Does charity increase wealth?

I used to have a friend who was the most generous person I’ve ever met. Well, he is still the most generous person I have met.

He can give you anything. I mean anything; whether you asked him or not. If you pass a nice comment about what he is wearing, he would have that piece delivered to your house.

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If you opened the package, it would contain that watch or a set of clothes about which you paid him a compliment. So whenever, someone attempted to say something nice about what he was wearing, I discouraged them lest he was parted with another prized possession. I pitied him somewhat.

But did he need my pity?

Obviously he did not. My friend lived in style. Whenever he came to Nigeria, he would live in the choicest of hotels. I knew his means of likelihood, but sometimes I wonder how he got back money after he had given everything out; he would be so broke that he would have to borrow from me. Then he would recover everything like magic. He also had the confidence that everything would be okay: “Believe, Malam Ibraheem, ” he would say, ”believe.”

It was from him I learned to keep a list of all those I need to help. Because all the time, you would find a list on him of all the neighbours, friends and family members who he needed to help. He was not even married then.

My friend would decide for everyone. And this was my point of departure from him. He felt it was his duty to figure out what his close friends should do with their lives.

We are no longer friends, but I still respect his generous outlook on life and the lessons I learned from him.

At some point, through some quirky mutual consent, we decided to be brothers but no longer friends.  It appears we couldn’t agree on which direction each person should proceed in their lives. But whenever a discussion on charity is started, I remember him. This topic recalls our time together. That is why I told you his story.

So how did my friend get back his money after spending it? Does giving increase our own resources? Is it true that givers never lack?

An American scientist, Arthur Brooks, had similar questions. He especially wanted to find out if giving increases wealth.

“Nonprofit economists have always assumed that income is a precursor to giving,” Brooks wrote in his 2007 article in the Journal of Economics and Finance. “In contrast, many philosophical and religious teachings have asserted that it is giving that leads to prosperity.”

What he found was surprising after wading through the data on charitable giving in America. His work “identifies strong evidence that money giving does, in fact, influence income.”

Prior to his study, it was established that volunteering led to positive outcomes. So his study “is consistent with extant psychology research which clearly shows that volunteering leads to positive mental and physical health outcomes.”

It is also consistent with what religion had known all along. Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said “verily, charity does not decrease wealth.”

Also, in Qur’an chapter 64 verse 17, we learn: “If you loan Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. And Allah is Most Appreciative and Forbearing.”

So from religion-and here we are using the Islamic perspective-we learn that if you give, it is like giving a loan to Allah and for your efforts, He would do at least two things: multiply that wealth for you and forgive you.

Of course, the Qur’an is not limiting the reward to this world, but it extends the reward to when we die. So the hereafter is covered.

And now, research is saying “Charity unleashes substantial benefits to the givers themselves.”

So if we want to cover all our bases, we should give in charity; because then we will have prosperity both in this world and the hereafter.

Interestingly, Brooks’ study found that it wasn’t only organizations that give in the United States. Indeed, out of the $260 billion dollars given in a particular year, $199 billion was private donations by individuals. He found that 75% of American households gave to charity. Additionally, a large chunk of the money went toward funding social needs such as feeding the needy and education.

This makes one wonder whether, despite all its failings, America’s prosperity is not due in part to charity. Or if countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and so forth live in relative comfort because to them charity has become a part of life.

It is human nature to be curious about the things we do not understand. For example, how can religion tell us that when we subtract something, our wealth does not in fact diminish? Because God said it, we simply believe it, even though we hunger for the explanation. Now, you have the secular understanding of what religion commands and promises.

Actually, if you are to go about it in a roundabout way, we know that giving makes us happy. A friend once gave some money to a little boy who was finding it difficult to get customers for his horse riding services. After the boy galloped away, she turned to me and say: “Giving is very selfish. I feel incredibly happy. Therefore, I didn’t help that boy but myself.”

And a research by Lyubomirsky and colleagues in 2005 says that happiness leads to success.

Another study by organizational psychologist Adam Grant showed that the most successful people in an organization are givers. Although, giving here does not mean only money giving.

So in essence, if you give, you become happy and that happiness is correlated with success.

In sum, we can hazard an assumption that the more we as individuals, families, communities and nations give, the more prosperous we are going to be.