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 has asked this question:

Pls tell me how is “sadaqa” helpful and what is the TRUE meaning of “sadaqa”

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Answer:

What does Sadaqa mean?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever 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.

The Arabic word ‘sadaqa’ is from the root word ‘sadq’ which means the truth. Sadaqa actually means giving something which one loves in the way of Allah.

When one gives charity or sadaqa in the way of Allah for Allah’s Pleasure Alone, hoping to get His reward from Allah in the hereafter, he is confirming with this action of his that Allah and the coming of the Last Day are ‘haqq’ and the truth. He believes with certainty in Allah and the Last Day, otherwise he would never give away his wealth, which he loves for nothing in return. By doing this he is confirming the truth. What he has said with his mouth, he has confirmed with his actions, and that is why Allah has promised to honor the person who gives sadaqa in His Way, in this world and the hereafter.

The real truth is when a person does in action what he says with his mouth. Allah has called such people truthful. And Allah calls people who do not do in action what they say with their mouths as Munaafiqs or hypocrites, in the Holy Quran.

Sadaqa is helpful in many ways for a believer:

Allah is pleased with a slave who spends out of what he loves in Allah’s Way. Allah has created a natural love for wealth in every man’s heart. When a person spends his wealth in sadaqa, he confirms with Allah that he holds Allah and His Love dearer in his heart than the love of wealth. When a slave of Allah spends in the Way of Allah, he confirms with Allah that Allah is the real owner of his wealth, and he is only a trustee. He believes with certainty that there will come a day when he will stand in the court of Allah and will have to account to Allah how he earned the money and how he spent it. When a slave spends in sadaqa, he affirms his relation with the hereafter. He believes with certainty that the Day of Judgement will come, and thus he sends some of his wealth for provisions in the afterlife.When he spends in sadaqa, he believes with certainty in Allah’s promises of the hereafter. When he spends in sadaqa, he knows that Allah does not have a bank account in some worldly bank. He recognizes that Allah sees and knows everything and that all his deeds will be appreciated by Allah in the hereafter and nothing will go in waste. He spends in sadaqa on the poor, the destitute, the orphan, the widow, the hungry, etc. knowing that Allah is keeping full account and will reward him manifold in the hereafter, for every penny he has spent in sadaqa.When he spends in sadaqa, he knows that the wealth he has in this world is only a test from Allah. Allah wants to see whether he is grateful and spends in the Way of Allah, or is ungrateful and holds his hands from the poor and destitute like a miser! Allah is Self-Sufficient and Self-Praiseworthy. He stands in no need of any of His creation. Spending in sadaqa increases ‘Taqwa’ or God consciousness in a believer.

It is not the money that reaches Allah, but the ‘taqwa’ (God consciousness) which is appreciated by the Ash-Shukoor (the One Who Appreciates or The One Who Knows How to Appreciate!!!).

Allah says in the Glorious Quran, Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah, verse 254: O Believers, spend of the wealth We have bestowed upon you (in Allah's way), before the Day comes when there shall be no buying and no selling; when neither friendship nor intercession will be of any avail.

In the above aayat, Allah is exhorting us to spend in His way before (your death or) the Day of Judgement arrives, where there will be no buying, no selling, no wealth, no children, and no helper: except for the good deeds one has done on this earth. And mark what is He exhorting us to spend ... He is exhorting us to spend the wealth which HE HAS BESTOWED UPON US!!! He has given us this wealth, and now He is asking for a little back so that He may reward us manifold on the Day of Judgement. How Gracious is Allah, and how ungrateful and niggardly is man indeed!!!!

Allah says in the Glorious Quran, Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah, verse 261: The charity of those who expend their wealth in the Way of Allah may be likened to a grain of corn, which produces seven ears and each ear yields a hundred grains. Likewise Allah develops manifold the charity of anyone He pleases, for He is All-Embracing, All-Wise.

Here Allah provides the formula for the minimum reward for the charity of a believer. If you spend $ 1.00 in the way of Allah, has promised return is 7x100 = 700 times; ie. $ 700.00 for a $1.00 investment!!!!! For those of you who are accountants and businessmen, can you even imagine a 70,000% guaranteed return on investment!!!! and maybe even more!!!! Allah is Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Allah says in the Glorious Quran, Chapter 63, Surah Munafiqoon, verse 10-11: Spend from the provisions that We have given you before death should come to any of you and then he should say, "O my Lord, why did You not reprieve(delay) me awhile that I should have given in charity and become of the righteous." But Allah does not at all reprieve a person(delay a person’s soul) when his term comes to an end, and Allah is well aware of what you all do.

When death overtakes us, and we see the truth as told from the Quran about the Day of Judgement and its rewards and punishments with our very own eyes, we will beg Allah to give us some reprieve (delay) and a little more time, so that we can go back to the earth and spend in His way and do righteous deeds. But Allah will not give any time more than the appointed time of this life ... not even 1-second more!!!! And then we will be left with nothing but regret!!! And Allah is again exhorting us in the above aayat to spend before we are in that helpless position.

May Allah have mercy on all of us on the Day when nothing but His Mercy will prevail.

May Allah help us all to spend and do good deeds in His way as much as we can afford, before the appointment of death overtakes any of us. We have been given ample warnings in the Quran, now is there anyone of us who wants to listen to good caution!!! ... or are we all too busy with collecting wealth and position and other passing luxuries of this life. May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan