What is the cure for stinginess and miserliness, and how does a person strive against his own self in this regard?
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The questioner : This questioner says in this question: What is the cure for stinginess and miserliness, and how does a person strive against his own self in this and against the envy of others? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This is an important question. Because it asks about two despicable traits, one of which is stinginess and the other is envy. We will postpone the discussion of envy to another session, if Allah wills, because the time does not allow for it.
As for stinginess, which is withholding what is obligatory to spend from wealth, it is a bad disease, and its cure is for a person to remind himself of the good and virtue in giving and spending. He should remind himself that giving to Allah according to the Shari'ah of Allah does not decrease wealth. It does not cause a decrease in wealth, but rather it increases wealth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So when a person spends his wealth in what pleases Allah the Mighty and Majestic, whether this spending is obligatory, such as zakah, or maintenance for those upon whom he is obligated to provide, or it is voluntary, then Allah the Exalted sends down blessing in his wealth, increases it, and averts evil from him. He associates this man with the generous among the noble ones. And Allah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): [At-Tawbah 9:103] And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
And he should remind himself that every person will be in the shade of his charity on the Day of Resurrection. On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered in a flat, barren plain with no trees and no shade, but Allah the Exalted will shade whomever He wills of His creation on a day when there is no shade except His. Let a person be among those. And let him know that stinginess with wealth that is obligatory to spend does not increase anything for him except a decrease in blessing. The person will be deprived of his wealth, and then his gain will be for his heirs after him.
The Shaykh : This is an important question. Because it asks about two despicable traits, one of which is stinginess and the other is envy. We will postpone the discussion of envy to another session, if Allah wills, because the time does not allow for it.
As for stinginess, which is withholding what is obligatory to spend from wealth, it is a bad disease, and its cure is for a person to remind himself of the good and virtue in giving and spending. He should remind himself that giving to Allah according to the Shari'ah of Allah does not decrease wealth. It does not cause a decrease in wealth, but rather it increases wealth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
(peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "Charity does not decrease your wealth."
صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم ما نقصت صدقة من مالكTake, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah 's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْAnd he should remind himself that every person will be in the shade of his charity on the Day of Resurrection. On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered in a flat, barren plain with no trees and no shade, but Allah the Exalted will shade whomever He wills of His creation on a day when there is no shade except His. Let a person be among those. And let him know that stinginess with wealth that is obligatory to spend does not increase anything for him except a decrease in blessing. The person will be deprived of his wealth, and then his gain will be for his heirs after him.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2762- ما هو علاج البخل والشح وكيف يجاهد الإنسان نفسه/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.