Man is a social being whose existence is fully dependent upon others. Our own physical, psychological and spiritual being is affected by others negatively of positively when we communicate, cooperate and even at some point compete against our fellow human beings. Allah designed us in such a way that we fulfill each other’s need, no man is an island, so to speak.
Allah has distributed a vast amount of blessings to humans but he did not give every kind of blessings to any single person. Allah created humans that if one is strong in something then he should be weak in something else. If he has an abundance of something then he is lacking also in some other things. This truth makes humans complementary to each other making us mutually in need of each other. Allah has favored some of us materially more than others and has made sure that social justice is established by an act that is praised universally across many different cultures and languages – charity. Not because the rich are superior to the poor but because Allah wishes to test us through each other.
TYPES OF CHARITY
Allah said in the Quran, “Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend of that which He has made you trustees. Whoever among you spends in Allah’s way, theirs will be a great reward” Quran 57:7. Allah mentioned here that whatever material possessions we have is only entrusted upon us and Allah, therefore, has more rights to it than any of us. Therefore, if Allah orders that we pay charity from our wealth, we have no choice but to comply with obedience despite our own love for material possessions.
There are two types of charity in Islam according to its obligation. One is obligatory, which is called Zakah, and the other is voluntary charity. Zakah is the third pillar of Islam which is a yearly obligation for anyone whose net worth costs more than the price of 85 grams of gold in any given time. This amount should have been kept by him for more than a year and other financial obligations such as debt, mortgage and bills, and other expenses should have been deducted already before he could identify whether he should pay Zakah or not. Zakah is obligatory to be paid yearly for those who shall qualify and they shall pay the 2.5 percent of this net worth to those made eligible by the Quran such as the poor, the beggars, those in debt and others.
The voluntary charity could be paid whenever the Muslim wishes to in whatever amount to whomever he likes. It may be in the form of cash or material items.
BAD ETIQUETTES WHEN GIVING CHARITY
Another form of charity is known as Sadaqah Jariyah, the charity that is continually being benefitted from. It is the charity that is used in the construction, purchase or utilization of things that will benefit the people in the long run. Building mosques, water pumps, and roads are forms of Sadaqah Jariyah. The concept of Sadaqah Jariyah is simple if you wish you may want to make an agreement with any Muslim organization to use your donation for Islamic projects. If you build a mosque, for example, you shall be rewarded the same reward as those who prayed inside the mosque, every time, as long as the mosque is being prayed on. If the mosque is open until Judgment Day, then you could only imagine how much reward there must be waiting for you for this simple act of building a mosque.
Prophet Muhammad said, ‘When the son of Adam dies, all his actions are cut off except for three: a good child that prays for him, sadaqah jariyah that is continually being benefitted from and knowledge that was shared and is continually being benefitted from.’
For a Muslim, it is important to note that any act of giving charity is done only for the purpose of pleasing Allah. It should not be done for the purpose of building connections with people so that you may benefit from them in the future or expecting something in return. Any charity or any act of worship that is done for showing off or any ulterior motives shall not be accepted and is considered a form of idolatry in Islam as the donor is not doing it to please Allah but rather to please his fellow humans or himself therefore making other humans and himself as rivals of Allah in his intentions.
Even the act of reminding people of one’s charity or causing harm to anyone whom we have given charity is a big sin too. Allah said in the Quran, “O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury.” Quran 2:264 Even if you end up not being in good terms with the people you gave charity to, Allah said in the Quran, ‘Good speech and forgiveness is better than charity that is followed by insult and injury.’ Quran 263.
BENEFITS OF CHARITY
Other than the expected rewards of charity, charity fosters a spirit of cooperation and social justice wherever charity is being practiced. The poor feel that they are being taken good care of by the rich while the rich do not feel any sort of entitlement over the poor.
Charity in Islam ultimately benefits the giver more than the recipient. Giving charity is a mark of piety, Allah said in the Quran, “O you who believed, you shall never attain piety unless you spend from what you love.” Quran 3: 92.
Despite being connected to material possessions, the poor are not deprived of the rewards of giving charity as they may still give charity according to their means. In essence, every good deed that Muslims do is charity, including the food that you feed to your family, is charity in and of itself. Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother in faith with a smile is charity.’
