Ramadan Notes #3: Widen Your Frame for Charity

As-salamu’alaykum,

Recall my esteemed colleague from yesterday’s Ramadan note on “The Gift of Salah” - if you missed it, here’s the link to the very short read.

There was another inherent lesson to the altruistic action that begs the question about how we frame charity or generosity in Ramadan and year round.

My colleague’s offer was an incredibly generous one even though the tangible value may not be readily apparent. What is clear to us all is that there was no direct financial impact!

This type of generosity is universally accessible and can be intentionally cultivated in the interactions that we have with others this blessed month - from our families, to our colleagues, patients and our communities. 

Depending on your season of life, this may manifest more at home than in the community or at the bedside or in some cases as a leader in the service of your team. The key message is to widen your fame for charity; donations are one expression of generosity but not the only one!

The opportunity to be selfless and to give of ourselves are limitless.

In Hadith #25 from Imam An-Nawwawi’s collection reported by Abu Dharr (RA), we learn from Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) response to his companions to have a wide frame for expressing the beautiful attribute of generosity and the value of charity. 

On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): "Some people from amongst the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), 'O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give [much] in charity by virtue of their wealth.' He (peace be upon him) said, 'Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity? Truly every tasbeehah [saying subhan-Allah] is a charity, and every takbeerah [saying Allahu akbar] is a charity, and every tahmeedah [saying alhamdulillah] is a charity, and every tahleelah [saying la ilaha illAllah] is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the sexual act of each one of you there is a charity.' They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfills his sexual desire, will he have some reward for that?' He (peace be upon him) said: 'Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner, then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner, then he will be deserving of a reward.'" [Muslim]

The nature of what we do everyday in healthcare presents many opportunities to leverage this frame in productive ways and optimize our impact and, in sha Allah, the acceptance of our work (with sincere intention) by Allah SWT.

So let's widen our frame for charity and seek out these opportunities to give of ourselves - our energy, our time, our skills - this blessed month. 

PRO-TIP: Do lots of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) like the hadith mentioned during the course of your busy days as you may not find the ideal space given the nature of healthcare work in many cases. It also adds to your bucket of charity this time of the year while connecting us to the mindfulness of Allah that we all seek.

May Allah SWT, Al-Kareem (the most generous) enable us to be among the generous ones this blessed month and beyond. Amin

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Join like-hearted #HealthCareWorkers on zoom for weekly Ramadan Check-ins at 4.15pm CST/5.15pm EST/10.15pm WAT . Register and join with this link.

P.P.S. Here’s the link to share the SakeenahMD newsletter with your friends and colleagues: https://sakeenahmd-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe