Al-Mann )Reminding others of one’s favors for them( is a Characteristic of the Miser

The Meaning of the WordMann
The word Mann may be used to mean interruption and cessation, as in
the saying of Allaah The Almighty:}For they will have a reward
uninterrupted.{]Quran 95:6[ It may also mean doing what is good.
Another derivative of this word is the word "Mannah", which means a
great blessing, as in the saying of Allaah The Almighty:}Certainly did
Allaah confer ]great[ favor upon the believers.{]Quran
3:164[Al-Manncould also be done by words and it means reminding others
of one's favors to them, a thing that is dispraised among people
except in cases of ingratitude.
Some verses that use the wordMannare those where Allaah The Almighty
Says )what means(:
}And do not confer favor to acquire more.{]Quran 74:6[
}And is this a favor of which you remind me - that you have enslaved
the Children of Israel?{]Quran 26:22[
}They consider it a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. Say,
"Do not consider your Islam a favor to me. Rather, Allaah has
conferred favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you
should be truthful."{]Quran 49:17[
}O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with
reminders or injury as does one who spends his wealth ]only[ to be
seen by the people and does not believe in Allaah and the Last
Day.{]Quran 2:264[
Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said that reminding others
of one's favors for them is usually done by a miserly and conceited
person. The miser always feels that what he gives is great, even if it
is something insignificant. Also, the conceited person tends to
glorify himself and feels that he is doing others a great favor by
giving to them. The reasons for all this are ignorance and
forgetfulness of the favors of Allaah. If these people had thought
carefully, they would have realized that the taker is the one who does
them a favor because of the reward that they obtain for giving to him.
In general, there are two possible interpretations of reminding others
of favors:
The firstis doing something good to others without boasting of what
one did. For example, it may be said that someone did another one a
favor by rescuing him.
The secondis when someone keeps reminding others of his favors for
them and does this numerous times, to the extent that he ruins and
squanders what he did.
The first type is good and it includes all the favors of Allaah that
He bestows upon man, while the second one is bad as it is usually said
in order to confirm and announce the favors, or to boast of what one
gives until it would reach the taker, who would then be hurt to hear
this. In this case, reminding others of one's favors would be a grave
major sin.
SomeHadeeths, which dispraise the act of reminding others of one's
favors for them, are:
In aHadeethon the authority of Abu Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with
him, the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"Allaah will not
talk to three types of people on the Day of Judgment: the one who
gives people things in order to remind them of his favors upon them,
the one who sells goods by making false oaths, and the one who allows
his lower garment to hang low ]below his ankles[."]Muslim[
In aHadeethon the authority of Ibn 'Umar, may Allaah be pleased with
him, the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"Allaah will not
look at three types of people on the Day of Judgment: the one who is
undutiful to his parents, the woman who imitates men and the Dayyooth
]the man who approves of the indecency of his womenfolk and who is
void of jealousy[. Moreover, three types of people will not enter
Paradise: the one who is undutiful to his parents, the one who is
addicted to alcoholand the one who reminds others of his favors for
them."]An-Nasaa'I, Al-Albaani -Saheeh[
In aHadeethon the authority of 'Abdullaah ibn Abi Afwa, may Allaah be
pleased with him, who said that some of the Arabs said to the
Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,"O Messenger of Allaah! We
reverted to Islam and did not fight you as other tribes did."Hence,
the following verse was revealed )which means(:}They consider it a
favor to you that they have accepted Islam.{]Quran 49:17[]Ibn
Al-Munthir, At-Tabaraani and Ibn Mardawayh with a good chain of
narrators[
In aHadeethon the authority of Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with
him, the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"The deceiver,
the one who reminds others of his favors for them and the miser will
not enter Paradise"]At-Tirmithi,HasanGhareeb[
The meaning of:"The one who reminds others of his favors for them will
not enter Paradise":
Proven reported citations were narrated on the authority of the
Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, but their meaning was
misunderstood by two sects. The Al-Mu'tazilah and Al-Khawaarij, on one
hand, claimed that the one who commits a major sin and dies before
repenting would be eternally in Hell and would never enter Paradise.
On the other hand, Al-Murji'ah denied these citations all together as
they were ignorant of their meanings. Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allaah have
mercy upon him, pointed this out and said that these reported
citations could mean one of two things:
The firstis that the one who commits this sin would not enter some of
the gardens of Paradise as the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
told us that there are many gardens in Paradise and each one of them
is called Paradise.
The secondis that every threat to the true monotheists in the Quran
andSunnahis dependent on the will of Allaah, as He may forgive and
pardon and save the sinner from His torment. Allaah The Almighty Says
)what means(:}Indeed, Allaah does not forgive association with Him,
but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.{]Quran 4:11[
Some scholars have stated that when this type of threat is made
against the sinful monotheists, it could mean that they would not
enter Paradise with the first group who would enter it. However, they
will be delayed and might be tormented in Hell, but in the end they
will enter Paradise because they were monotheists.
Some traditions and sayings of scholars on the act of reminding others
of one's favors:
It was narrated by Ibn Abu Haatim, may Allaah have mercy upon him,
that Ibn 'Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said:"]The
Hadeeth[:'No one who reminds others of his favors for them will enter
Paradise,'was very difficult for me to understand until I found the
verses that deal with these type of people in the Quran. Allaah The
Almighty Says ]what means[:}Do not invalidate your charities with
reminders or injury.{]Quran 2:264["
In his commentary on the verse )which means(:}Indeed, from their Lord,
that Day, they will be partitioned,{]Quran 83:15[ Abu Mulaykah
Az-Zammaari, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said that this refers to
the one who reminds others of his favors for them and the arrogant who
unlawfully takes people's money through making false oaths.
In his commentary on the verse where Allaah The Almighty Says )what
means(:}Oyou who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with
reminders or injury,{]Quran 2:264[, Adh-Dhahhaak, may Allaah have
mercy upon him, said that the one who gives a charity then reminds the
taker of his charity or hurts him, would therefore not get a reward.
Allaah The Almighty likens what that person does to a large smooth
stone upon which there is dust and which is hit by a downpour that
leaves it bare. Allaah The Exalted removes the reward of the one who
reminds people of his charity in the same way the downpour removes the
dust of the stone.
Dear Muslim, reminding others with one's favors for them is a reason
for being inflicted with the wrath of Allaah and for being expelled
from His mercy. It stirs bitter feelings, invalidates good deeds and
might even cancel them out totally. Allaah will not look at the one
who has this ailment, neither will He talk to him on the Day of
Judgment. So, beware of this disease as it is a characteristic of
miserly people.