- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 1996
Allâh’s Beautiful Name: Al-Kareem:
Now, we go ahead to the twenty-third of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names, “Al-Kareem” (the All Laudable). This Name embraces great meanings, and, therefore, people should adopt it for themselves, as it is one of the Names that can be assumed by everyone who desires to occupy a laudable position with the Lord, Allah, Most Gracious.
You know that Allah’s Divine Names are of two kinds: those that are attributed only to Allah, All Mighty – such as “Al-Khaliq” (the Creator) and “Al-Qadeem” (the Infinitely Pre-Existent) – and those that can be, and should be, attributed also to human beings, one of which is “Al-Kareem”, which has a lot of meanings: “the Generous”, “the Holy”, “the Noble”, “the Glorious” …etc, as will be made clear in this lecture.
The Name “Al-Kareem” is mentioned in Allah’s Book, “Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem”, which also means (the Holy, Noble, Glorious Quran) as will be made clear in this lecture. However, this Divine Name “Al-Kareem” is confirmed by Allah’s Words:
“O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, Al-Kareem (the All Laudable), Who created you, fashioned you perfectly and gave you due proportion? In whatever shape He willed, He put you together.”
This Quranic Verse addresses both man’s mind and heart at the same time.
Allah’s Divine Name, “Al-Kareem”, is also used in the emphatic form “Al-Akram” (the Ever Most Generous) in the Holy Quran. To this effect, the Quranic Verse goes
“Read in the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), Who has created man from a clot! Read! And your Lord is Al-Akram (the Ever All Laudable), Who has taught (the writing) by the pen, Who has taught man that which he knew not.”
Before we explain the various meanings of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Al-Kareem”, let us talk about the different meanings of this word, “Kareem”, in everyday language, as it is very often used. Linguists say: “Each and every laudable thing is described as being ‘Kareem’.” This adds a lot more meanings to the word “Kareem” than that commonly understood as “generous” (giving, or ready to give, freely).
In fact, the Arabic word “Kareem” embraces a great many meanings, including such laudable qualities as: forbearing, generous, kind, gentle, patient, self-possessed, manly, noble, pure…etc. In other words, the Arabic word “Kareem” includes all laudable and admirable human qualities, contrary to “La’eem”, which embraces all illaudable qualities, such as: miserly, mean, arrogant, tyrannical, ungrateful, selfish…etc. In short, the word “Kareem” includes all laudable qualities and attributes; just as the word “La’eem” includes all lowly illaudable ones. In this context, the verses go:
If you are noble to a noble, you own him.
If you are noble to a vile, he is ever ungrateful.
Other verses also go:
I taught him shooting every day.
But when he became a good shooter, he shot me.
And I taught him how to write poems.
But when he learnt how to write poems, he defamed me.
Reality proves that people are of two kinds: pious laudable ones and impious illaudable ones. This is what Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says. erefore, the word “Kareem” does not only mean “generous” but also “forbearing”, “kind”, “merciful”, “compassionate”, “pure”, “honest”, “friendly”, “fair”, …etc. Precious stones, such as diamonds, rubies, and pearls are described in Aabic as “Kareem” (i.e. precious).
A poet once praised Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), saying:
Muhammad is a human but not like any human.
He is a ruby, while other humans are stones.
Rubies are stones, but they are precious stones; and diamonds are also stones, but they are precious stones.
Another meaning of the word “Kareem” is “of noble birth”. But who was the noble son of the noble father of the noble grandfather? It was the holy Prophet, Joseph, (PBUH). To this effect, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says
“Joseph is the noblest of all mankind.”
Some people are also described as being “noble from both sides”, i.e. from both his father and mother’s sides.
The word “Kareem” also means, “good looking”. To this effect, the Quranic Verse goes:
“Then, when they (the women) saw him (Joseph), they so admired him that they cut their hands, saying, ‘May Allah save us! This is no mortal! This is but a Kareem (i.e. most beautiful) angel!’”
As mentioned above, the word “Kareem” is used to mean “of noble birth”, but according to the teachings of Islam nobility of birth or kinship is not spoken of aloof from piety and righteousness, without which it is mere vainglory. For example, Abu Lahab Bin Abdul Muttalib was one of the Prophet’s uncles, but all of us know how evil Abu Lahab was. Allah, All Mighty, sent down Quranic Verses reproaching him:
“Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab; and perish he! His wealth and children will not benefit him!”
Therefore, kinship is of no merit unless accompanied by true faith, righteousness and nobility of character. If both nobility of kinship and true faith combine together, they make a wonderful combination. To this effect, the verse goes:
A beautiful face with a vicious character
Are like a lantern at a Magian’s grave.
This verse means that it is not good enough for a person to be good-looking. He needs to have a good character and an authentic religion in order to be really beautiful.
As for the expression “Al-Maqam Al-Kareem” (the Laudable Station), it means Paradise, where there is no fatigue, fear, worry, sadness, envy, hatred or any other troublesome thing whatsoever. Those who attain the Laudable Station on the Judgment Day are really prosperous.
Another meaning of the word “Kareem” is “something that is very scarce, badly needed and cannot be done without.
The word “Kareem” also means, “dear, most beloved, and most honorable”. Allah, All Mighty, says
“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, Akramakum (i.e. the dearest and most honorable of you) with Allah, are the most pious and dutiful. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
Also, the word “Kareem” means “full of benefits and uses”. To this effect, the Quraic Verse goes:
“She (the Queen of Sheba) said: ‘O chiefs! Verily, here is delivered to me Kitabon Kareem (a letter full of benefits).”
Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, is “Kareem” in the sense that it is full of benefits, facts, and guidance, it is full of good things and blessings, no falsehood could ever creep into it, it includes no mistakes or errors, it includes no contradictions or controversies, it conforms to reality, its style is perfect and most coherent, it does not tackle issues hastily or off-handedly, it is perfect in every sense of the word, and it is free from any defect or imperfection. It is “Kareem”, i.e. “perfect and free from any defect or imperfection”.
A female camel is said to be “Kareemah” if she produces a lot of milk. Also, when Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), sent the venerable Companion, Mou’ath, may Allah be pleased with him, to Yemen, he addressed him
“You shall come upon a people who have a Book (Revealed Scripture). Therefore, once you have got to them, invite them to bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger. If they obey you in that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers every day and night. If they obey you in this, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them a charity that is taken from the rich ones among and given to the poor ones among them. If they obey you in this, be careful not to take any of Kara’imu Amwalihim (i.e. the dearest and most beloved things to them from among their possessions). And beware of the invocation of a wronged person, as there is no barrier between him and Allah.”
The expression “Kara’imu Amwalihim” in the above Prophetic Hadith means: if someone has a cow that he loves so much, do not take it from him as charity. Leave it to him and take another one that he chooses for you to take. Taking from a rich person his dearest and most beloved things as charities clashes with Prophetic Sunna and Tradition, which confirm the Prophet’s words:
“be careful not to take any of Kara’imu Amwalihim (i.e. the dearest and most beloved things to them from among their possessions)”
Grapes are also called “Karmah” because they are full of benefits: They provide people with shade and delicious nutritive wholesome fruits.
Also, the expression “Makarim Al-Akhlaq” means “the very best, purest and most noble manners and characters”. Hence, there are “Makarim Al-Akhlaq” (the best and most noble manners), “Al-Karm” (i.e. grapes), “Naqatun Kareemah” (i.e. a camel that gives a lot of milk), “Al-Kitab Al-Kareem” (i.e. a book that is full of interests and benefits), “Al-Ahjar Al-Kareemah” (i.e. precious stones), “Al-Kareem” (i.e. something that is very rare and badly needed, “Al-Maqam Al-Kareem” (i.e. the laudable station in Paradise), and “Malakun Kareem” (i.e. a most beautiful angel):
“So when she heard of their accusation, she sent for them, prepared a banquet for them, gave each one of them a knife, and then she said to Joseph: ‘Come out before them.’ Then, when they saw him (Joseph), they so admired him that they cut their hands, saying, ‘May Allah save us! This is no mortal! This is but a Malakun Kareem (i.e. a most beautiful angel)!’”
When we say “Qur’anon Kareem”, we mean, “Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran”; and since Allah, All Mighty, is Perfect and Absolute, His Words are perfect and faultless. In other words, Allah’s Words, i.e. the Holy Quran, are far exalted above, and incomparably superior to, words of humans, just as Allah is Far Exalted and Incomparably Superior to His creatures. In this context, the verse goes:
It is impolite to carry one’s food
If one is coming unto the Generous!
Now, when we describe Allah, All Mighty, as being “Kareem”, this means that He is All Laudable, as He, Glory to Him, described Himself:
“O man! What has deceived you as to your Lord, the All Laudable?”
Notice the words “What has deceived you” in the above Verse. What is deception? And how can man be deceived? In fact, deception happens when you see a box, for example, and think that it is valuable. You hurry to pick it up, but suddenly you find out that it is empty. When you hastened to pick it up, you imagined that something precious could be found in it. But then, you suddenly discovered that it was empty. This is deception. In other words, you were deceived as regards the box. However, this meaning does not apply to the above Verse:
“O man! What has deceived you as to your Lord, the All Laudable?”
The meaning that befits this Verse is the following: If you think that a certain judge can be bribed and can be on your side, even if you are on the wrong side, provided that you give him some money. But then you find out that such a judge is honest and trustworthy and, therefore, can never be bribed. In other words, the judge is really honest and trustworthy although you wrongly imagined that he is not. In this sense, the Verse
“O man! What has deceived you as to your Lord, the All Laudable?”
means that as a human being, you may think of Allah improperly or in a way that does not befit His Divine Perfection. You may be deceived as regards your Lord, Allah, Glory to Him. You may wrongly think that He is not All Just, Most Merciful, or Omnipotent, for example, i.e. you deny Him such Divine Names and Attributes: you deny that He is Omnipotent, Most Merciful, All Just, Most Kind, you deny that He never forgets His believing slaves and generously rewards them, that He shall never let down those who spend all their lives obeying Him, or you wrongly think that He will reward with Paradise those who are inimical to Him or deny His Existence altogether. In other words, if you think of Allah unrealistically and unduly, this means that you have been deceived as regards Him, because He is All Laudable, and you should never be deceived as to Him.
The accurate definition of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name, “Al-Kareem” is: “His Existence is definitive. He, Glory to Him, is Free from any defect or imperfection. He is the All Mighty. And no one but Him deserves to be worshipped.” This can be summed up in three notions with regards to Allah: His Existence, Oneness, and Perfection. In this sense Allah is “Kareem”, i.e. He exists, He is One, and He is Perfect. These three accurate Divine Attributes that have to do with Allah’s Name “Kareem” can be explained as follows:
Allah is “Kareem” in the sense that He initiates His Divine Favors to His slaves, even though they do not deserve such Favors. Out of His Divine Grace, He brings us into existence even though He is not obliged to do so. In other words, we do not have any right to oblige Allah, All Mighty, to bring us into existence; but He bestows His Divine Favor upon us by bringing us into existence. To make this point clear, let us have the following example: You may have an employee who is both honest and hardworking. So you reward him for his honesty and hard work. Such a reward does not come before you make sure that he is a good employee who should be deservedly rewarded. This does not mean that you are really “Kareem” (i.e. generous). Real absolute generosity is clearly manifested when it comes before one should be deservedly rewarded. It comes out of the donor’s good will and generous free choice, without being requested or required to be generous.
When we invoke Allah, “Ya Kareem Al-‘Afou” (O All Pardoning!), what does this mean? To make this point clear, let us have the following example: Someone may pardon you, but every now and then, he reminds you, “Don’t forget! You have done so and so, and I have pardoned you.” And you say, “Yes, may Allah recompense you well for that. You really did pardon me!” But when you invoke the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, All Pardoning, “Ya Kareem Al-‘Afou” (O All Pardoning!), this means that Allah’s Divine Pardon does not mean only canceling His Punishment for you but also making people forget your sin and making you, yourself, forget it. This is a very delicate meaning: Due to Allah’s Infinite Pardon, He, All Pardoning, makes you forget the sin you have committed:
“If a believer returns to Allah with true sincere repentance, Allah makes him, the angels and the whole world, forget his sins and misdeeds.”
Due to Allah’s Infinite Divine Grace, if a believer commits a certain sin and then, for some reason or another, forgets it, Allah deals with him generously and makes him live happily and comfortably. This is what “Kareem Al-‘Afou” (the One Who pardons most generously) means.
Another meaning of Allah’s Beautiful Name “Al Kareem” is that He, Praised and Exalted, covers His slave’s sins, and faults. Human beings never do. You may do millions of favors to someone, nevertheless, at the very first mistake than you make, he forgets all such favors, which you have done him, and speaks badly of you. That is why Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says
“O Allah! I seek refuge with You from an evil neighbor: if he sees anything good (of me), he conceals it; but if he sees anything evil, he reveals it. O Allah! I seek refuge with You from an evil Imam (master): if I do well, he does not accept; but if I do badly, he does not forgive.”
Allah, All Mighty, is “Al-Kareem” (the All Laudable) in the sense that He veils sins and faults. In this context, a knowledgeable holy modest religious scholar said, “By Allah! If people knew my evil secrecy, they would not greet me, but they would shun me and become bored of my company.”
Therefore, Allah, the All Laudable, unveils His slave’s good deeds and qualities and veils his evil ones. When you invoke, “O Coverer of sins and faults!” your skin and your heart should soften with the words of this invocation, because when Allah, Most Gracious, covers one’s sins and faults, He really does, not like human beings, who never keep secret a mistake one commits. Yes, indeed, it is Allah, Who covers sins and keeps them secret!
One of the beautiful meanings of Allah’s Name “Al-Kareem” is that He, Most Gracious, overlooks His slave’s sins and misdeeds although the latter is never unaware of them. To this effect, He, Glory to Him, says
“Think you not that Allah is unaware of that which the wrong-doers do. It is only that He gives them a respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror.”
I have heard of someone who was a Mufti and a judge in this good city some forty or fifty years ago. While a woman was coming upstairs to him, she made an unpleasant noise and, therefore, was greatly embarrassed when she saw him. When she came nearer to him, he pretended to be deaf or his hearing was weak, saying, “What’s your name, dear sister?” When she gave him her name, he said, “Speak louder! I can’t hear you! My hearing is weak.” And she had to repeat her name several times. She turned to her sister saying, “He did not hear us!”
A generous noble person is someone who overlooks mistakes and errors but a mean lowly person is someone who tries hard to unveil each and every mistake other people make. Allah, the Most Generous and All Laudable, forgives and pardons when His guilty slaves beseech Him to do. He, Most Gracious, forgives all their sins and misdeeds; He veils their mistakes and never reminds them of them.
I was once standing somewhere that overlooks Damascus: a great many houses and buildings inhabited by more than five million people. I remembered Allah’s Words:
“And Sufficient is your Lord as an All-Knower and All-Beholder of the sins of His slaves.”
No one knows the great many things, whether good or evil, committed inside all those great many homes, except Allah, All Mighty. Nevertheless, He provides them all with sustenance and maintains their health for them. To this effect, in a Divine Hadith, Allah, Most Gracious, says
“My slave! You have an obligation to fulfill to Me, and I have provision to provide you. Even if you fail to fulfill the obligation you have to fulfill to Me, I do not fail to provide you with your provision.”
Also, Allah is “Al-Kareem” in the sense that if His slaves turn to Him with little sincere acts of devotion, He rewards them generously. If a person offers someone just a little piece of food, this piece of food will be as big as the mount of Uhud on the Day of Judgment. I don’t think that it is reasonable in this present world that someone offers only a Syrian Pound and receives in return 5,000,000,000 Pounds. In the Hereafter, you are recompensed far more than that. In your present life, you offer to Allah only a limited number of good righteous deeds: you help the poor and needy, you offer some prayers and acts of devotion, you spend of your wealth for the Cause of Allah, you suppress your lusty desires and caprices, you commit yourself to the truth, but in the Hereafter, Allah rewards you with the Garden of Paradise. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says
“And make haste to (attain) forgiveness of your Lord, and to (attain) a Garden (of Paradise), as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious and dutiful.”
Quite often, the All Laudable Lord, Allah, makes a weak lowly person powerful and respectable. Yes, indeed! He grants him power and dignity! In this respect, Allah Most Gracious, says
“And fulfill your covenant with Me, I fulfill My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.”
But do we really have a covenant with Allah, as if we were equal to Him? The answer is: Of course not. But Out of His Infinite Divine Generosity, He speaks to us; when He speaks to us, He justifies His Commands to us; and when He justifies His Divine Commands to us, He honors us most generously. In this context, Allah, Most Gracious, says
“Reauthor (O Muhammad) what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Quran), and perform prayer. Verily, prayer prevents from sinfulness and evil deeds; and remembering Allah is greater; and Allah knows what you do.”
Very often, a strong powerful person gives unjustified and non-vindicated orders to another weak one. But this is not the case with Allah, Most Gracious. Out of His Infinite Divine Generosity, whenever Allah gives us any command or order, He justifies and vindicates such command or order to us. For example, He, Glory to Him, says
“O you who believe! Observing the fast is enjoined on you as it was enjoined on those before you that you may attain self-protection.”
“Take (O Muhammad) from their wealth alms whereby you purify and sanctify them, and invoke Allah for them. Verily, your invocation is a source of security for them; and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.”
Moreover, it is He Who makes us worthy of making covenants with Him:
“And fulfill your covenant with Me, I fulfill My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.”
Also, out of His Infinite Divine Generosity, Allah, All Mighty, All Laudable, makes us worthy of His Divine Love:
“He (Allah) loves them and they love Him (Allah).”
Out of His Infinite Divine Generosity, Allah, All Laudable, gives us the whole world. To this effect, He says
“It is He (Allah) Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then, He directed His Divine Power to the heavens and made them seven heavens; and He is the All-Knower of all things.”
The air: Do you consider the air as included in the list of Divine Favors to you? Yes, indeed you should! It is a gratis Divine Favor: you breathe the air everywhere. The same thing applies to water. Also the price you pay for food is not its real value. Who of you believes that the price they pay for an apple is its real value? What they pay is only for the services that farmers and sellers offer. Apples are priceless, but those who cultivate farmland, water it, provide it with the necessary fertilizers, and then pluck ripe apples, put them in boxes and carry them to markets, where you buy them, receive money only for the efforts they make; but apples are priceless, as they are granted gratis to mankind from the Lord Allah, Most Gracious.
The Hereafter: On the Judgment Day, Allah will make believers own the Hereafter, just as He, Glory to Him, has made all that is in the heavens and the earth subjugated to mankind by way of both honor and guidance.
Allah is “Al-Kareem” (the All Laudable) in the sense that He grants without a reminder, which human beings never do. When human beings do favors to one another, they usually remind them of such favors. They quite often address those to whom they do favors
“The flesh of your body is of my benefaction! I have bestowed my favor upon you! I have rescued you from danger! I made you from nothing! You were nothing before I helped you! …Etc.”
A reminder never follows Allah’s Divine Favor, however.
Also, Allah, Most Gracious, is “Al-Kareem” in the sense that He does not make you need any means to get His Divine Favors. Sometimes, people do not give each other anything until they have exhausted all their efforts and powers. They require them, for example, to apply for a donation, to submit their identification card, wait until last week, come back after two days, wait until investigation is carried on, …etc. They make them hate the donation because of the great many investigations, delays, complications, documentation, …etc. But Allah, Most Gracious, does not make you need any means, nor does He make the disobedient despair of repentance. To this effect, He, Most Merciful, says
“Say (O Muhammad) to My slaves who have transgressed against themselves: ‘Despair not of Allah’s Mercy! Verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”
Also, Allah, All Mighty, is “Kareem” in the sense that whenever He gives, He gives most generously; and when He is disobeyed, He forgives most forbearingly. In this sense, He is Most Forbearing.
Allah, Most Gracious, is also “Kareem” in the sense that He never lets down His slaves or fails to fulfill their hopes. Sometimes, someone offers you something humbly and beseeches you to accept it. But if you reject his offer, he becomes disappointed with you and forgets all about you, simply because you let him down. But Allah never lets down anyone who asks Him for anything. It is impossible that you beseech Him for anything and He fails to fulfill it for you. In other words, Allah is “Kareem” in the sense that He never fails to fulfill hopes of His slaves. He bestows His Divine Favors upon His slaves and never reminds them of such Favors. When a human being lends you his suit, for instance, he may tell you before people, “It’s alright. You can use it.” In other words, he makes you embarrassed before other people. This is commonly seen among people who lend or give away things to other fellow humans: they boastfully remind them of such things and quite often make them greatly embarrassed.
Another meaning of Allah’s Beautiful Name “Al-Kareem” is that His Infinite Divine Favors never end and His Benefactions are innumerable. Also, He is All Mighty and Most Munificent; His Hands are always stretched, i.e. He is Most Generous, and He spends as He pleases. Such Divine Attributes are all mentioned in the Holy Quran.
Allah, Most Gracious, is also Shy and Most Generous. Out of His Shyness and Generosity, He is ashamed to let His slave down when he beseeches Him for something. In this context, Allah addresses His old slaves
“O son of Adam! You have become old, your back has become bent down, and your hair has turned gray, so you should be shy towards Me, for I am shy towards you.”
In another Divine Hadith, Allah, All High, says
“My slave is unfair to Me: I am ashamed to punish him, but he is unashamed to disobey Me.”
In this context, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says
“If a slave invokes, ‘O Lord!’ three times, Allah will respond: ‘Here I am, My slave!’”
Allah, Most Generous, is also “Kareem” in the sense that He gets angry with those who do not ask Him or pray to Him. In this regard, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says
“Allah, All Mighty, is “Kareem” (All Laudable); and He loves noble manners and hate lowly ones.”
Allah hates to see His slave a lowly person, i.e. a silly person whose interests are trivial and who is mean, selfish, niggardly, or self-centered. He loves those whose interests are sublime and noble. Allah, All Mighty, does not look at people’s outer appearances but rather deep into their hearts. To this effect, Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, quotes Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying,
“Verily, Allah does not look at your forms and properties, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.”
In other words, the heart is the place where Allah looks.
They also say: “Al-Kareem” is someone who does not care how much he gives nor to whom he gives; and “Al-Kareem” gets angry if people ask anyone other than Him.
Sometimes, you seek the help of a generous person who says, “Don’t ask anyone else other than me. The thing you need is guaranteed with me.” This is the highest rank of generosity: “I’ll get angry if you ask anyone else but me.”
Now, imagine someone who is in need of something but does not know that the whole matter is totally in Allah’s Hand. He goes to another fellow human, weak and helpless as he is, and beseeches him humbly, but, quite often, the latter sends him away disparagingly. You should always go to the Most Generous, Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious, “Al-Kareem”, Who gets angry if you ask anyone but Him.
They also say: “Al-Kareem” is someone who, if people treat him badly or turn away from him, blames but does not investigate. For example, if someone promises to pay you a visit, but he fails to keep his promise. You blame him, and he says, “My daughter was sick.” Then, you ask his neighbor to make sure whether his daughter really was sick or not. This investigation is not generous of you at all. It is generous to accept his apology with no further investigation, because such a thing might make him embarrassed. Whenever someone apologizes to you and puts forward an excuse, you should accept his excuse, thinking to yourself, “Well, he is a nice person as he has apologized.” And you should accept his excuse whether it is true or not. There are some inquisitive people who seek to investigate all things, which is not generous at all. Once again, “Al-Kareem”, i.e. a generous person is someone who accepts excuses with no further investigation.
Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), once confided something to some of his wives; but when one of them spoke it out, and Allah revealed that to him, He, (PBUH), disclosed only some of it and kept some as secret. This means that you shall never be “Kareem”, i.e. generous, unless you overlook nine, out of ten mistakes, and disclose only one. In other words, you should overlook the mistakes committed by other people, because too much reproach breeds hatred. Being generous, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), mentioned only one part of that which Allah revealed to him concerning the mistake committed by his wife but kept the other part secret.
“Al-Kareem” is also someone who does not let down those who seek his help or seek refuge with him.
However, the foregoing definitions and explanations of the Arabic word “Al-Kareem” are very accurate. They all lead one simple fact, namely that if you really desire to be happy and prosperous in this present world and the world to come, you should rely on Allah and put all your trust in Him. You should seek help from Him, Alone; and you should seek refuge with Him, Alone. You should put all your trust in Him, Alone, and be hopeful to none but Him. If you put your trust in, or rely on, other fellow humans, they will inevitably let you down.
A man was in need of something, so he went to a friend of his who had recently assumed a prominent position in the government. When he came to his friend’s office, the latter received him coldly, as if he had never seen him or known him, and refused to offer him any help. That act on the part of the friend was by no means generous. “Al-Kareem” does not make you in need of any means or intercessors; and you should know that generosity necessitates that you should help sh3er out of your own free will and generosity, without any reminder or obstacles that you put forward before them.
Also, “Al-Kareem” is someone who does not forsake you even if you do forsake him.
Sometimes, you find someone who becomes so weak, confused and poor that he loses all hope and shuns religion altogether: he no longer offers prayers or attends religious lectures. But Allah, the Most Generous, does not let him down. He soon consoles him by solving his problems for him and brings him back to the right way. In other words, when he is in trouble, man may turn away from Allah, but Allah, “Al-Kareem” never does.
“Al-Kareem” is someone who maintains ties with you even if you forsake him, who consoles you when you are ill, who visits you when you are back from travel, and who helps you when you are broke. Among the most accurate meanings of the word “Kareem” as to human beings is that someone who is “Kareem” blames himself if you ask him for a certain favor, because he has not hastened to offer it to you before you have to ask it of him. This is a very accurate meaning.
Sometimes, a brother or a dear friend may suddenly get broke. Due to his self-consciousness and self-respect, he may hesitate to ask you for help, although he suffers miserably but secretly. In the end, he may ask you for help. Then, you should know for sure that you have not been kind or fair enough to him because you have failed to find out about his trouble and hasten, out of your own initiative, to offer help. If you are “Kareem” i.e. generous enough, you should inquire about conditions and circumstances of your relatives, neighbors and friends, and hasten to lend them a hand before they ask you to do so. Therefore, “Al-Kareem” is someone who blames himself if a dear friend or relative asks him for help, simply because he did not inquire about their problem, take the initiative or hasten to offer them help before they asked him to do so.
Now, what is man’s share of this Beautiful Divine Name? Religious scholars say: A person may be described as being “Kareem”, i.e. generous and noble, but if someone keeps asking him for something or visits him and stays more than reasonable, say for three hours, for example, he may mutter in complaint, feel displeased but keep silent for some time. But then he might say, “Sorry! I have an appointment.” If the visitor does not leave but keeps asking him for things, he may get fed up and address him with angry words, and sometimes severely. In other words, a human being cannot be infinitely “Kareem”; he can be relatively “Kareem”. But the One Who is Infinitely “Kareem” is Allah, Alone, because He loves those who are earnest and insistent in prayer and supplication. Just get me one human being who loves sh3er to be insistent to him. Nay! After only a short time of patience, man will say, “O brother! You have made me bored! I am fed up with you! Leave me alone! Go away!”
Such is human generosity, but Allah, Most Generous, “loves those who are insistent in their supplication to Him”. He is angry with those who abstain from invoking Him. If a human desires to be “Kareem”, he should overlook mistakes of other fellow humans, and he should do favors to them all. Very often, developed countries provide a decent comfortable living for their people: different kinds of enjoyments, entertainments, foods, drinks, houses, …etc. But they do this only at the expense of other peoples. Therefore, those - so-called - developed countries are by no means “Kourama’”, i.e. generous or noble. They are selfish, simply because they establish their glories, civilizations and prosperity of their peoples on destruction of other nations and extortion of their resources. I reiterate: such countries are by no means “Kourama’”! You shall never be a “Kareem”, i.e. a noble and generous person, unless your good work reaches all creatures, human and non-human.
In Europe, if poultry men have more chickens than they need, they burn them. Yes, they burn them! Do Muslims do such an unfair thing: burn chickens that extol Praise of their Creator, Allah, Most Gracious? Let chickens grow, and then slaughter and eat them. Make use of them instead of burning them, and Allah will reward you for this. It is unfair to burn them!
Once again, I reiterate: You shall never be “Kareem”, i.e. noble and generous, unless your good work engulfs all mankind. I would like to tell you something: By Allah! If you do evil even to a Magian, an idolater, or an atheist, you will be punished a thousand times more than if you evil to a Muslim, because a non-Muslim understands from your bad work that Islam means evil work and aggression. In other words, when you transgress against a non-Muslim, you distort the image of Islam to him.
A human being is “Kareem” if he overlooks other people’s mistakes and covers their faults, if he does not retaliate for himself, and if he overwhelms other fellow humans with his favors.
I have recently heard the following story: While he was putting a rubbish sack in the rubbish bin, a man found something moving in a sack. He opened the sack to find a newborn baby in it. He took it home, and then to hospital, where they took good care of it. He looked after the baby; and when it grew up he took him to school. However, the story ends here. Now, suppose the man helped the foundling to complete his education until he became a specialist medical doctor, opened a clinic for him, gave him his own daughter to marry, and gave him money to spend. What would the foundling’s attitude be towards such a philanthropist?
This story reminds me of the venerable Companion, Abdullah Bin Rawahah. When he noticed that his two other Muslim brother, who were fighting along with him in the battle of Mu’tah, had been martyred in battlefield and that he would soon be, he hesitated a bit, addressing himself:
O soul! If thou are killed, thou shalt die.
Such is the fate of death thou shalt meet.
If thou do like them both, thou shalt be blissful.
But if thou flee, thou shalt be disgraceful.
I would like to relate the event as Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), did:
“Your brother Ja’far took the flag and fought for it until he was killed (martyred); and I can see his station in Paradise. Then, your brother Zaid took the flag and fought for it until he was killed (martyred); and I can see his station in Paradise.” Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), kept silent for some time, which made the venerable Companions ask, “O Messenger of Allah! What did Abdullah do?” He, (PBUH), answered, “After that, Abdullah took it (the flag) and fought for it until he was killed (martyred); but I see some difference between his station and that of his two brother (Ja’far and Zaid) (i.e. his station in the Garden of Paradise is lower that that of his two brother, just because he hesitated).”
Now, we go back to the foundling, whom the philanthropist found in a garbage bin. Let’s imagine him, after having become a rich specialist physician, driving his own car, when he suddenly sees the philanthropist, who picked him up from the garbage bin, in the street, and the latter asks him to give him a lift or to drive him home. If the foundling hesitates for one single moment to offer immediate help to the philanthropist, it would be a terrible crime. It is most ungrateful to fail to repay the one who does you such a great favor or to hesitate for one single moment to answer him. This is the case among human beings, but how would it be with the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, Creator and Lord of all worlds?!
Undoubtedly, Allah’s Right upon His slaves is infinitely Great. That is why Allah says of hypocrites,
“And never pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (hypocrites) who dies, nor stand at his grave. Certainly, they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and they died while they were disobedient.”
When Allah In fact, Huthaifah was Allah’s Messenger’s secret-keeper. After Allah’s Messenger’s death, Abu Bakr became Caliph, and after Abu Bakr, Omar Bin Al-Khattab, the rightly guided Caliph and giant of Islam. Omar came to Huthaifah and asked him earnestly, “I implore you by Allah! Is my name mentioned among them (i.e. hypocrites)?” I am one hundred per cent sure that Omar was most honest and earnest in his question. In other words, he really desired to know if his name was among those of hypocrites, i.e. he was afraid that perhaps he had unwittingly committed some mistake or a sinful deed. He was conscious of Allah’s Great Right upon him, and due to his great piety and sincere devotion, he thought, “I might have neglected something. I might be a hypocrite. If a mule trips in Iraq, I fear that Allah will question me about it.” Once, a messenger from Atherbaijan came to him. Because it was late night, the messenger did not go to Omar’s house. He went to the mosque for the night. In the mosque, he found someone offering prayer in great veneration and lamentation, invoking, “O Lord! Did you accept my repentance so that I may congratulate myself, or did you reject it so that I may console myself?” The messenger came nearer to see who the man was, and asked him, “Who are you?” The man answered, “I am Omar Bin Al-Khattab.” The messenger asked in great amazement, “Don’t you sleep in the night?” Omar replied, “O Brother! If I spend my night sleeping, I ruin myself as regards my Lord; and if I spend my day sleeping, I ruin my people.” The next morning, Omar asked the messenger, “Would you like to eat with poor Muslims, for they eat meat, or with me?” The messenger answered, “I would like to eat with you, for you are the Caliph.” Omar took the man to his house, where he found only bread and salt. Then, Omar asked the messenger, “Why did you come to us?” “I came to deliver this gift from Atherbaijan.” It was a box of delicious sweats of the best quality. Omar asked, “Do common Muslims eat such sweats in your country?” The messenger answered, “No. These are only for the elite.” Omar addressed the messenger angrily: “Give these sweats to the poor Muslims of Medina. I do not eat things that poor Muslims do not eat.” Then, he sent a message to his ruler over Atherbaijan reproaching: “Eat of what common Muslims eat!”
One day, Omar saw fat camels on the road. He asked, “Whose camels are those?” “They are your son Abdullah’s camels.” Was the answer. Omar said, “send him to me!” When Abdullah came to Omar, the latter asked him scornfully, “Whose are those camels?” Abdullah answered, “They are mine. I bought them with my own money, and I sent them to graze and grow. What’s wrong with that? I bought them with my own money; and I graze them to make them grow and then to sell them and get some money for them. Did I commit a sin in doing such a thing?” Omar said scornfully, “You want people to say, “Graze those camels, for they belong to the son of the Commander of the Faithful. Water those camels, for they belong to the son of the Commander of the Faithful.’ Is this the way you grow your camels, O son of the Commander of the Faithful! Go and sell them! And take back only your capital, and return the rest of the money to the Muslim treasury!”
Once, while Omar was sitting with his companions, one of them said, “By Allah! We have not seen anyone better than you after Allah’s Messenger.” The man desired to praise Omar with his nice words; and Omar could have thanked the man for his kind flattery, but he looked round most angrily at the men until one of them said, “No! By Allah! We have seen someone who is better than you are.” “Who is it?” Omar asked. “Abu Bakr!” The man said. Omar looked around and said scornfully, “All of you lied, but he, alone, spoke the truth.” In other words, he considered their keeping silent as lying. Then, he said, “By Allah! I was more astray than my camel when Abu Bakr was sweeter than the smell of musk.”
Yes, indeed! It was Omar, who asked one of his vicegerents, “What will you do if people bring you someone who is a thief or robber?” “I will chop off his hand.” The man replied. Omar said, “Then, if any of your subjects comes to me hungry or unemployed, I will chop off your hand! Verily, Allah has given us power over His creatures in order to allay their hunger, cover their bodies and provide them with good jobs (i.e. provide them with adequate food and clothing and help them make a decent living). If we fulfill that for them, we deservedly receive their gratitude and obedience. These hands have been created in order to work. If they do not find something good to do, they will seek a lot of evil things to do. Therefore, you should keep them busy with good things before they keep you busy with evil things.”
Such was Omar, the venerable Companion and Caliph, who came to Huthaifah imploring him earnestly, “I implore you by Allah! Is my name mentioned among them?” However, Huthaifah’s answer was, “No! By Allah! You are the most noble and generous of us all, and you are the most merciful of us all.” In fact, Huthaifah, may Allah be pleased with him, was not only greatly surprised but also really embarrassed at Omar’s question, as he knew how venerable and devoted the latter was. Such is “Al-Karam”, i.e. nobility and generosity!
Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), bade us to adopt Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes and to color ourselves with them; and Allah’s Beautiful Name “Al-Kareem” necessitates that we should maintain ties and relationships with those who sever them, forgive those who wrong us, and give those who deprive us. It also necessitates that our silence should be contemplation, our speech a reminder, and our sight an admonition.
Now, I would like to tell you a couple of stories: When Moses spoke to His Lord, he said, “O Lord! Sometimes, I need something, but I feel ashamed to ask You (for it). Shall I ask someone other than You?” Soon, Allah, Most Gracious, revealed to Moses, “O Moses! Do not ask anyone but Me. Ask Me as to the salt of your dough and fodder of your ewe.”
Our Lord, Allah, Most Generous, loves those who are insistent, so why don’t you beseech Him when prostrating in prayer in the early morning? Why don’t you ask Him for all your needs?
Whenever a man would come to Ali Bin Abi Talib, the venerable Companion and Caliph, may Allah be pleased with him, for something, Ali would put out his lantern and then ask the man to tell him what he needed. When Ali was asked why he did this, he answered, “In order not to see humility of beseeching on the man’s face, and in order that he may not be embarrassed and refrain from asking me his need. Such was Ali’s “Karam”, i.e. nobility and generosity!
A venerable religious scholar never used to give money to a poor person by the hand. He would put the money on a table and then ask him to take it. He used to do this because he did not like to see his hand over that of the poor man.
Abban Bin ‘Ayash, one of the Prophet’s venerable Companions, said: “I went out of Anas Bin Malik’s place, one day, to find a funeral escorted only by four Negroes who were carrying the dead man’s body. I thought to myself, ‘Glory to Allah! This is the marketplace of Al-Basra, yet no one escorts a Muslim’s funeral! I’ll join them!’” By the way, if someone sees a funeral, it is wise and well rewarded if one escorts it, even though one might not know who the dead person is, because when they open the bier, one sees what happened to the dead person, how they put him into his grave and how they pour soil onto his dead body; and one may hopefully be is deterred and admonished. However, Abban’s story goes on: “I went along with the funeral; and when they reached a prayer place, they laid the body down and asked me to step forward to lead prayer for the dead man. I said, ‘You are more entitled to do this.’ They said, ‘We are all alike. We do not know the man!’ However, after I had lead prayer for the dead man’s soul and the men had buried him, I asked in amazement, ‘What’s the matter?’ ‘Ask that woman, over there.’ They said. I went to a woman who was standing aside watching, and asked her what the matter was. She answered, ‘that was my son, a big sinner, who had committed a lot of sins. Before his death, he asked me, ‘O Mum! When I die, do not tell any of our neighbors of my death, lest they should gloat over that. But inscribe on my ring: ‘there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’ and put it in my shroud so that Allah may have mercy on me; and put your foot onto my cheek and say, ‘such is the recompense of those who disobey Allah!’ And after you have buried me, raise up your hands to Allah and say, ‘O Lord! I am pleased with my son!’
The son told his mother exactly what to do: not to tell anyone of his death, and to put her foot on his cheek, saying: “Such is the recompense of those who disobey Allah!” However, the mother said, “When I raised my hands up and began invoking, I heard a voice coming from the sky, “It is alright Mum! I have come unto the Most Generous Lord!” This is the lesson we get from the whole story!
It is a great virtue to fear Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious, and feel ashamed towards Him; but it is more adequate and more virtuous to be obedient and dutiful to the Lord in all times, for the Gate to Allah’s Infinite Divine Mercy is always widely open.
I beseech the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious, to enshroud us with His Divine Mercy and to inspire us to be laudable, for He is the All Laudable!
To wrap up, the word “Kareem” in Arabic has a lot of laudable meanings, including: “being free from all kinds of defects”. That is why we say, “Kitabun Kareem”, Maqamun Kareem”, “Rabbun Kareem”, “Insanun Kareem”, and “Mu’minun Kareem”, as above-mentioned.
Opposite to this laudable word, do stand such illaudable things as lie, falsehood, slander, and calumny, …etc, which render man lowly and disgraceful.
