Kuwait Times

Published Date: September 09, 2008
By Mohammed Daniel

Grand Mosque


From among the benefits of Ramadan is that it affords us with an opportunity to reflect on our inner selves and to meditate over the reality of this life. Unfortunately, we live in a world of egocentrism, hedonism and materialism. People are obsessed with their own selfish interests.

They leave no stone unturned in acquiring that bigger house, faster car or a glitzier watch. It is not rare to find people who in their quest to fulfill every whim they have, go to the extremes of taking bank loan upon bank loan in order to satiate their fixation. Never taking a minute to consider how they will make repayments for debts that run into the tens of thousands of dinars. However it was not always like that.

The companions of the Prophet are in a class of their own in their embodiment of altruism and sympathy. They attained a standard that is rather difficult to emulate in modern society. We would be fortunate if we attained even a partial resemblance to their character. A beautiful example of their self-sacrifice is the story of Thabit the Prophet's companion:

A destitute man once came to the Prophet Mohammed and complained of his suffering from hunger and distress. As it so happened, the Prophet who was the most generous of people, did not possess anything in hand, and upon enquiring from his household learned that his house was also devoid of food. So he turned to his companions and asked them if anybody would entertain the guest on his behalf.

One of the companions named Thabit replied: "0, Prophet of Allah, I will do that for you. He then took the person to his house and informed his wife of the situation and that he was entertaining a guest of the Prophet. In customary Arab hospitality he told his wife that nothing should be left in the house except that it should be presented for this impoverished man to enjoy.

The wife then informed Thabit that they barely possessed enough to be able to feed their young children before putting them to sleep. Thabit replied: "My dear wife this man has been going without food for days our kids can go without food till morning. Please lull the children to sleep without feeding them, while I sit with the guest over the meal. When the guest starts eating, come and dim the lamp pretending to set it right, so that the guest may not become aware of my not sharing the meal with him.

So when the guest started to enjoy the meal, Thabit sat beside him and started to simulate the action of a person partaking of a meal. The guest not realizing that he was the only one eating ate until satisfied. The scheme worked out nicely, and the whole family, including the children, stayed hungry to enable the guest to eat to his fill. The next day when Thabit went into the presence of the Prophet, the Prophet told him: "O, Thabit! Allah has very much appreciated your entertainment of the guest last ni
ght.

It was over this incident that Allah revealed the verse: "They prefer others above themselves, even though they are in poverty. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful (Quran 59:9)
True altruism is not that you give from the thousands or millions that you have, but to give when you yourself are in want or in danger. This trait is instinctive in animal behavior and humans would do well to learn from them.

The Qur'an tells us, that our sacrifices and striving are entirely for our own good; that Allah, who is Self-Sufficient, has no need for any of our services. Allah says: 'And He who sacrifices and works hard is only doing so for his own soul' (Quran 17:7)