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Any charity you give is for your own good. Any charity you give shall be for the sake of GOD. Any charity you give will be repaid to you, without the least injustice.
We have to be charitable in times of abundance and as well as in times of adversity. [3:134] who give to charity during the good times, as well as the bad times. They are suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people. GOD loves the charitable.
[2:219] …. They also ask you what to give to charity: say, "The excess." GOD thus clarifies the revelations for you, that you may reflect.
We spend what is over and above our needs. We cannot be extravagant and make ourselves penniless. We strike a balance between our capacity and others’ needs. Moderation is the key in charity, as in all things. [17:29] You shall not keep your hand stingily tied to your neck, nor shall you foolishly open it up, lest you end up blamed and sorry.
From all these verses it is evident as to what we should do while performing charity—be selfless, straightforward and kill our ego. Our life on earth is only decided by God. Death can come at any moment and we cannot then beseech for more time. [63:10] You shall give from our provisions to you before death comes to you, then you say, "My Lord, if only You could delay this for a short while! I would then be charitable and join the righteous!"
Every opportunity should be used to do righteous works. Give to charity from the bounties that God Himself has granted us.
[57:18] Surely, the charitable men and women have loaned GOD a loan of goodness. They will receive their reward multiplied manifold; they have deserved a generous recompense.
We know many of the attributes or names of God. There are so many of them mentioned in the Quran—Most Merciful, Most Gracious, the Peace, the King, Forgiver, Bounteous, the Judge, to name a few. Some of these attributes we can never achieve. Only God is Omnipotent and Omniscient. God is the Creator. We invent and manufacture things, but they all come from materials in God’s creation and inspiration from God.
But there are some of God’s traits that we, as submitters, can strive to attain (at a human level). We can be merciful and kind towards others. We can forgive when we are wronged. We can be generous and helpful when people are in need. A list of other positive human traits includes: courage, conviction, commitment, love, confidence, humor, flexibility, honesty, enthusiasm, appreciation, joyfulness, peacefulness, patience, trust, curiosity, open-mindedness, responsibility, empathy, compassion and kindness.
All of these qualities are attainable, but only with God’s help. Everything is in accordance with God’s will (2:253). Each of us has different areas that we need to work on. Perhaps it’s patience. We can implore God to increase our patience. We can say, “God, I want patience, and I want it now!” Or we can ask God to show us the ways to be more patient, and then appreciate the situations God puts us in where we can work on that patience. We may feel we need to be more honest and truthful. We can say, “Please, God, forgive the lies I’m going to tell today.” Or we can implore God to guide us to be more truthful in all our dealings, and then be aware of the times when we tell even a small lie. Ask forgiveness and strive to do better next time.
God is the One who gives us wisdom and knowledge.
[2:269] He bestows wisdom upon whomever He chooses, and whoever attains wisdom, has attained a great bounty.
Only those who possess intelligence will take heed.
Joseph: [12:22] When he reached maturity, we endowed him with wisdom and knowledge. We thus reward the righteous.
[21:74] As for Lot, we granted him wisdom and knowledge, and we saved him from the community that practiced abominations; they were wicked and evil people.
Moses: [28:14] When he reached maturity and strength, we endowed him with wisdom and knowledge. We thus reward the righteous.
[31:12] We have endowed Luqmãn with wisdom: “You shall be appreciative of GOD.” Whoever is appreciative is appreciative for his own good. As for those who turn unappreciative, GOD is in no need, Praiseworthy.
Solomon: [38:20] We strengthened his kingship, and endowed him with wisdom and good logic.
The Quran is our source for that wisdom. [54:4-5] Sufficient warnings have been delivered to alert them. Great wisdom; but all the warnings have been in vain.
God created us with the hearing, eyesight, and brains (16:78, 23:78, 67:23) to interpret the signs all around us and thus attain wisdom and knowledge. [76:2-3] We created the human from a liquid mixture, from two parents, in order to test him. Thus, we made him a hearer and a seer. We showed him the two paths, then, he is either appreciative, or unappreciative.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand what attributes God has already provided us with. One thing that can help identify personal attributes is to imagine ourselves without any material possessions: if we lost all that we own, what remains behind defines our attributes. Our character, deeds, and mental outlook form the basis of our attributes and we should strive towards, and ask for God's help ensuring they are righteous.
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