Near-synonyms 9: generosity and avarice

Avarice

ضَنّ / شُحّ / بُخْل

It is admitted that the word شُحّ expresses great avarice. It is therefore stronger than the word بُخْل. Moreover, it is used for immaterial realities: one can use it in expressions such as « شحيح بوقته » (stingy with one’s time). By contrast, the word بخيل is used only with respect to material goods.

Some say that the word شحّ corresponds to the inner disposition that prevents one from giving, and that بخل corresponds to the action itself. Others affirm that the word شحّ includes greed regarding the goods of others.

ضَنّ: this term also designates great avarice. It has the particularity of being used more specifically for precious things, or things to which one is particularly attached. Thus, the expression « ضَنائِن الله » designates the elite of His creation, those to whom He is so attached that He does not wish to share them.

In the passage « وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ », it is precisely about not being miserly with information concerning the unseen, this information being highly precious.

وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ

God does not love the arrogant and boastful, those who are avaricious and enjoin avarice upon people. (57:23-24)

فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ الْخَوْفُ سَلَقُوكُمْ بِأَلْسِنَةٍ حِدَادٍ أَشِحَّةً عَلَى الْخَيْرِ

Then, once the fear has dissipated, they wound you with sharp tongues, being miserly with good. (33:19)

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ

He indeed saw him at the manifest horizon. And he is not miserly regarding the unseen. (81:23-24)

Generosity

نَدَى / إِيثار / جُود / كَرَم

كَرَم: this term has the particularity of including the senses of « generosity » and « nobility », somewhat like the term « magnanimous » in French. It is no doubt because largesse was the cardinal virtue of the Arabs of the peninsula that nobility came to be associated with this virtue. In any case, the concept of كَرَم combines these two senses. In the Qur’anic passage « إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ » (49:13), it is indeed this root that is used to signify the « nobility » that distinguishes individuals. It is also this root found in the passage « وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ » (17:70).

جُود: this word means generosity but also carries in its root the notion of « quality », somewhat like the word « goodness » in French. This word is also used to designate abundant rain. In the Qur’an, the word « جِياد » means « thoroughbred horses » — the only occurrence of its root.

إيثار: this word has the very specific sense of « giving precedence to others over oneself ». It is therefore « altruism » in the strict sense of the term. It is found in the Qur’an in verbal form in the passage « وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ » (59:9).

نَدَى: this word means both « dew » and generosity, which is not surprising, for in Arab culture generosity is often metaphorically associated with water. In the Qur’an, this root appears through the word « نادٍ », which refers to the places where the assemblies of « magnanimous » people were held.

وَمَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ

Whoever is grateful is so for his own good; as for the ungrateful, my Lord is self-sufficient in His richness, and generous. (27:40)

إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْعَشِيِّ الصَّافِنَاتُ الْجِيَادُ

When, one afternoon, the noble racing steeds were presented to him. (38:31)

وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

They give them precedence over themselves, even if they themselves are in need. And those who guard against their own avarice — those are the ones who will prosper. (59:9)

فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ

Then let him call his assembly. We will call the guardians (of Hell). (96:17-18)

The other near-synonyms