When they bear any loss or lose something valuable and they are sure of not getting it back, they say it`s a sadaqa.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Brother,
Asslaamu Alaikum!
My queation is about sadaqa, as far as I
know sadaqa is something that we give with a will. I ofetn hear people saying,
when they bear any loss or lose something valuable and they are sure of not
getting it back, they say it`s a sadaqa. I don`t think this is right to say
because one loses something which he hasn`t decided to give as sadaqa before
and when it is not their possession any more, all of a sudden it becomes so.
Please I need your guidance in this regard.
Thank you,
Your sister in Islam
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Lost items sadaqa charity
In the name of Allah, We
praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah
guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide
them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 64 Surah Taghabun verse 16:
So fear Allah as much as ye can; listen and obey; and spend
in charity for the benefit of your own souls: and those saved from the
covetousness of their own souls they are the ones that achieve prosperity.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 177:
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward East or
West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the
Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out
of love for Him for your kin, for orphan's for the needy, for the
wayfarer for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in
prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have
made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and
throughout all periods of panic. Such
are the people of Truth, the Allah-fearing.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 57-62
57 Verily those who live in awe for fear of their Lord;
58 Those who believe in the Signs of their Lord;
59 Those who join not (in worship) partners with their Lord;
60 And those who dispense their charity with their hearts full of fear
because they will return to their Lord
61 It is these who hasten in every good work, and these who are
foremost in them.
62 On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear: before Us
is a record which clearly shows the Truth: they will never be wronged.
In light of the above
absolutely clear guidance of the Holy Quran, Sadaqaat or charity in the Sight
of Allah Subhanah is that which one spends of one’s own free will in the Cause
of Allah with the sole intention of earning the Pleasure and Good Will of their
Lord Most Gracious.
Even if one were to
spend in charity, but follows up his charity with reminders of his generosity,
or humiliates the person he gives charity to, or gives in charity only to be
seen of men, etc.; then his charity will hold absolutely no weight in the Sight
of Allah Subhanah nor will he have any reward for his charity in the Hereafter.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 264-266:
264 O ye who believe! Cancel
not your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like
those who spend their substance to be seen of men but believe neither in Allah
nor in the Last Day. They are in Parable
like a hard barren rock on which is a little soil; on it falls heavy rain which
leaves it (just) a bare stone! They will
be able to do nothing with aught they have earned. And Allah guides not those who reject faith.
265 And the likeness of those who spend their substance seeking to
please Allah and to strengthen their souls is as a garden high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes
it yield a double increase of harvest and if it receives not heavy rain light
moisture sufficeth it. Allah Sees well
whatever ye do.
266 Does any of you wish that he should have a garden with date-palms
and vines and streams flowing underneath and all kinds of fruit while he is
stricken with old age and his children are not strong (enough to look after
themselves) that it should be caught in a whirlwind with fire therein and be
burnt up? Thus doth Allah make clear to
you (His) Signs; that ye may consider.
Sadaqaat is only
accepted by Allah from those who spend of their lawful wealth of their own free
wills in the Cause of Allah, with the sole intention to earn the Pleasure and
Good Will of their Lord.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 76 Surah Insaan verses 5-11:
5 As to the Righteous (in
6 A Fountain where the devotees of Allah do drink, making it flow in
unstinted abundance.
7 They perform (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil flies far
and wide.
8 And they feed for the love of Allah the indigent, the orphan, and
the captive.
9 (Saying) "We feed you for the sake of Allah Alone: No reward do
we desire from you, nor thanks.
10 We only fear a Day of distressful Wrath from the side of our
Lord."
11 But Allah will deliver them from the evil of that Day, and will shed
over them a light of Beauty and a (blissful) Joy.
If one suffers a loss or
looses something, bears his loss with patience and keeps his belief and trust
firm in the Mercy and Grace of his Lord Most Bounteous, and recognizes that his
loss is no more than a test from his Lord….such true believers will have their
reward from their Lord for their ‘sabr’, patience and belief.
But if one suffers a
loss or looses something and declares or assumes or counts it as being
‘sadaqaat’ in the Cause of Allah, it would neither be correct, nor considered
righteousness, nor does such a statement behove and befit those who sincerely
believe in Allah and the Last Day.
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me alone. Allah Alone
Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Wister