Benevolence – Benevolence (ihsan) or kindness to others is defined as “an act that benefits persons other than those from whom the act proceeds without any obligation. Kindness is encouraged in Islam. The Prophet (saaw) is reported to have said: “The inmates of Paradise are three types: (1) one who wields authority and is just and fair; (2) one who is truthful and has been endowed with power to do good deeds; and (3) the person who is merciful and kind-hearted toward his relatives and to every pious Muslim, and who does not stretch out his hand in spite of having a large family to support.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith no. 6853).
According to Ghazzali there are six kinds of benevolence:
- If a person needs a thing, one should give it to him making as little profit as possible;
- If a man purchases anything from a poor person, it will be more graceful on his part to suffer a loss by paying more than what is considered a fair price;
- In realizing one’s dues and loans one must act benevolently by giving the debtors more time to pay than is due and making reductions in loans to provide relief to debtors;
- It is proper that people who want to return goods they have purchased should be permitted to do so as a matter of benevolence;
- It is a graceful act on the part of a debtor if he pays his debts without being asked to do so; and
- When selling things on credit one should be generous enough not to press for payment when people are not able to pay on the stipulated terms.