On what occasions sadqah can be given.
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:
Please guide about
Sadqah.
On what occasions sadqah can be given.
With kind regards,
(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:
Aspects of 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 none 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 Glorious Quran, Chapter 63
Surah Munafiqoon, verse 10
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 me awhile that I should have given ‘sadaqah’ (charity)
and become of the righteous." But Allah does not at all reprieve a person
when his term comes to an end, and Allah is well aware of what you all do.
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.
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.
Every deed one does and every cent that one spends from
their lawful provisions seeking the Pleasure and Good Will of their Lord,
regardless of how small or insignificant it might seem to be…..will be regarded
and accepted as ‘sadaqah’ in the Sight of the Lord Most Generous, Most
Gracious.
There is absolutely no restriction or condition prescribed
in Shariah regarding when, how, on whom or on what one may spend of one’s
wealth as ‘sadaqah’ except that the wealth should have been earned lawfully,
and that it should be spent with the intention to seek the Pleasure and Good
Will of their Lord Most High.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.232 Narrated by Abu Huraira
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "There is
a ‘sadaqa’ (charity) to be given for every joint of the human body (as a sign
of gratitude to Allah) every day the sun rises. To judge justly between two
persons is regarded as ‘sadaqa’, and to help a man concerning his riding animal
by helping him to ride it or by lifting his luggage on to it, is also regarded
as ‘sadaqa’, and (saying) a good word is also ‘sadaqa’, and every step taken on
one's way to offer the obligatory prayer (in the mosque) is also ‘sadaqa’, and
to remove a harmful thing from the way is also ‘sadaqa’."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.53 Narrated by Sad bin Abi Waqqas
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "You will
be rewarded for whatever you spend for Allah's Sake, even if it were a morsel
which you put in your wife's (or family’s) mouth!"
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1557 Narrated by Abu Dharr
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘In the
morning ‘sadaqa’ is due from every bone in the body of every one of you. Every
utterance of Allah's glorification is an act of ‘sadaqa’. Every utterance of
praise of Him is an act of ‘sadaqa’, every utterance of profession of His
Oneness is an act of ‘sadaqa’, every utterance of profession of His Greatness
is an act of ‘sadaqa’, enjoining good is an act of ‘sadaqa’, and forbidding
what is disreputable is an act of ‘sadaqa’.’
Abu Dharr reports that the Prophet (saws)
said:: "Your smile to your (believing) brother is a ‘sadaqa’, your removal
of stones, thorns, or bones from the paths of people is ‘sadaqas, and your
guidance of a person who is lost is ‘sadaqa’."
Related by Bukhari.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 3764 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘Never a
Muslim plants a tree, but he has the reward of ‘sadaqa’ for him, for what is
eaten out of that is ‘sadaqa’; what is stolen out of that, what the beast eat
out of that, what the birds eat out of that is ‘sadaqa’ for him. None incurs a
loss to him but it becomes a ‘sadaqa’ on his part.’
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.524 Narrated by Abu Burda
from his father from his grandfather that the
Prophet (saws)said, "Every Muslim has to give in ‘sadaqa’." The
people asked, "O Allah's Prophet (saws)! If someone has nothing to give,
what will he do?" He (saws) said, "He should work with his hands and
benefit himself and also give in ‘sadaqa’ (from what he earns)." The
people further asked, "If he cannot find even that?" He (saws) replied,
"He should help the needy who appeal for help." Then the people
asked, "If he cannot do that?" He (saws) replied, "Then he should
perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds and this will be regarded as ‘sadaqa’
for him."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.11 Narrated by Abu Huraira
A man asked the Prophet, "O Allah's
Apostle (saws)! What kind of ‘sadaqa’ is the best?" He (saws) replied.
"To give in ‘sadaqa’ when you are healthy and greedy hoping to be wealthy,
and afraid of becoming poor. Don't delay giving in ‘sadaqa’ till the time when
you are on the death bed when you say, 'Give so much to so-and-so and so much
to so-and so,' and at that time the property is not yours but it belongs to
so-and-so (i.e. your inheritors)."
Nothing, absolutely nothing that one does or spends
seeking only the Pleasure and Good Will of their Lord, absolutely regardless of
how insignificant it might seem to be, will be regarded and accounted as
‘sadaqa’ in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah
Anbiyaa verse 47:
47
We shall set up the Scales of
Justice for the Day of Judgment so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly
in the least. And if there be (no more
than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account): and enough
are We to take account.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan