Adab al-Mufrad

Benefits and Issues:
➊ From this, it is understood that the one who does good and shows kindness has the right that he should be recompensed for it. Even though he performs this good deed solely for the pleasure of Allah. In another hadith, it is stated that whoever is not grateful to people cannot be grateful to Allah either. Also, it is permissible to give a gift or present with the intention of receiving something in return, although it is better to give it for the sake of Allah’s pleasure.

➋ From this, it is understood that exchanging gifts on the occasion of marriage is permissible, and mutual financial cooperation is also allowed. However, it should not be the case that one expects to receive exactly as much as one has given, or to receive double, nor should there be any quarrel if nothing is received in return. Where there is a fear of such issues, the gift may also be refused.

➌ The financial disparity among people is a marvel of the Divine system and the secret to the survival of the world’s order. Therefore, it often happens that a person cannot repay a favor or reciprocate a gift. The Shariah has provided a solution for this: one should remember the benefactor with good words, pray for blessings for him, and express gratitude verbally. Furthermore, one should also express this to others.

➍ If the benefactor is such a person about whom there is no fear of falling into ostentation (riya), then he may be praised in his presence as well; otherwise, he should be praised in his absence. And the best way to express verbal gratitude is to say “Jazak Allahu khayran” instead of the English word “Thanks”—in this, there is both reward and supplication for the benefactor.

➎ Whatever condition Allah, the Exalted, keeps a person in, he should be content with it. Striving and making efforts for progress is permissible; however, for a poor person to act as if he is a great nobleman, or for a wealthy person to adopt false asceticism—both these situations are not only prohibited, but the Shariah has declared such a person to be an outright liar. If a poor person remains grateful to Allah and does not express his poverty before others, or a wealthy person adopts a life of asceticism and spends his wealth in the way of Allah, then there is no harm in this. In summary, to claim a virtue that one does not possess, or to pretend to have done a deed that one has not done, in order to take credit for it, is legally prohibited and haram.