Giving Sadaqah

MM Treasures | Increase in Giving Sadaqah in the Last Ten Nights of Ramadan

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Sadaqah (voluntary charity) is a highly virtuous and praised deed in Islam. In fact,
it is so significant that the Prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) said it is a proof of
ones iman (faith).

Abu Malik al-Ashari (radi Allahu anhu) narrated that Allahs Messenger (sal
allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Cleanliness is half of faith.
Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale. SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)
and Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the
earth. Prayer is a light. Charity is proof (of ones faith). Endurance is a
brightness and the Quran is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go
out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or
destroying themselves. (Muslim)

One of the reasons behind this deed being so virtuous is that we all have a
common love for wealth. And it is natural for us to love wealth because that is how
Allah, al-Khallaaq has fashioned us. He has created us with a love for wealth, as
He says in the following ayah:

And they give food, inspite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to Miskin
(poor), the orphan, and the captive, (Al-Insan 76:8)
However, usually this love for wealth causes us to be stingy and hoard our wealth,
without realizing that there is more virtue in giving it to the poor and the needy.
Thus, one of the criteria of those who will be successful in this world and the
hereafter is those who have tamed their desire for wealth, as Allah (subhaana wa
taaala) states in the following ayah:

And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul it is those who will be
the successful. (Al-Hashr 59:9)

In addition to the ayah, Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah said that
the Messenger of Allah (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) also warned us against being
stingy with our wealth. He said,

Be on your guard against committing oppression, for oppression is a

darkness on the Day of Resurrection. Be on your guard against being stingy, for
being stingy is what destroyed those who came before you. It made them shed
blood and make lawful what was unlawful for them. (Muslim)

The primary psychological reason behind stinginess with wealth is that we do not
like to see a loss in our possessions. It does not please us to see a decrease in
our wealth. But, either we are ignorant of or we have not internalized the words of
our Creator, because this is the exact opposite of what Allah (subhaana wa
taaala) tells us in the Quran.

Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of
charity: for He loves not creatures ungrateful and sinner. (Al-Baqarah, 2:
276)

That which you give in usury for increase through the property of (other)
people, will have no increase with Allah: but that which you give for charity,
seeking the Countenance of Allah, (will increase); it is those who will get a
recompense multiplied. (Ar-Rum, 30:39)

Our beloved Prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) also conveyed to us the same
message in the following hadith.
Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu) reported Allahs Messenger (sal allahu alayhi
wa sallam) as saying: Charity does not in any way decrease the wealth and
the servant who forgives, Allah adds to his respect; and the one who shows
humility, Allah elevates him in the estimation (of the people). (Muslim)

Allah (subhaana wa taaala) mentions two groups of people in the Quran

in relation to sadaqah. The first group is from the ayah quoted earlier on:

And they give food, inspite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to Miskin
(poor), the orphan, and the captive, (Al-Insan 76:8)

These are people who give out of their wealth while recognizing that Allah has
created them with a love and desire for it but it is better for them to give it to the
poor and the needy. They do so while expecting to gain reward from Allah, Al-
Wahhaab, seeking a better place in the hereafter and also increasing in
righteousness in this worldly life, as described by Allah (subhaana wa taaala)
in the following ayah:

Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but
[true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels,
the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives,
orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves;
[and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise
when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and
during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the
righteous. (Al-Baqarah 2:177)

However, Allah (subhaana wa taaala) describes another group of people in

relation to sadaqah.

And [also for] those who were settled in al-Madinah and [adopted] the faith before
them. They love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their
breasts of what the emigrants were given but give [them] preference over
themselves, even though they are in privation.(Al-Hashr 59:9)
The above ayah refers to a time when the Muhajirin (immigrants from Makkah)
were hosted by the Ansar (residents of Madinah who hosted the Muhajirin) after
hijrah (migration from Makkah to Madina). The Ansar shared their wealth and
property with the Muhajirin and also hosted them indefinitely. Moreover, they did
this deed with ihsan (excellence) and love for brotherhood in Islam! The Muhajirin
testified to the Prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) of the remarkable hospitality
of the Ansar in the following hadith:

Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said, The Muhajirin said, 'O Allah's Messenger!
We have never met people like those whom we emigrated to; comforting us in
times of scarcity and giving us with a good heart in times of abundance. They
have sufficed for us and shared their wealth with us so much so, that we feared
that they might earn the whole reward instead of us.' He said, 'No they won't, as
long you thanked them for what they did and invoked Allah for them.'

The virtuous quality of the believers is to give to others even

when they themselves are in dire need. This quality was beautifully exemplified in
the actions of the sahaabah (companions of the Prophet sal allahu alayhi wa
sallam) as can be seen from the account of the Muhajirun and the Ansar, may
Allah be pleased with them all. The companions (may Allah subhaana wa
taaala be pleased with them all) preferred giving to the needy rather than
attending to their own needs, and began by giving to the people before their own
selves, even though they too were in need. This is of a higher virtue than those
who give wealth, inspite of their love for it, but are not necessarily in dire need
themselves, because the Prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) said in an
authentic hadith:

The best charity is that given when one is in need and struggling.
It is worthwhile to ponder, how can the believers give to others even though they
are themselves needy? And the answer to that without a doubt is, complete
reliance on Allah (subhaana wa taaala) and extreme love for other Muslims.
We learn this from the example from Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) from the
following hadith:

The Messenger of Allah (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) once called upon his
companions to give charity. Umar saw that as an opportunity to outstrip Abu
Bakr and he said: Today, I am going to surpass Abu Bakr. He said: So
I came with half of my property. The Messenger of Allah (sal allahu alayhi wa
sallam) asked: What have you left for your family? I answered: As
much as this. Then Abu Bakr came with all that he had and the Messenger of
Allah (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: What have you left for your
family? He replied: I left for them Allah and His Messenger. It is then
that I said: I shall never compete with him on anything again. (At
Tirmidhi)

Another account that shows the selflessness and the reliance of believers upon
their Lord is that of the Ansari man (radi Allahu anhu) who went out of his way to
be hospitable to his guest.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, A man came to the Prophet and
said, 'O Allah's Messenger! Poverty has stuck me.' The Prophet sent a messenger
to his wives (to bring something for that man to eat) but they said that they had
nothing. Then Allah's Messenger said, '(Who will invite this person or entertain him
as a guest tonight; may Allah grant His mercy to him who does so).' An Ansari
man said, 'I, O Allah's Messenger!' So he took him to his wife and said to her,
'Entertain the guest of Allah's Messenger generously.' She said, 'By Allah ! We
have nothing except the meal for my children.' He said, 'Let your children sleep if
they ask for supper. Then turn off the lamp and we go to bed tonight while hungry.'
She did what he asked her to do. In the morning the Ansari went to Allah's
Messenger who said, (Allah wondered (favorably) or laughed at the action of so-
and-so and his wife.) Then Allah revealed, (and they give them preference over
themselves even though they were in need of that). (Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-
Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i)

Last but not least, it would be unjust to not mention the account of companions
like Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl and others (may Allah be pleased with them all), who
risked their lives and offered water to each other first while they themselves were
dying of thirst. The following account is heart-wrenching and difficult for us to
fathom being in similar circumstances:

Ikrimah (bin Abi Jahl) and two other wounded fighters were offered water when
they were injured during the battle of Al-Yarmuk, and each one of them said that
the sip of water should be given to another of the three wounded men. They did so
even though they were badly injured and craving water. When the water reached
the third man, he and the other two died and none of them drank any of the water!
May Allah be pleased with them and make them pleased with Him.

Let us, O Muslims, bring everything back into perspective. Realize that giving
charity is not an act to be done only when a person has extra money.
Rather, the most virtuous type of charity a Muslim can give is when they
themselves are in dire need of that wealth. This is a sign of our iman and complete
reliance on Allah (subhaana wa taaala) and it helps us develop true piety and
righteousness.

Action Items: Let us stretch our boundaries of giving sadaqah in these last ten
days of Ramadan.

For those of us who have been blessed with abundance of wealth by Allah
(subhaana wa taaala), let us give as much as we can!

For those of us who feel like we are in need of money and the financial situation is
tight, let us take heed from the words of our Creator and our beloved Prophet (sal
allahu alayhi wa sallam) and give in charity believing that this is the best form of
charity and that Allah (subhaana wa taaala) will increase it multiple folds for
us.
May Allah (subhaana wa taaala) protect us from being miserly with our
wealth, allow us to have complete reliance on Him, grant us us many opportunities
to give in sadaqah for His pleasure and sake, reward us with good in this world
and the hereafter, and protect us from the fire of Hell, ameen ya rabbil
alameen.