now. Should I should I not? It's not easy for me. But you say you know what, for whatever, you know what, it's the right thing to do. I'm just going to give so you decide after some internal struggle that you're going to give. But after you gave the internal struggle is not over should I have given

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deserve it seriously, you know what I went through to give you and this is what you This is how you talk to me. This is how you behave with me. Now you decide because they because of human beings or human beings, even if you give somebody charity doesn't mean they're going to be nice to you.

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It could be the one you helped a lot turns on you that happens. Right? Well, I lemo remota kolomela Mr. Romani, I taught him archery every day when he has archery became perfect, he shot me first. That happens, you can help somebody out and give them for the right reasons and be generous, and they turn back and they're vicious to you. Like that can happen. But when that happens, you decide that you're going to remind them of what you did, and how you did for them, and how they did you dirty. No, Allah says it's better that you just say something decent.

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And you just apologize and not give to begin with, then if you're going to give and later on we be you know vicious about it. If you're going to be vile about it later on, and you have that tendency, then it's better for you to save yourself and not give charity to begin with. If that's if that's your problem, if that if you can control your emotions and your temper, and you can control your you know, your, your tendency to remind and shame somebody over what you've done for them, and how could they do XYZ to you, if that's what you're going to be, then just let it then don't even give. But if you have given, then they do whatever they do, they can act however they act because you didn't give

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to them. You give to them. That's a powerful principle to internalize as a very, if this is why lessons to be meaningful see him in this passage. He says this kind of quality comes from people who have a lot of firm firmness deep inside themselves. They have a maturity, they don't let people affect them. They don't let circumstances affect them. They're mature about the reality of what they're doing, and who they're doing it for. When they have that kind of maturity, then they're not going to end up losing out on the fact that they give Allah will accept every every bit of sadaqa that we've ever given, and maybe not make us from people who multiplied by zero by our own mistakes

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and don't meet the requirements that come after that. barakallahu li walakum filco icheme What if I knew it was

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hamdu lillahi wa salatu salam O Allah Eva Hilary Mustapha Susana Fahim, Mohammed the bn Muhammad in the meanwhile, earlier he was at Main, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Nevada.

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in Omaha America saloon and maybe you're living on Monday he was alluding to schema Allahumma salli ala Muhammad Ali Mohammed colossal data

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element in the middle Majid Allahumma barik ala Muhammad Ali Mohammed Ibrahim Ibrahim A Florida man in the middle Majeed la la de la ilaha shanwa ecobank fascia, political light, love your little metal stone aka Salah insalata Kenneth Nikita makuta

Khutbah

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