Nabi ﷺ was gifted some food and after eating, Nabi ﷺ returned the bowl empty. He did not fill the bowl with another dish. From this we learn that it is not necessary to give food back when we return someone’s container. If someone has given us food, eat it and then return the container back to its rightful owner. If you have some food, give if you wish, but don’t feel obliged and burdened to fill the container, assuming it’s below your standards and dignity to return it empty.
That person might be waiting for their container, whilst you’re clutching onto it just because you haven’t had the chance to fill it with food yet! When a baby is born many times ladies want to delay the visit or not even visit at all, because they haven’t prepared a gift yet. Or they consider it below their dignity to go without an expensive gift. This is incorrect and against the grain of the Sunnah. Nabi ﷺ didn’t have one wife, he ﷺ had nine. They could’ve easily cooked something up, but ‘filling the container’ is not a compulsory act in deen, so they gave it just like that – empty.
Be sincere. Give if you wish, but do it for the sake of Allah not to preserve your respect amongst the ladies in the community. Whenever I went to meet Shaykh Yunus Patel رحمة الله عليه in His house or madrassa, he would always gift me something before I left. To the extent that he kept bags of crisps in his office and if there was nothing to give, Shaykh would give me crisps.
Such was his sincerity and humility, he never assumed gifting a cheap packet of crisps below His standards. A child giving crisps is one thing but for an adult, many would consider it an embarrassment. However Shaykh was so sincere in his aims, he never saw it that way. He never considered it below his dignity.
Sometimes if I dropped by to Shaykh’s house, they would feed me a good meal or exotic chocolates. Other times, he would check the cupboards, and gift whatever was inside, small or big. The point is Shaykh’s objective was amal, not preserving his respect or sense of dignity. Shaykh’s gaze was on the Sunnah, not on people. He would gift for the sake of Allah, not to show off or outdo others.
Once I left Shaykh and I was walking away from Shaykh’s house. As I walked, I noticed car lights flashing behind me. I stopped to turn and saw a brother rushing towards me. He came and gave me a miswak stick saying that Shaykh has sent me to give this to you. That day Shaykh hadn’t given anything and as soon as he remembered, he sent this brother to give a miswak stick.
This is the sincerity and humility that we should all aspire to inculcate in our lives. May Allah grant us the tawfiq to learn from the akabireen and act upon the sunnah like they did, Aameen.
— Shaykh Dawood Seedat حفظه الله
The above is an extract from Shaykh’s majlis on 14/4/2016.
