Chapter: Generosity, acts of kindness, and abundant good deeds in the month of Ramadan, with special emphasis on the last ten nights

1222 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was never more generous than in Ramadan when Gabriel would meet him. Gabriel met him every night of Ramadan to review the Quran with him, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was more generous in doing good than the freely blowing wind.” Agreed upon.

1223 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “When the last ten nights began, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would spend the night in worship, wake his family, and tighten his waistband.” Agreed upon.

Commentary

The author (may Allah have mercy on him) entitles this: “Chapter on generosity in the month of Ramadan.”

Generosity (al-jūd) means giving up something one loves, whether wealth or action. A person may be generous with his money: giving to the poor, presenting gifts to the affluent, and assisting those in need. He may likewise be generous with his actions: helping others with their tasks—whether with their cars, in their shops, or in their homes. Thus generosity is the offering of wealth or deeds. It can also include using one’s social standing: interceding for someone, mediating to secure a benefit or avert harm, and the like.

The Prophet ﷺ, as Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) said, was “the most generous of people”—with his wealth, his person, his knowledge, his preaching, his counsel, and everything that might benefit creation. He was at his most generous in Ramadan, for Ramadan is the month of generosity: in it Allah bestows abundantly upon His servants, and the servants who are granted success follow suit.