reminding those whom He forgives of the types of sins and ugly things they had committed.
And among the signs of His Greatness is that if they come to Him after having obeyed Him
only a little, He will grant them quite a generous reward and will honour them by praising
them beautifully. Among the signs of His Greatness is that He includes them in His Covenant;
He has said, "... fulfill (your) covenant with Me, I will fulfill (My) covenant with
you" (Qura'n, 2:40). He even makes them worthy of His love: "... He shall love them and they
shall love Him" (Qura'n, 5:54).
Among the other signs of His Greatness is that He has made this world the loaned property of
His servants saying, "He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth" (Qura'n, 2:29), and
the hereafter as well, "... and a Garden, the extensiveness of which is like the heavens and the
earth, prepared for those who guard (themselves against evil)" (Qura'n, 3:133).
Also among the signs of His Greatness and generosity is that He has made everything in the
heavens and the earth subservient to man: "And He has made whatever in the heavens and in
the earth, all of it, subservient to you, [a gift] from Him" (Qura'n, 45:13). One of the signs of a
believer's good conduct in as far as the Attribute "al-Kareem" is concerned is that he directs
himself wholeheartedly towards His Lord. He makes it his habit to feed and clothe the
orphans and be good to his kith and kin. In order to attract the attention of the Muslims to this
weighty matter, Prophet Muhammed has said, "If someone held in high esteem by his folks
comes to you, be generous to him." He has also said, "Your Lord, Honour and Glory belong
to Him, is ever-Living, Generous, too shy to disappoint any of His servants who plead to
Him."
It is a sign of good manners to habitually forgive the doers of evil deeds, including repeated
offenders, and to cover the faults of your brethren in all circumstances. Such generosity of
manners is surely more precious than any materialistic generosity, for the latter preserves the
body whereas the first sustains the soul. The Messenger of Allah has said, "You will not be
able to please all people with your wealth; so, do please them with your good manners." He
has also said, "Allah, Honoured is His Name, is Generous, and He loves good manners and
hates a lowly conduct." The Messenger of Allah has said, "The generous one is close to Allah,
close to [the hearts of] people, close to Paradise, distant from the fire. A miser is distant from
Allah, distant from people, distant from Paradise, close to the fire."
As for "al-Akram," i.e. the most Generous, surely it is Allah, the Most Generous of all those
who are generous. This Attribute may also bear the same meaning embedded in that of "al-
Kareem."
- "Al-Raqeeb"
Allah has said, "... and be careful of (your duty to) Allah through Whom you demand (your