Part 11 (a) : Curing Bukhl (Miserliness)- Heart Therapy

Read the Table of Contents of Heart Therapy

Read Part 11: Bukhl (Miserliness)

The cure for miserliness can be summarised as follows:

1. Generosity towards one’s fellow beings invites the generosity of Allah towards oneself: One should remind himself that if he is generous to others, Allah will be generous to him.

   Moreover, Allah is the one who bestowed him with all the blessings that he possesses, as such, should He want, He is well able to remove these blessings from him too. Thus, he should value the bounty that has been given him and try his utmost to act in accordance with the same generosity and give out from that which he has been blessed with.

2. Avoid Excessive love of this Dunya: The primary reason a person is stingy with something is that he loves that thing. Were he to appreciate the insignificance of this life, it will be easier for him to acquire generosity.

   Imam al Ghazali said, “Miserliness is an ailment, which is hard to be cured, particularly if an old man suffers from it. The root cause of the miserliness is excessive love of wealth. The person should think: “I was not created to merely hoard money. I should also gather some virtues for the Hereafter.” With this thought, he will automatically strive hard for spiritualism and reject materialism. This will help him to get rid of his love of wealth and he will develop a feeling of generosity.

3. Misers are not liked: Everyone dislikes misers, to the extent that even misers dislike each other! This thought should be enough to get rid of this disease.
4. Reflect on his own possible future need: A person should remember that the blessings that he experiences are only from Allah, and one day he may also find himself in need. Just like the one who is requesting from him now, he might also need to ask another for something and how would he feel were he to be denied it if the tables were turned on him?
5. One should emulate the best of characters: All Muslims should aspire to be like the Prophets and the righteous people who preceded them, they were all generous and would seek out opportunities to give in charity abundantly.

   A man once asked the Prophet (SAW) [for something in charity] and the Prophet gave him [a flock of] sheep [that filled the space] between two mountains. When the man returned to his people he said, ” O my people, convert to Islam, because Muhammad gives [in charity] as a man who does not fear poverty.”

Exceptions

It should be noted that sometimes it is praiseworthy to be miserly. This is especially the case with regards to someone else’s wealth as one needs to be more protective over that. An Example of this is when a wife is miserly with her husband’s wealth when giving it in voluntary charity as he might be harmed by her excessive generosity.

Read the Next Part 12 : Bughd (Hatred)