عبد الله

Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, said: A man’s seek to cause harmony in his land is from (the trait of) manliness.

The openhandedness is the generous who spends his property in rights.

I heard Abu’l-Hasan, peace be upon him, say: None rejects generosity except for a donkey. By that he meant (that one is offered) perfume and a pillow.

I said to him: What is the limitation of openhandedness? He said: That you extract from your property the right which Allah has obliged upon you, and you put it in its place.

The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: Openhandedness is a tree whose root is in Paradise and which shades upon this world. The one who adheres to a branch of it will be drawn to Paradise.

A guest deserves to be served for one, two or three days at the most. Thereafter, servicing a guest is a form of charity by the host.” He (MGB) then added, “Do not stay in your brother’s home so long as to make him commit a sin.” Then he (MGB) was asked, “How could that be?” The Prophet (MGB) said, “If you stay there so long that he no longer has anything left to spend for you.”

Abu Abdillah (a.s.) said to me: 'Shall I not tell you about the noblest of moral traits?' I said: 'Sure.' He said: 'Pardoning people, for a man to console his brother with his property and to mention Allah abundantly.'

Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, said: Openhandedness is that a servant’s soul elevates above seeking the forbidden, and if he achieves the permissible, his soul appeals to spend it in (what brings about) the obedience to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He).

“I asked Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB), ‘Which characteristics are better for a man?’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘Dignity without being awesome, generosity without demanding something in return, and attending to affairs other than worldly affairs.’”

Manliness is (separated into) two (dimensions of) manlinesses: the manliness of civility and the manliness of travel. As for the manliness of civility, it is to recite the Qur’an, attending mosques, accompanying the people of goodness and contemplation into knowledge. As for the manliness of travel, it is to spend the excess, joking with other than what angers Allah, little dispute with the one who accompanies you and abandoning the narrating of them when you depart from them.

Imam Sadiq (a.s) was questioned about the limits of generosity. He said: “It is to allocate the portion of your wealth that God has prescribed for spending in His way.”

"Indeed, Allah (swt), the Blessed and Exalted, distinguished His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) with noble character traits. Therefore, examine yourselves, and if you find these traits within you, then praise Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, and seek from Him (swt) an increase in them." He (as) then mentioned ten traits: certainty (yaqin), contentment (qana'ah), patience (sabr), gratitude (shukr), forbearance (hilm), good manners (husn al-khuluq), generosity (sakha'), protective jealousy (ghayrah), courage (shuja'ah), and honor (muru'ah).

We entered with Aban bin Taghlib into the place of Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, and Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, said: Verily, that I feed one Muslim till he is satisfied is more beloved to me than feeding a horizon of people. I said: How much is a horizon? He said: A hundred thousand.

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘You are aware of my affluent condition and my extending helping hand toward my brothers (in belief). Should I accompany certain individuals from among them during my journey to Makkah and extend a helpful hand toward them?’ He (the Imam) replied, ’You must not do so, O Shihab. If you do so, they will also do it, you overburden them, and if they did not do so, you have humiliated them. Therefore, accompany people like yourself.”’

“There are three kinds of hands: those which beg; those which are beneficial and those which are thrifty. The hands which are beneficial are the best ones.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) was asked what the most suitable characteristics of a man are. He said: “Dignity without being awesome, generosity without demanding something in return, and attending to affairs other than worldly affairs.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said the following regarding the Almighty God's statement: “For We see thou art one that doth good (to all)” [The Holy Quran: Yusuf 12:36] “This refers to the Prophet of God who made room for whomever entered their meetings, obtained loans for the needy, and helped the poor.”

“God the Almighty chose Islam as your religion. Therefore help Him well with generosity and good temper.”

The masters of the people of this world are the generous; and [the masters] of the Hereafter are the pious.

“Once ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan came to me and asked, ‘Do you have anything?’ I replied, ‘Yes, I have something.’ I then sent my son and gave him two dirham to buy meat and eggs. He asked, ‘Where did you send your son?’ I then informed him about it. He said, ‘Call him back. Do you have any oil?’ I replied, ‘Yes, we have oil.’ He then said, ‘Bring it; I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, “A man who looks down on what his brother (in belief) brings for him is ruined and so also is one who looks down on what he brings for his brother (in belief).”’