Prophet Ibrāhīm: Part 2 — A Nation by Himself, the House and Lūṭ
Section 11 of 21 · Lives of the Prophets
The Two Requirements of Generosity
In another part of the world, Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) received three guests, three men. They came in the house of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him). Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), the father of generosity, he went out and got a calf, and he slaughtered it.
They say that the two requirements of generosity are, number one, quality, and quantity. For you to be generous, you have to provide good quality, and you have to provide the right quantity. That's the two conditions of generosity: quality and quantity.
فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِۦ فَجَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ
“Then he slipped off to his home and fetched a fattened calf.” (51:26)
وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُنَآ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ بِٱلْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَـٰمٌ ۖ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَن جَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ
“And Our emissaries came to Ibrāhīm with the good news. They greeted him with “Salām (peace).” He said, “Salām.” Then he took not much time in bringing a roasted calf.” (11:69)
Allah (swt) says about this calf that Ibrāhīm presented to the people: in one ayah it says ʿijlin samīn, it was a fat calf. And in the other ayah it says ʿijlin ḥanīdh, it is a roasted calf. So one ayah is talking about the quality of that food: it was excellent quality, it was roasted, so it was very well cooked. And the other ayah is telling us about the quantity of the food, and that is ʿijlin samīn: it was fat; it was enough for them. So Ibrāhīm fulfilled the two requirements of generosity, the quality and the quantity. So he presented them with this calf. He slaughtered it, he cooked it; it's a lot of effort. And he presented it to these three guests.
فَلَمَّا رَءَآ أَيْدِيَهُمْ لَا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۚ قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّآ أُرْسِلْنَآ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ
“So, when he noticed their hands not acceding to it, he found them strange and felt scared of them. They said, “Be not scared. We have been sent to the people of LūT.”” (11:70)
But the amazing thing, or the shocking thing to Ibrāhīm, is that they didn't eat. Travellers who must be hungry, and they didn't eat. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was afraid. He started feeling mistrust towards them. Fa-lammā raʾā aydiyahum lā taṣilu ilayhi nakirahum wa awjasa minhum khīfah. But when he saw their hands went not towards the meal, he felt some mistrust of them and conceived a fear of them. Qālū lā takhaf: they said, do not be afraid. Qālū lā takhaf innā ursilnā ilā qawmi Lūṭ: we are messengers of Allah, sent to the people of Lūṭ. These three men were angels, sent by Allah (swt) to the people of Lūṭ.