Sadaqah-Giving in Charity

Sadaqah-Giving in Charity
By Imam Ghazaali (rah)

SADAQAH (GIVING IN CHARITY) IS A DEED DESIGNED TO ELIMINATE THE spiritual malady of miserliness. But because the heart of the giver is not immune from show and insincerity, it has particularly been emphasized that Sadaqah should always be given secretly and not publicly. Certainly, Riyaa (show) and miserliness art both very destructive diseases and Sadaqah that is rendered secretly is a powerful remedy to them.

In the grave, Riyaa assumes the form of a snake and miserliness takes the appearance of a scorpion and both are set on the sinner to inflict torture and pain. Thus, one who desists from
spending in the Path of Allah out of miserliness has, in reality, incurred the punishment of scorpions and one who spends, but with insincerity, has, in fact opted for the punishment of snakes.

SADAQAH SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A FAVOR
If is quite common to feel that one is rendering a favor on which one confers a Sadaqah. This is an absolutely erroneous concept and should be dispelled. Al times it is difficult to ascertain the presence of such malady in one's heart. This can be achieved by carefully observing the condition of the heart after having given Sadaqah. For instance, if you expected an expression of gratitude in return of your Sadaqah. or subsequent to your Sadaqah, the recipient showed disrespect to you or maltreated you and this infuriated you than it would have done prior to your Sadaqah, then this evidently explains that the Sadaqah had been by you as a favor.

A CURE FOR THE ABOVE MALADY
A simple technique to eradicate such disease is to regard the needy as your benefactor, for he has become the cause of absolving you from your obligation and replacing the evil disease of miserliness with generosity.

Because Zakah and Sadaqah have been imposed to root out the undesirable malady of miserliness, the Prophet (saws),considering the object of its imposition would never bring the money of such funds into personal use. He would explain that this is the dirt of (people's) wealth. Hence the Muslim who has become instrumental in washing away the dirt accumulated in your wealth has rendered you a favor and not vice versa.

What will your conception be of a surgeon who wishes to operate free of charge? People pay large amounts of money to get their physical ailments removed. Why then are we not grateful to those who remove our spiritual diseases without even charging us a single penny. Moreover, the physical ailments are of a transient nature and will at the most, result in death, whereas the spiritual ones have far reaching effects that will accompany the person in the Afterlife too.

Because Zakah and Sadaqah play a chief role in fulfilling the needs of the poor and eliminating starvation from the world, this is also regarded as a pillar of Islam.

To facilitate the giving of Zakah and Sadaqah. Allah has firstly ordered the creation to love Him and then made the act of giving in charity a yardstick to measure the extent of love in the hearts of those who claim to do so. To demonstrate this love, believers are commanded to spend in the Path of Allah and thereby distinguish themselves from the false claimants of love.

If a human can sacrifice his entire possession for the petty love of another then sacrificing a small proportion of wealth for the Creator should not at all be felt as a burden. In fact, a Muslim, for that matter should be prepared to give away all his possessions.

THOSE WHO DO SPEND IN THE PATH OF ALLAH CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES
The ones who belong to The highest are those who give away, wholeheartedly everything they possess thus proving true their claim of love.  Abu Bakr Siddeeq (ra) held this rank,
which, on one occasion had brought every content of his house before the Messenger of Allah. And when asked, '"What have you left for yourself?" replied, "Allah and His Messenger (saws) " On this occasion Umar (ra) had also brought his belongings and in reply to the same question said, "I have left as much as I brought." Upon hearing the answers
of both, the Prophet (saws) said (addressing the two), "Your ranks arc evident from your replies."

The second category consists of those who, although fail to give away their entire possession, neither spend unnecessarily on other avenues such as personal pursuits. Their spending is not unrestricted and liberal at all times like the first group; rather, they will wait for situations and needs to arise and when they do their generosity will know no bounds. They will spend as much as their capacity will permit. Much of the money they have accumulated stays with them only to be spent in the Cause of Allah , only that they wait for opportunities.

The lowest category comprises those Muslims who suffice on paying their annual due. They will neither decrease in that nor increase. The ranks of the above mentioned categories and
the degree of their love for Allah can easily be assessed by their conditions, i.e. how much and how frequently they spend.

You should endeavor to reach the highest of these categories. If not possible, you should at least avoid being classified from the lowest. To achieve this, apart from the obligatory due, you will need te spend a little everyday. This will enable you to reach the lower stages of the second category, rising above the category of the miserly ones.

Muslims who are poor and unable to spend should not be disheartened by their inability, as the achievements of the rewards of Sadaqah are not only confined to giving in charity and helping the poor. They can be attained by means of other deeds too. Any good deed, no matter how small, will earn them an equivalent reward. Some of these are mentioned below:

--To visit the sick.
--To attend a funeral.
--To assist someone in limes of need, such as helping a laborer carry some of his weight or interceding on someone's behalf.
--To say a good word, such as consoling a grief stricken, or encouraging a despaired one.

These are all known as acts of Sadaqah and yet one docs not even have to be wealthy to accomplish them.

THE WISDOM BEHIND SPENDING SECRETLY
As mentioned before, it is important that when you spend, you should do so quietly and not publicly. A hadith in this regard states. "To spend secretly in the Path of Allah extinguishes the Anger of Allah." On another occasion, it has been mentioned, 'One who spends with the right hand such that it even goes unnoticed by the left (i.e. he exercises extreme sincerity) shall be resurrected among the seven categories of people who will be under the shade of the Throne of Allah on a day when there shall be no shade except that one.

But that should also not mean that you should wait for the heart to reach that stage in order to spend, for this is clearly a deception from Shaytaan. You should continue to spend, regardless of the conditions of your heart and eventually you will reach your goal and be able to give wholeheartedly. Until then, Allah will reward you abundantly for overcoming your desires of withholding tlie money from spending.

Secondly, spend the best of your possessions in the Path of Allah. Would it not be inappropriate to give something to Allah which you yourself dislike? As explained earlier, such spending has been designed to gauge one's love for the Creator. Hence your selection of wealth will determine the intensity of your love for Him. Thirdly, you should spend wholeheartedly. With respect to this a Hadith states, "(The reward of spending) one Dirham can exceed (the reward of) one hundred thousand Dirhams; i.e. the reward of one who spends wholeheartedly and unrestrictedly will be multiplied manifold in contrast to one who does not do so.

Fourthly, the avenues of spending should also be thoughtfully and carefully chosen. In giving Sadaqah, preference should be given to one who has noble spiritual qualities over one who does not. If all the good qualities are not found in a single person then even the possessor of a single quality will be deserving of your Sadaqah. However, piety and Deeni knowledge should be given preference above all else. For only a pious and an 'Aalim (Islamic scholar) will fulfill the prime objective of the provisions gifted by Allah.

They are the ones who live on this earth solely to make preparations for the Hereafter and consider this mortal world to be only a rest house wherefrom the souls will very soon depart. Hence such persons can surely be expected to utilize your Sadaqah in the correct avenues. The Prophet (saws) has said, "Feed the pious people".