The highest degree of generosity is “isar”-giving lavishly-. Its opposite is shuh that it is to covete the wealth of others and asking to obtain their wealth and favor.

 With the holy verses:

 “And they feed for the love of Allah the indigent the orphan and the captive.” (1)

 “And the likeness of those who spend their substance seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls is as a garden high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest and if it receives not heavy rain light moisture sufficeth it. Allah seeth well whatever ye do.

 Sevdiği malı (Allah uğrunda) verir.” (2)

 of Allah The Most High praises the people who gives their beloved goods to poor, orphans and captives without expecting any material return and only for the Sake of Allah and He warned severely the stingy ones:

 “And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah hath given them of His Grace think that it is good for them: nay it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do. ” (3)

 Hadrat Prophet also said: “ A person who believe in Allah and in the day of last judgment should show honor to his guest.” And in his prayers he took refuge with Allah from stinginess, cowardice and he also stated that stinginess and bad moral qualities do not exist on a believer and Our Prophet reminded that an ignorant but generous person is more valued before Allah than a stingy person who worship much.

 Again The Prophet-May Allah commend and salute him- declared: Generosity is a tree of Paradise . Its branches extended to the earth. Whoever holds a branch of it, this leads him to Paradise . Stinginess is a tree o Hell. Whoever holds a branch of it, this leads him to Hell”.

 In one of his hadiths, Hadrat Prophet-peace be upon him- declared: There is two kinds of moral qualities that Allah likes. One of them is generosity and the other is being good natured. Again there are two kinds of moral qualities that Allah is against them. One of them is stinginess and the other being of bad character”.

 Hadrat Aisha-May Allah be well pleased with her- said: “Throughout his lifetime The Messenger of Allah was never satisfied with food on three following days.”

 There are three degrees of benevolence:

•  The first one is to give something which does not reduce one's wealth and which is easy to give. This degree of ihsan is “seha”

•  The second one is giving much of wealth and leave little to oneself. This is -cud-munificence.

•  The third one is giving something while one is in need or giving something which is necessary to him. This level is “isar” -givin lavishly- The opposite of it is “eshere”. This is to prefer oneself to another person about something necessary.

 In the Noble Quran the opposite of “isar” is mentioned as “shuhh”-stinginess-. Allah The Most High declared:

 “But those who before them had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith show their affection to such as came to them for refuge and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter) but give them preference over themselves even though poverty was their (own lot). And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls they are the ones that achieve prosperity.” (4)

 Bahil -stingy- is someone who has the habit of shuhh. Mu'si is a person who has the quality of generosity. Someone who doesn't covet others' wealth is -sahi-. This kind of generosity is more valued than seha in the sense of only giving something to poor.

 If the goods in the hands of a born servant is not much he should satisfied with it and not to be too greedy. If he is rich he should be somewhere between seha-generosity- and isar- giving lavishly- he should do favor and avoid stinginess. Our Prophet-peace be upon him- took refuge with Allah from meanness by praying: “O My Allah! I take refuge with You from stinginess and timidity, I take refuge with You from a ruined life - to be crippled by illness or old age-.

 Kays Ibn Sa'd İbn Ubâde was famous with his generosity. Someday he became ill but his friends acted slowly to visit him. He asked its reason, they said: “They feel ashamed to come because they are indebted to you”. Then he said: “Richness which prevents the visit of friends to each other is to be perished” Later he asked a man to shout as “Whoever is indebted to Kays, his debt has been abolished. He gives up his claim.” Before evening many people came to his door to ask him”.

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(1)Chapter Insan, 76/8

(2 Chapter Bakara, 2/265

(3)Chapter Ali Imran, 180

(4) Chapter Hashr, 59/9

  Someday people asked him “Have you ever seen somebody who is more generous than you?”

 “Yes” he said. “We stayed as guest to the tent of a woman. Her husband came and the woman said:

 -You have two guests.

 The man brought a camel and slaughtered it for meat. He looked after us. On the second day he brought another camel and slaughtered it for us. We said:

 - Yesterday we could eat a little meat and the rest of it left. Now we can eat it. Why have you cut this? The man said:

 -I can not offer stale meat to my guests.

 We stayed for three days together with him. Everyday he did the same thing while it was raining. When we decided to go we put a hundred dinar-Arabic gold coin- to his home and we told to his wife that “Ask pardon him instead of us and communicate our thanks to him” and we left.

 At the daybreak, we heard a man's voice shouting: “Stop, you the vulgar travelers. Did you give me the return for my treating you with respect? He came and said:

 -Either you take this money back or I will wound you with my spear.”

 We took the money and he went back.

 Imam Gazali said: wealth is given man to meet his needs. It is possible for a person to spend wealth for the aim in our out of its creation. Similarly one can consume his wealth for necessary or unnecessary things. Not to spent it when necessary is meanness and to consume it when it is not necessary is wasteful expenditure. There is a modest behavior between them that this is praiseworthy. This is generosity.

 Generosity is to find the balance between squandering and meanness, to make expenditure properly. But it is not enough for munificence just for giving by hand if the person is not voluntary. Such a person is not considered as generous, his generosity is by obligation. For being generous someone should not covet the thing that he gives, while spending his wealth the heart should not be interested in goods and not to think about it.

 Kusheyri ve Ibn el-Cevziyye mentions ten degree of generosity. These are as follows:

•  Generosity of giving oneself. This is the highest degree. Man can die for a beloved one. People who sacrifice their life for their country, children and religion are always praised.

•  Giving up leadership. To abandon leadership, being chief for the sake of a beloved person.

•  To abandon comfort and peace. This is to endure troubles for much loved people.

•  The munificence of giving knowledge. This is one of the high degrees of generosity. Because knowledge is more valued than wealth. Someone who teaches the things he knows to others and train people like him is both generous and also he is a person who helps others and is not jealous. He is free of the selfishness of being the only learned person among others. The knowledge given to others is the alms of it.

•  To help people with the advantage of having rank. Helping someone for The Sake of Allah and assist a person to settle his legitimate work in an official bureau. This kind of help is considered as alms of rank. But it shouldn't turn to be protection and bribery.

•  To assist people by bodily strength, to carry bag or burden that he carries with difficulty and to help ill people, olds and children while getting on means of transportation. Pleasing others with pleasant words is also considered as this kind of generosity.

•  The munificence to forgive people who attacked himself or to his family. One of The Companion of The Prophets, Abu Damdam used to say every morning that: O My Allah I do not have wealth to give alms. So I give myself to people as alms. Whoever attacked or insulted me or slandered with words I give up my claim. About him Hadrat Prophet-peace be upon him-said: Which of you can be like Abu Damdam”.

•  The munificence to endure some behaviors and show tolerance. This attitude which gives good result is the large-heartedness. The Holy Quran encouraged people to this kind of generosity.

•  The munificence of being cheerful and merry. This is superior to endurance and forgives the badness. This exalts a person to the degree of a pious person who continuously fasts in day and who worships all nights. Hadrat Prophet -May Allah commends and salute him- declared: Do not belittle any goodness. To receive your Muslim brother cheerfully is goodness.

•  To leave the favors in the hands of people to them. Not to be obsessed by those favors by heart and not to be interested in them either with words or actions.

 All of those degrees of generosity have a special influence in the heart. Allah informed us that He will give more than what they gave to generous ones and also He will destroy the wealth of stingy ones. Allah helps to His munificent born servants.