As Ramadan nears, a reflection on real spirit of generosity

What is the real meaning of generosity at Ramadan, or any other time?

The expression "Ramadan kareem" will for many people be one of the most oft-repeated phrases of the coming month.

Even if you don't speak Arabic you will be bombarded by transliterations of the phrase adorning shopping malls and streets.

We all know that Ramadan is the name of the Islamic calendar's holiest month, but what is "kareem"? My Arabic dictionaries tend to equate "kareem" with the English word generous. And generosity is undoubtedly one of the defining characteristics of the holy month.

I recall reading last Ramadan about many generous acts of kindness across the UAE, from laptops for US tornado victims to self-sacrificing individuals helping labourers enjoy Ramadan.

One article even gave a listing of the huge sums donated by the world's rich and famous, a kind of Who's Who of celebrity philanthropy. Another article applauded the amount of media attention a particular donation had attracted, suggesting that the publicity gained was probably worth more than the donation itself.

With no desire to "make windows into the souls of men", I tend to accept generosity at face value. However, there are undoubtedly times when apparent generosity is little more than an obvious exercise in marketing and public relations. For example, when a commercial entity goes out of its way to wish me a "blessed Ramadan kareem" and then "generously" bombards me with discount offers for products and services.

Perhaps it is worse still when an entity wishes me "Ramadan kareem" in glorious Technicolor neon, while simultaneously inflating prices to maximise Ramadan profits. How very ungenerous.

This type of calculated "generosity" leaves me cold. Surely true generosity is a dish best served in silence. The left hand shouldn't know what the right hand gives, to paraphrase an old expression.

Anonymous generosity can go some way towards exorcising the demons of self-interest and self-promotion. Of course, there are those who legitimately make a song and dance out of their charitable acts, because they hope that by doing so they will inspire others to give generously too, or at least draw attention to the cause.

Big gifts and big names have always drawn attention, but seeing the rich celebrated for generosity brings to mind the Biblical parable of the widow's mite. This tale essentially asks which is more laudable: a poverty-stricken widow giving everything she has, or a billionaire dishing out a few hundred thousand? Generosity is relative.

Perhaps the true measure is not what we give, but rather what we keep back. That said, all charity is helpful to those in need, even if it is as little as 0.1 per cent of our net worth. Every little bit helps.

Nowadays we tend to see charity as a great human virtue, but even rodents are apparently capable of selfless acts. There is a classic psychology experiment from 1959 suggesting that even the much-maligned rat is capable of being moved by the suffering of others. In a study published in the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 10 lab rats were trained to obtain food by pressing one of two levers.

Lever 1 was difficult to press, and produced only a little food, whereas lever 2 was easy and resulted in lots of food. However, when the rats pressed lever 2, the "evil scientist" had rigged it so that a rat in a neighbouring cage got a painful electric shock. Once the rats realised that lever 2 was causing their neighbour's distress, eight out of 10 of them switched back to lever 1: harder work for less food, but it spared their rodent neighbour further shocks.

The basic nature of charity is described by Saadi of Shiraz, a 13th century poet, who wrote: "You who are unmoved by the suffering of others are not entitled to the name of man."

I guess there will always be an invisible line between selfless acts of kindness and calculated generosity. Some of us could even learn a little from the charity of rats.

However, it is reassuring to know that there are many people who routinely perform generous acts with no desire for rewards, nor fear of reproach. Ramadan will, for sure, bring out this type of generosity in many people.

"Ramadan Kareem", and sincere thanks, to the many nameless faceless individuals who give generously to alleviate the suffering of others.

Justin Thomas is an assistant psychology professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi