The Virtue of Charity
Prayers of the Angels: Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ يُصْبِحُ الْعِبَادُ فِيهِ، إِلَّا مَلَكَانِ يَنْزِلَانِ، فَيَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمَا: اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُنْفِقًا خَلَفًا، وَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ اللَّهُمَّ: أَعْطِ مُمْسِكًا تَلَفًا
“Every day when people give charity, two angels descend. One says: O Allah, give the one who spends a good replacement, and the other says: O Allah, give the one who withholds (the miser) destruction.”
The Acceptance of Charity by Allah
Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لَا يَتَصَدَّقُ أَحَدٌ بِتَمْرَةٍ مِنْ كَسْبٍ طَيِّبٍ، إِلَّا أَخَذَهَا اللَّهُ بِيَمِينِهِ، فَيُرَبِّيهَا كَمَا يُرَبِّي أَحَدُكُمْ فَلُوَّهُ أَوْ قَلُوصَهُ، حَتَّى تَكُونَ مِثْلَ الْجَبَلِ أَوْ أَعْظَمَ
“When any one of you gives charity from lawful earnings, even a single date, Allah takes it with His right hand, and nurtures and grows it just as one of you raises his foal or young camel, until it becomes like a mountain or even greater.”
One Should Seize the Opportunity to Give Charity
Hadrat Haritha bin Wahb (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
تَصَدَّقُوا فَيُوشِكُ الرَّجُلُ يَمْشِي بِصَدَقَتِهِ، فَيَقُولُ الَّذِي أُعْطِيَهَا لَوْ جِئْتَنَا بِهَا بِالْأَمْسِ قَبِلْتُهَا، فَأَمَّا الْآنَ فَلَا حَاجَةَ لِي بِهَا، فَلَا يَجِدُ مَنْ يَقْبَلُهَا
“Give charity, for a time is about to come when a man will go out with his charity, and the one to whom he offers it will say: If you had brought it yesterday, I would have accepted it, but now I have no need for it. So he will not find anyone who will accept it.”
One Should Not Be Concerned About the Amount When Giving Charity
Hadrat Adi bin Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that once he mentioned the Fire of Hell and sought refuge with Allah, turning his face to one side while saying this, and did so three times. Then he said:
“Protect yourselves from the Fire, even if it is with a piece of a date. And if you cannot find that, then protect yourselves with a good word.”
Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I do not like that I should have gold equal to Mount Uhud and that, after three nights, even one dinar of it should remain with me, except for the dinar that I set aside for paying a debt.
Charity of Wealth: The Shade of Allah
Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet ﷺ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لَا ظِلَّ إِلَّا ظِلُّهُ، الْإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَشَابٌّ نَشَأَ فِي عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ، وَرَجُلٌ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ، وَرَجُلَانِ تَحَابَّا فِي اللَّهِ اجْتَمَعَا عَلَيْهِ وَتَفَرَّقَا عَلَيْهِ، وَرَجُلٌ طَلَبَتْهُ امْرَأَةٌ ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وَجَمَالٍ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ، وَرَجُلٌ تَصَدَّقَ أَخْفَى حَتَّى لَا تَعْلَمَ شِمَالُهُ مَا تُنْفِقُ يَمِينُهُ، وَرَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خَالِيًا فَفَاضَتْ عَيْنَاهُ
“Allah will shade seven types of people under His shade on a day when there is no shade except His shade:
➊ A just ruler.
➋ A young man who grew up worshipping his Lord in the prime of youth.
➌ A man whose heart remains attached to the mosques.
➍ Two men who love each other for the sake of Allah, gathering and parting upon that.
➎ A man whom a beautiful woman of rank and beauty invited (to immorality), and he replied: I fear Allah.
➏ A man who gave charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives.
➐ A man who remembered Allah alone and his eyes shed tears.”
The Most Excellent Charity?
Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that once a man came to the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيُّ الصَّدَقَةِ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا؟، فَقَالَ: ” أَمَا وَأَبِيكَ لَتُنَبَّأَنَّهُ أَنْ تَصَدَّقَ وَأَنْتَ صَحِيحٌ شَحِيحٌ، تَخْشَى الْفَقْرَ وَتَأْمُلُ الْبَقَاءَ، وَلَا تُمْهِلَ حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ “، قُلْتَ: لِفُلَانٍ كَذَا، وَلِفُلَانٍ كَذَا، وَقَدْ كَانَ لِفُلَانٍ
“O Messenger of Allah! Which charity is the greatest and most excellent?” The Prophet ﷺ said: That you give while you are healthy and greedy for wealth, fearing poverty and hoping for riches, and do not delay giving charity until the soul reaches the throat, and then you say: Give so much to so-and-so, and so much to so-and-so, when it already belongs to someone else (as an inheritance).”
Spending: one should keep in mind “Charity begins at home, then the needy”
It is narrated from Hadrat Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يا ابن آدم إنك ان تبذل الفضل خير لك، وان تمسكه شر لك، ولا تلام على كفاف، وابدا بمن تعول، واليد العليا خير من اليد السفلى
“O son of Adam! Spending the surplus wealth is good for you, and withholding it is bad for you. You will not be blamed for having just enough. Begin with those whom you are responsible for. The upper hand is better than the lower hand.”
The “upper hand” in the hadith has been explained as “the one who spends and gives.”
Imam al-Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that it refers to the chaste and self-respecting person who does not ask from anyone. And the “lower hand” refers to “the one who asks.”
Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said that it refers to “the miser.”
It should be noted that some ignorant Sufis have taken the “upper hand” to mean “the one who receives,” and they say that this is the deputy of Allah. But the meaning stated in the hadith is clear and correct.
(The explanation of this statement is that whoever gives for the sake of Allah gives it into the hand of a needy, destitute person. So the receiving hand becomes Allah’s deputy in accepting it. Therefore, according to their statement, the receiving hand is superior to the giving and spending hand. But this point is frivolous and pointless, because Allah Himself does not give directly to anyone but causes it to be given through people’s hands; thus the giving hand is also Allah’s deputy.)
Various forms of charity
It is narrated from Hadrat Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said:
على كل مسلم صدقة، فقالو يا رسول الله فمن لم يجد قال يعين ذا الحاجة الملهوف، قالوا : فإن لم يجد ؟ , قال : فليعمل بالمعروف، وليمسك عن الشر فإنها له صدقة
“Charity is obligatory upon every Muslim.” The Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah, what if one does not find (anything)?” He said, “He should help the distressed person in need.” They said, “What if he cannot do that?” He said, “He should do good deeds and refrain from evil; that is charity for him.”
The “Charity” gate: a special gate of Paradise for those who spend
Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
“Whoever spends a pair of anything in the way of Allah will be called from the gates of Paradise: ‘O servant of Allah, this is good.’ So whoever was among those who prayed will be called from the gate of prayer; whoever was a mujahid will be called from the gate of jihad; whoever gave charity regularly will be called from the gate of charity; and whoever kept fasting regularly will be called from the gate of al-Rayyan.”
Hadrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: “O Messenger of Allah, it is not necessary for anyone to be called from all the gates, but will there be any people who will be called from all these gates?” He said: “Yes, and I hope that you will be among them!”
In explaining this hadith, Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said that by “pair” (zawj) in spending a pair is meant two of each thing: two dirhams, two dinars, two garments. Some scholars hold that it refers to two things in general: one dinar and one dirham, or one dirham and one garment, or one sock and one animal bridle, etc.
Imam al-Baji (may Allah have mercy on him) holds that it refers to deeds, i.e., two prayers, two days of fasting, etc.
(Some narrations also indicate that “two” (zawjayn) means giving enough to fill both palms, such as wheat, barley, etc.)
The incident of Hadrat Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him)
It is narrated from Hadrat Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) was a fairly wealthy man among the Ansar of Madinah. He had a garden called “Bayruha'” (the word Bayruha’ has been read in several ways: Bayruha’ with a fathah on the ra in all grammatical states; or with a dammah on the ra in the nominative case, a fathah in the accusative, and a kasrah in the genitive) which was very dear to him, and which was in front of the mosque. The Prophet ﷺ would often go there and drink its sweet water. Hadrat Anas relates that when the following verse was revealed:
لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ
“You will not attain the highest degree of righteousness until you spend your most beloved wealth.”
Abu Talhah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “Messenger of Allah, Allah has said such and such in His Book. My most beloved property is the garden of Bayruha’. So I give it in charity for the sake of Allah. Having it stored with Allah, I hope for its reward and recompense. O Messenger of Allah, spend it wherever you deem appropriate.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Well done! That is profitable property, that is profitable.” (The word “rabih” is according to one reading; another vocalisation of this word is “rayih,” in which case the meaning would be “this property has lasting reward or is a cause of immediate reward.”) “You have said what you said; I have heard it. My opinion is that you should distribute it among your close relatives.” Abu Talhah distributed it among some of his close relatives and paternal cousins.
