without any recompense whatsoever,” mean only recompense given in exchange for the gift, whether from the giver or someone acting on his behalf—as when someone gives another person money so that he will free his slave, grant his wife a divorce for compensation, or release his captive.

In short, the recompense that is incompatible with generosity must meet two conditions: first, that the giver intends to obtain it; and second, that he intends to obtain it from the recipient or someone acting on the recipient’s behalf. As for someone who seeks recompense from Allah Most High, or does good because he himself takes pleasure in doing so, this is not incompatible with generosity, by the agreement of all rational people. Indeed, even if he seeks praise from people and the like, this does not prevent people from calling him generous. Thus, they described Hātim and others from the pre-Islamic era as generous, even though they might have sought fame and praise among people.

The twelfth point: His statement, “Perhaps one who gives in order to receive recompense is engaging in a transaction, rather than being generous.”

This contains the ambiguity already discussed. The meaning of recompense that precludes generosity in Islamic law, language, customary usage, and the reasoning of all human beings is narrower than the meaning he claims for it. As for his statement, “Recompense is not always a material object; it may also take other forms, even praise