78 - الْبَرُّ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْبَرُّ

 

 

Translation

الْبَرُّ is translated as The Gracious Benefactor and The Source of Goodness. بِرٌّ means goodness. الْبَرُّ is an ‘Ism Faa’il. 

 

For Allah ta’ala it is One Who is the source of (and grants) goodness. It is One Who is Muhsin (Well-wisher). He is The Absolute Doer of Good and from Whom every good deed and beneficence comes from. It is one of the Jamaali Sifaat.

 

In the Qur’an there is a word (الْبَر) meaning dry land. The connection made to this word is that dry land is vast and Allah ta’ala being الْبَرُّ, His goodness is vast, common to all whether Believer or disbeliever. 

 

Definition

It is One Who wishes well, One Who fixes affairs and One Who is kind to His creation. It is One Who wants ease for His slaves and not difficulty. It is One Who is forgiving of many sins through His Fadhl. He does not catch a person for every sin. Allah ta’ala says in Surah Nahl (verse 61),

 

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ
 

If Allah were to punish people ˹immediately˺ for their wrongdoing, He would not have left a single living being on earth.

 

Another way to understand this name is as mentioned in Hadith,

 

“Verily, Allah has recorded good and bad deeds and He made them clear. Whoever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, then Allah will record it as a complete good deed. If he intends to do it and does so, then Allah the Exalted will record it as ten good deeds up to seven hundred times as much or even more. If he intends to do a bad deed and does not do it, then Allah will record for him one complete good deed. If he does it then Allah will record for him a single bad deed.” [Bukhari]

 

The whole world is surrounded / enveloped in this Sifat of Allah ta’ala, so all of humanity shares in this Sifat of Allah ta’ala being the source of goodness. In the Aakhirah however it will be exclusive to Allah ta’ala. 

Allah ta’ala’s bounties and goodness are upon all of creation whether it is perceived or not through the senses and intelligence. We are not even aware of how Allah ta’ala protected us from something and how He took care of our needs. In Surah Luqmaan (Verse 20) Allah ta’ala says, 

 

أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً
 

Do you not see that Allah has subjected to your benefit all that is in the heavens and in the earth, and has lavished on you His evident and hidden favours?

 

In the Qur’an

It is mentioned once in Surah Toor (Verse 28), paired with الرَّحِيمُ. 

إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْبَرُّ الرَّحِيمُ 
 

Indeed we used to pray only to Him. Surely He is the Beneficent, the Merciful.

 

 

Example of being بَرّ – Being Khayrkhwah/Well-wisher
 

It is goodness to tell someone what they are doing is wrong. Some people asked the prophet sallallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam for wealth and he gave them. They asked and he gave them. They asked again and he gave them and thereafter he said, 

 

“Whatever I have of good I will never withhold from you, but whoever refrains from asking (of people), Allah will make him content, whoever seeks to be independent of means, Allah will make him independent, and whoever strives to be patient Allah will bestow patience upon him, and no one is ever given anything better and more abundant than patience.”  [Bukhari]

 

 

Being a Khayrkhwah without the person realising it

Jareer ibn Abdullah RA once sent his servant for buying a horse. The servant made a deal for three hundred dirhams and brought the seller with him so he could be paid. Jareer ibn Abdullah RA looked at the horse and realized that the seller had undervalued it. “Would you sell it for four hundred?” he asked. The seller agreed. “How about five hundred?” he continued his unusual “bargaining” and finally bought the horse for eight hundred dirhams. He was later asked why he did so. “The seller was not aware of the true value of this horse,” he explained. “I have simply given him a fair price because I had promised to Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam to always be sincere and well-wisher for every Muslim.”

 

بِرّ – Piety/Righteousness
 

This word is often mentioned in the Qur’an as being a trait of the Believers. In Surah Aali ‘Imraan (Verse 92) Allah ta’ala says, 

 

لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ
 

You can never attain righteousness unless you spend in the cause of Allah that which you dearly cherish; and whatever you spend, surely it is known to Allah.

 

It is reported that upon hearing this verse many Sahaba RA gave away what was beloved to them. 

 

Abu Talha RA was the wealthiest of all the Ansaar in terms of the number of orchards that he owned in Madeenah. Opposite the Masjidun Nabawi stood one of his orchards in which was a well named Bir Haa. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam often used to drink there. This was his most beloved orchard. 

 

When the above verse was revealed, he presented himself before the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam saying, “Bir Haa is dearest to me of all my wealth, so I wish to donate it in the way of Allah, in anticipation of the reward thereof and so that it be stored as a treasure for me in the Hereafter. You may spend it as you please in a worthy cause.” The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam commented, “This orchard has earned a grand profit! I propose that it be distributed amongst some of your relatives.” Abu Talha RA accepted this proposal of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam and distributed it amongst some of his cousins. 

 

This is the best type of بِرّ to spend of what you love. 

 

Counsel

To be a well-wisher for everyone even if you see that you may not benefit by being their well-wisher or even if they do not realise you are being their well-wisher. Making a habit of helping others. To recognise Allah ta’ala’s Ihsaanaat and showing gratitude and to ask only of Allah ta’ala. 

 

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