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Generosity (karam)

الكرم

For Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy, generosity (karam) is to give without asking to whom one gives or how much 1. He holds that this meaning truly applies only to God 2, who provides for everyone and leaves the sun, the rain and the air for them 3.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review

Ethics and character

Summary

For Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy, generosity (karam) is to give without asking to whom one gives or how much 1. He holds that this meaning truly applies only to God 2, who provides for everyone and leaves the sun, the rain and the air for them 3.

From Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy's Tafsir lectures (episode 08)

The Sheikh defines the truly generous person as one who, when he gives, does not ask to whom he is giving or how much 1.

He gives the example of a brother who asks his brother for something the other can afford: delaying it, or giving less than was asked, is in his view not generosity 4.

He says that the generous one asks neither whom he gave nor how much, and that this meaning truly applies only to God 2.

He mentions that the population of the earth is about seven billion (needs_source) 2.

He estimates that about one and a half billion of them are monotheists and about five and a half billion are not, yet God provides for all of them (needs_source) 5.

He says that God has not withheld the sun, the rain or the air from the people of a country that denies Him, that He left oxygen in the air for everyone, and that floods and diseases come from time to time as a wake-up call to people 3.

People and things also explored

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)· Ada' al-shahada (performing testimony: the duty on request, the excused witness, and the wording)· Manners of the Qur'an bearer· Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Adha (harm of a slight kind: removing harmful things and the duty not to harm)· Justice and grace (adl wal-fadl)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God

Sources

  1. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 8, at 00:13:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  2. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 8, at 00:14:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  3. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 8, at 00:15:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  4. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 8, at 00:13:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  5. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 8, at 00:14:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Generosity (karam)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/karam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-25.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)

Paying a debt in the form owed is obligatory by consensus. A debt due now must be paid on demand when the debtor can pay; a deferred debt is not due before its term. Payment is made in like items, with value owed where there is no like; a better payment is allowed when unconditioned. Remission, gift, assignment, set-off and settlement take the place of payment. A solvent debtor who refuses is compelled, imprisoned and his apparent property sold; the majority hold that a bankrupt is put under interdiction and his property divided among creditors, against Abu Hanifa. The insolvent is given respite, and his debt may be paid from zakat if he borrowed for himself in a lawful matter. A dead person's debt attaches to his estate and takes precedence over bequests and inheritance.