Value of Charity

 By A.T.M. NURUN NABI

Charity may be defined as helping people who are poor or in need. It may also be defined as sympathy and kindness towards other people. Giving of money, food and drink to the poor and the needy, and nursing of the sick are also charity. Even giving good advice to fellow people is also an act of charity.

Charity is a noble job. It has immense reward with Allah. He said: “Those who spend their property by night and by day, secretly or openly, they shall have their reward from their Lord and they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Sura  Al-Baqara, Verse No.272).

Islam believes in ‘Live and let live’, and rejects Herbert Spencer’s concept of survival of the fittest and elimination of the unfit.  The eventual objective of Islam is salvation in the Hereafter and end of exploitation of man by another.

In the Qur’an, we read: “Surely Allah commands the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and forbids the indecency and the evil and the rebellion. Allah admonishes you that you may be mindful.” (Sura  An-Nahal, Verse No.90). The said verse establishes that charity or doing good to others is obligatory, and not optional.

Charity or donation has no fixed time, nor fixed amount. It depends upon the donor’s desire to do good to others and financial ability. Charity should not be mingled with Zakat. The translators in English have defined Zakat as ‘poor-tax’. According to the decree of the Prophet Muhammad (SM), it has fixed time and fixed amount. Zakat is paid once in a year, preferably in the month of Ramadan @ 2.5% of the wealth and cash after it reaches a fixed threshold. It is incumbent upon the rich only.

The matter will be clear from Verse No.177 of Sura Al-Baqara. “It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but [true] righteousness is that one should believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets and gives away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the traveller and the beggars and for  (the emancipation of the) captives, [and who] establishes prayer and gives Zakat, and [those who] fulfil their promise when they make a promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and in the  battlefield. These are they who have been true and these are they who guard (against evils).”

The said verse clearly separates charity from Zakat, both having immense reward from Allah and punishment in the case of failure to comply with. Few verses of the Holy Quran on charity are quoted hereunder:

“And serve Allah and do not associate anything with Him, and be kind to your parents and to your near kindred and  the orphans and the needy and the neighbour of your kin and the neighbour who is not kin, the fellow traveller and the wayfarer and the slaves whom your right hand possess. Allah loves not him who is proud, boastful.” (Sura An-Nisa, Verse No 35)

“(And) those who are niggardly and bid people to be niggardly and hide what Allah has given them out of grace.” (Sura An-Nisa, Verse No 36)

“For people who are miser and hoard wealth, there is surely punishment for them in the hereafter.” (Sura Al-Imran, Verses 34 and 35; Sura At-Tawba)

“And give to the near of kin his due and (to) the needy and the wayfarer, but squander not.”  (Sura Bani Israel, Verse No. 26)

As for wayfarer, the Islamic scholars refer to those who go out of homes in quest of knowledge. In case they are in financial difficulties, both Zakat and voluntary donations may be offered to them and it is also permissible for them to take such donations.

However, Allah says that neither excess spending nor misery is acceptable. The text of related verse No. 29, Sura Bani Israel is: “And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with as complete opening, lest you sit down rebuked, denuded. Implicitly, this verse advises the Muslims to follow the middle way in all respects.” Verse No. 38, Sura Rome says : “Then give to the near of kin his due and to the needy and the wayfarer. This is best for him who desires Allah’s love and these it is who are successful.”  Verse No. 11, Sura Al-Hadid says : “Who is there that offers Allah a goodly gift which He will double it for him, and he shall have an excellent reward.” Islamic scholars explain that loan to Allah means financial assistance to those who genuinely need.

Prophet Muhammad (SM) said:  Feed the hungry, attend the sick and free the (innocent) prisoners. ( Sahih Al-Bukhari). He further said, “He is not Muslim who eats to his fill but his neighbour starves.”  At that very moment those who were with him asked: Who are the neighbours? He said: All those people within 40 hands of your houses on all sides.

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi is Senior Sub-Editor, The Independent, Dhaka.