First published on: The 99 Names of God: Aljawwad [The Most Generous]


 Jehad Adel

Aljawwad (The Most Generous) is one of  the names of The Creator mentioned in The Holy Quran and  the authentic prophetic sayings of prophet Muhammad. It means literally the one who gives a lot and among muslim scholars, it means to give  someone what he needs without waiting for any repayment or reward. Prophet Muhammad says: ” Indeed, Allah (The Only True One God) is The Most Generous [and He] loves the most generosity”. In fact, this exceeds generosity, as it means to give people what they need without their request; just because you have known what they .need. Moreover, The Creator gives special generosity to those who ask Him.

Prophet Muhammad quoted Allah as saying : “My servants, I have made oppression unlawful for Me and unlawful for you, so do not commit oppression against one another. My servants, all of you are liable to err except one whom I guide on the right path, so seek right guidance from Me so that I should direct you to the right path. O My servants, all of you are hungry (needy) except one whom I feed, so beg food from Me, so that I may give that to you …” [Reference: sunnah.com] . Moreover, there is general generosity for all the creatures.

No contradiction!           


In addition, it is important to say that this attribute does not go in contradictory with the other attributes of God. We will know later that God is Wise, Just, All-Knowing, etc. . So He gives what He knows that it is the best, even if His servants do not know that because of their limitation. God says in The Holy Quran: “And if Allah had extended [excessively] provision for His servants, they would have committed tyranny throughout the earth. But He sends [it] down in an amount which He wills. Indeed He is, of His servants, Acquainted and Seeing”. (quran.com/42).  Furthermore, if the servant disobeys his Creator, and does unlawful actions, he exposes himself to the punishment of God. As we know by logic, it is not justice to equal good people to those who are bad. But we should not forget that the original matter is as the Prophet (Pbuh) said, “When Allah created the Creation, He wrote in His Book–and He wrote (that) about Himself, and it is placed with Him on the Throne–‘Verily My Mercy overcomes My Anger.”

Generosity .. a whole lifestyle:

As we mention in the first paragraph that God loves “the most generosity”, we should try to apply this meaning in our life . There are many ways to apply it we should be wonderfully generous with our knowledge, money, spare time, etc.

To illustrate, prophet Muhammad and his companions are the best example for that. Narrated Anas: one of the prophet companions “The prophet was the best, the bravest and the most generous of all the people…”

Those who do that, God will reward them in this life and in The Hereafter. In this life, God will grant them wide sustenance.

In the Prophetic Sayings :

While a man was walking through a barren land, he heard a voice coming out of a cloud saying: ‘Irrigate the garden of so-and- so.’ Thereupon the cloud drifted in a certain direction and discharged its water over a rocky plain. The streamlets flowed into a channel. This man followed the channel until it reached a garden and he saw the owner of the garden standing in its center, working with his spade spreading the water (changing the course of the water). He asked him: “O slave of Allah, what is your name?” He told  him his name, which was the same that he heard from the cloud. The owner of the garden then asked him: “O slave of Allah, why did you ask my name?” He replied: “I heard a voice from a cloud which poured down this water saying: ‘Irrigate the garden of so-and-so.’ I would like to know what do you do with it.” He said: “Now that you asked me, I will tell you. I estimate the produce of the garden and distribute one-third of it in charity, I spend one-third on myself and my family and invest one-third back into the garde  .” [Reference: Sunnah.com]

Moreover, those people will win love from their community. Prophet Muhammad won the hearts of his enemies after such deed. In The Hereafter, God will reward them with an eternal happiness in paradise. Finally, humanity needs this meaning. It is time to please God and serve humanity by knowing God Names .

This article is a part of “The 99 Names of God” series, the series begins with “The Name: Arrahman” as well as the importance of Knowing Our Creator.