Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) has related that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “In order to promote mutual love, exchange gifts amongst yourselves.” (Bukhari)

Occasions come and go, everyone is celebrating this day or that day, thousands of shillings spent on gifts, stores are stocking up for the holiday rush. Don’t we all want to receive a gift? Does it have to be an occasion for you to pick up a thoughtful gift for a loved one?

Exchanging gifts, whether Eid is coming up or not is an important sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to promote love and strengthen the ties of brotherhood. He (peace be upon him) gave gifts to his wives and companions. He also received and accepted gifts from Muslims as well as non-muslims.

Picking out unique gifts can be a lot of fun, or even making your own personalized gift can bring a lot of joy. Rejecting gifts can be very insulting and rude. Whether you like the gift or not, never reject someone’s effort to show you they care.

"The Prophet said, "O Muslim women! None of you should look down upon the gift sent by her she-neighbour even if it were the trotters of the sheep (fleshless part of legs)." (Bukhari)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also extended his gift giving to the non-muslims to increase love among them and with the hope they might accept Islam seeing this generosity.

Never return a gift but instead find a gift for them that you would like them to have whether small or big. If you can’t give a gift in return, make dua for them as stated in the hadith:

“Whoever does you a favor, respond in kind, and if you cannot find the means of doing so, then keep praying for him until you think that you have responded in kind.” (Abu Dawood)

Be fair when giving gifts, whether it is between your friends, family or children. Give them equally. Share your gifts example if you receive a cake as a gift, share it with your family and other friends instead of having it all.

Don’t limit your gifts to occasions. Gifts don’t have to be big and expensive, or the latest gadgets. A simple card can also make a great gift after all we are trying to show people we care and think about them at the same time try to make them happy. Keeping gifts simple also caters for the ones who don’t have the means to give you an equally expensive gift in return.

Do not about your gesture of giving a gift. We give the gifts to make people happy and increase our love for each other, so let us be humble while gifting.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that,“When returning from a journey, bring a gift for you’re household be it stones.” (Abu Dawud)

Giving and accepting a gift is a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). No matter how small, we should give a gift when we can.

"He who holds on firmly to my Sunnah at a time when my Ummah are (grovelling) in corruption will receive a reward of a hundred martyrs."

Abu Hurayrah rahimahullah reported that Allah’s messenger sallalaahu ‘alayhi was sallam said: “When a human being dies, all of his deeds are terminated except for three types: an ongoing sadaqah, a knowledge(of Islaam) from which others benefit, and a righteous child who makes du’aa for him.” (Muslim and others)

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