FaKiR
Meþveret Bþk.
Dikkat
How do we distinguish between the desire to emulate and envy? What are your thoughts regarding the charities and alms given away openly by some leading people in good work in order to inspire others and stimulate their feelings of generosity, while others cannot help but feel envy of their generosity?
Bilgi
To emulate: harmless envy
Nevertheless, in the hadith given above, the Prophet, peace be upon him, uses "envy" instead of "desire to emulate," emphasizing the fact that admiring others is also a state that is close to jealousy. No matter how harmless and even favorable it may be, desire to emulate shares the same border with envy, rendering its territory somewhat unsafe to walk through. Inability to define the limits of admiration may result in jealousy and envy. For instance, looking up to a friend who is well-versed in the religion, in an admirable condition, and who acts with good conduct, is fine, as long as it does not cross the border into comparison and covert competition, saying, "Why does he know so much that I do not know? How can he communicate our faith better than I can?"
Therefore, believers must keep a distance between themselves and admiration, which is adjacent to envy and separated from it only by a thin veil. They must be content with what has been appreciated for them; they should never complain of their fate, even with the slightest emotional disappointment; they should see no one as their rival, and they should strive to attain their highest potential in virtue.
Bilgi
Food supplies delivered at night
For this very reason, boasting of one's personal virtues and abilities is considered inappropriate in Islamic culture, so a tradition of engaging in good work privately has developed. Alms used to be left at certain places out of sight and reach of others, so that only the poor could come and get what they needed. Alms columns, for instance, which were around six feet tall with a cavity on top, were erected at certain points in towns; it was not easy to discern who was leaving alms there and who was taking them, so that the poor were not made to feel obliged, their feelings were not hurt, and their envy was not provoked. Foundations were instruments for transferring donations from benefactors to the poor without causing embarrassment or taunting of the latter, while the former were saved from ostentation and arrogance.
In Islam, intending to hide one's voluntary prayers and alms is very important. The Prophet declared that God does not accept anything from the one who gives in charity to be known by others, someone crazy for show, nor from a philanthropist who taunts the beneficiary of his favors. Performing charity secretly and giving alms without revealing it to others are good ways of being saved from the desire to be praised by others. There are many people who help others secretly and disappear mysteriously without introducing themselves even to the poor person to whom they provided some relief. Many of our noble ancestors made extreme efforts to avoid ostentation, praise, and making others feel indebted; some of them, without being seen, simply left their alms in the path of a poor person or anywhere he or she was likely to sit. Others would place coins into the pocket of a pauper who was sleeping, while some others secretly carried bags of food supplies on their backs and left them on the doorsteps of those in need.
Imam Ali Zaynul Abidin, one of the grandsons of the Prophet, was one of those heroic souls. During the time of this blessed person who devoted his life to true servanthood to God Almighty, society was afflicted by unbearable poverty. Many of the poor would find food and clothes they desperately needed mysteriously left at their doors with a note allowing them to use it at no cost. They did not know who was leaving the bags until one morning, after many years, they found nothing at their doors. Nothing had been left that night for anyone. People were wondering what the reason for that was, and then they heard somebody announcing "Imam Ali has died!" The caretaker who washed the body of this blessed man before his funeral saw a huge callus formed on the imam's back. The imam had carried bags of food and clothes to the poor for twenty-seven years, and no one had known about it. It did not matter, for it is only God's pleasure that counts as the goal, and God knew what Zaynul Abidin was occupied with.
People like Zaynul Abidin fixed their eyes on God's good pleasure and they chose to race without competition along the track of servanthood. Just as they did not envy others, they were also careful not to provoke others by contaminating their donations with ostentation, praise, and indebtedness. This was their way of investing in the afterlife and earning God's pleasure, and the Qur'an describes it as tanafus.
Bilgi
The Goal is the Drink of Eternity
The race for eternity and good work does not allow room for a competition in which uncontrolled admiration or envy is possible. Every contestant is expected to break his or her own record, as they are responsible for accomplishing the level of perfection determined solely for them. In this race, everyone is an escort for each other, for everyone is a member of the collective body.
In the race for eternity, once assigned works are fulfilled, rewards are shared and deposited to everyone's account. In Bediüzzaman's most fitting description, serving God is like carrying and protecting a huge and heavy treasure. So, the more people with strong arms join the company, the more those who carry the treasure on their shoulders must be pleased. Far from envying the strength of the helping hands, they must welcome their contribution and applaud them with love. Approaching these people in rivalry will push away sincerity from the work, and the expected result cannot be achieved.
True believers never envy, nor do they stroll within the territories of admiration which borders envy, but they race for good. They see each other as cordial assistants and everyone works to carry out a task they are assigned, or anything they are capable of doing. For instance, in the good work of teaching about God, one person can recite the Qur'an beautifully and soften hearts; another one can sing a religious song and enthuse the audience, paving the way for a third one, who can deliver a speech with wisdom. The task is apportioned, everyone performs his own share, and at the end everyone wins. From the beginning, it is not clear who to credit with this work which is not based on one person. Everyone participates and assumes responsibility. They make the best of what they can, and the end result, which belongs to all, is something more than one person can achieve. The Qur'an encourages such a race, saying, "Strive, then, together as if competing in good works" (Maedah 5:48).
Bilgi
To Set an Example and to Encourage
"Giving alms secretly is more virtuous than giving them openly. For the person who wishes others to follow him it is virtuous to give them openly"[2] said the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. When a person who intends to direct his or her friends' attention to the hereafter performs charity openly, he or she has no intention other than motivating them to engage in good work. By giving the prescribed alms (zakat), which is obligatory in Islam, openly, he or she both obeys the divine rule and reminds others of this duty.
The Holy Qur'an praises those who fulfill the need of any person without delay and encourages believers to run to do charity: "Those who spend their wealth night and day, secretly and in public, their reward is with their Lord, and they will have no fear, nor will they grieve" (Baqara 2:274).
It is reported that this verse was revealed to praise Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, the first caliph of Islam, who gave forty thousand dinars all in one day, ten thousand of which he gave at night, ten thousand during the day, ten thousand in secret, and ten thousand openly. Likewise, Ali, may God be pleased with him, also shared his only four dirhams of silver with the poor, giving each dirham either during the day, at night, openly, or secretly. Even though the verse might be indicating these two noble Companions of the Prophet, the ruling of the word of God is universal. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali interprets this verse as defining the types of alms, namely, obligatory (fard), necessary (wajib), and supererogatory (nafila) alms. A time may come when it will be necessary to donate all of one's property for one's religion and country, and in such a time of collective mobilization, it will be better to perform it openly to encourage others. Those of us who are in a position to guide our society especially should give in charity most of our property in order to teach people to make a sacrifice for the sake of sublime truths, and doing this openly is absolutely better and we may even consider it a duty.
Bilgi
Yet with a Handful of Dates
One day, our Blessed Prophet called on his Companions for charity. It was either because he was going to send a contingent to somewhere and he needed equipment, or he was going to feed the poor coming from the desert and see to their needs. Responding to this call, Abdurrahman ibn Awf raised his voice with the valor he always displayed: "O Messenger of God! I have four thousand dirhams. Please accept them." The Prophet was very pleased, and he prayed for him. After hearing the Prophet's words of encouragement and seeing the great sacrifices of the generous ones, everyone wished to participate in this race for good work. The wealthy ones gave high amounts, while those with limited means looked for things to donate. Abu Aqil was one of those poor Muslims of Medina; he possessed nothing to give other than two handfuls of dates. But he had to have his name on the list of the "contestants" in good work. So, he spared a handful of dates for his family and gave the rest in charity.
Seeking God's pleasure is a lofty aim, reaching for it by teaching about God is a holy mission, and racing for this cause without competing is very good work. Those people who are focused on God's pleasure stay far away from envy and uncontrolled admiration. They are content with their lot and they carry on with the race as far as prevailing conditions allow them.
They are not people of desires and misgivings; they do not seek refuge in excuses like "if I had the means, if I were able to…." They do whatever they can with all the means God has provided them with, and in this way they offer thanks in return for the blessings they are granted, and this is in fact an invitation to further blessings. They avoid admiration, just as they avoid leading others to it.
Since God's pleasure is their goal, when necessary they can retreat two steps or move forward one step. They may present their own achievements as if they were accomplished with the help of or completely by others, if this is what they think more proper for God's pleasure. For them, only the fulfillment of duty matters; who did it is so insignificant as to not be worth mentioning. As long as the spoken words are sublime truths, then it does not matter who is articulating them. Once the truth is victorious, then it is the same whether one's name is listed or not among the victors. For they are sailors on a ship whose captain is the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Once his ship docks at the land of peace, then everyone on board will step off onto the shores of salvation.