Lesson 12 – The Sunnah of Gifting
Offering gifts (hadiyyahs) to each other is a noble trait and well encouraged in Islam. People around the globe have the habit of gifting each other on special occasions.
In a famous Hadith, Nabiy (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) said:
“Exchange gifts, and you will generate mutual love.”
(Al-Adabul Mufrad, Hadith: 594)
My Beloved Father; Hazrat Moulana Haroon Abasoomar saheb (rahimahullah) would always endeavour to offer something to his hosts as well as his guests. Even when he met young children, he would gift them candy. During his latter years, he passionately liked to offer monetary gifts to Senior ‘Ulama. He would also encourage others to do the same. Among the reasons for this were:
- He knows his needs better, and can use the money wherever needed.
- If the ‘Alim was visiting, he might be restricted in what he can take in his luggage.
- This endears the giver to the heart of that person.
He would say: “We need to teach this to the people.”
Repaying the Gift
Whilst the giver should always be sincere and offer his gift purely for thawab and the pleasure of Allah, without expecting anything in return, the Sunnah of Nabiy (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) also teaches us to repay every gift.
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (radiyallahu ’anhuma) reports that Nabiy (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) said:
“You should repay everyone who does good to you. If you cannot afford to repay him [materially], then make du’a for him until you feel that you’ve repaid him.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith: 1669)
Hazrat Moulana Haroon Abasoomar (rahimahullah) had this unique quality as well.
He would offer whatever gift he could afford to people who rendered service of any kind to him.
From those who drove him or attended to him when he was ill, to those who invited him to their homes. Even the Doctors & Specialists who willingly rendered their service, Hazrat (rahimahullah) would always try to gift them something in return. Most of his gifts were either ‘itr (perfume), Kitabs, or something edible or wearable.
In addition to this, Hazrat Moulana Haroon saheb (rahimahullah) would also make sincere du’a for such people. He would remember them by name in his du’as on special occasions, like during ‘Umrah or on the plains of ‘Arafat. He would remind his family as well to make du’a for such people. This is the bare minimum that we could do for our benefactors, as explained by Our Beloved Nabiy (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) in the Hadith cited above.
This sincere appreciation that Hazrat (rahimahullah) had is what actually endeared him to the people even more.
Just as the Our Nabiy (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) said: Exchange gifts and you will have mutual love…
May Allah Ta’ala bless the soul of Hazrat (rahimahullah) and reward him duly for the beautiful implementation and propagation of the Mubarak Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ’alayhi wasallam) that he rendered throughout his life.
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13/10/2021