“And whoever you give verily God knows it well.”

(Holy Qur’an, 3:92).

Charity is not just doling out some cash or material to a needy person. It involves far deeper feeling and far subtle psychological attitude. Sincerely of purpose is the soul of charity. Unfortunately charity has become one of the most misunderstood virtues in our time. Industrial progress and commercial environment of modern society has degraded charity into a medium of business propaganda. How many times do w see an advertisement for a charitable cause which ends with the line “space kindly donated by M/s. Xyz”?

According to Islam. Charity must be only for the sake of God, without any shade of worldly motive. Islam condemns “those who spend their wealth to show to the people” (Qur’an)! Such baseless charity had been described to be “like a hard barren rock on which is a little soil; on it falls heavy rain and leaves it just a bare stone”

(Qur’an)

The second condition to remember is that a charity must be of such a thing, which we have earned lawfully. The Qur’an says: “Give of the good things which you have honourably earned.” Mass psychology may have a awe for the tactics of Robin Hood; but religion cannot glorify or endorse such methods. It follows that only such charity is real charity in Islamic language. A handful or rice given with our own free will for God is more valuable in Islam than a shipload given under compulsion or for worldly motives.

And what can be given in charity. The Qur’an says: “never shall you attain righteousness unless you give freely of that which you love.” So this is the test of the real charity: do you give something that you value greatly? If you give your life for a cause, that is the greatest gift you can offer. Next in degree are your personal efforts, your talents, your skill, and your learning. Then come the charities involving your earnings, your property and your possessions. There are other aspects of charity in which you sacrifice the well being of your near and dear ones, or your position, or reputation.

Whatever the from of your charity, it is the unselfishness which God Demands; and whatever you give verily God knows it well.

Islamic Generosity

“Be generous as Allah is generous to thee.”

(Holy Qur’an 28:77).

It is foundation of Islamic generosity. Allah gave every thing, right from our very existence up to the highest place of honour in His presence in the life hereafter. Our natural instinct demands that we should express our gratitude towards Him-in words as well as in actions. Prayers prescribed by religion serve the purpose of saying ‘Thankyou’ to Him. But how can we prove in action that we are really thankful to Him? The verse of the Qur’an quoted above shows us way. It is by services of humanity that we can show our gratitude towards Allah.

Naturally, it follows that, when we help any person, we should not do it expectation of any return or any thanks from the beneficiary. On the contrary, we must be thankful to him that, by accepting our help, he gave us a chance to demonstrate our gratitude to our Creator. Virtue is its own reward, because it satisfies our natural urge to manifest our thankfulness towards Allah.

This, according to Islam, must be our attitude when we are helping others. But what is our obligation when we are on the receiving end of the aid? Islam teaches us that we must be thankful, in the first place, to Allah; because He is the actual source of help. And then we should be thankful; to that man whom Allah made his agent in the help. Thus all persons who were instrumental in that help must be thanked sincerely. The Holy Prophet has said: “he who did not thank people, did not thank Allah.”

Let us pray a time comes when this vision remains a vision no longer; when not the conflict of interests, as taught by materialism, but sincere co-operation, as taught by religion, becomes the basis of our society.

Generosity and Miserliness.

“And spend in the way of Allah and put not yourselves into destruction by your own hands.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 2:192).

Not spending in the way of Allah, i.e. being miser is, according to the Qur’an, tantamount to self-destruction. There are four types of people so far as generosity is concerned.

(1) first come those who ignore their own needs and comfort and spend whatever they have to help others. This is the highest stage of human generosity, which reflects the divine virtue: God needs nothing and sustains every creature.

(2) Then are those who spend to satisfy their own needs as well as to help others. They are ‘beloved of Allah’, and may be sure of His grace in both worlds. A Muslim is exhorted to reach at least this standard, if not the first one.

(3) Now we leave the boundary of generosity and come to those whose only ambition is to satisfy their own desires without caring about the plight of others. They are ‘enemies of God’; they feel no compassion for others, how can they expect any mercy on the Day of Judgement!

(4) But the worst kind of niggards are those who do not spend even for their own necessities. Such people neither deserve nor get any love from anyone. As imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s) explained, “such persons practice misery as a safeguard against some imagined future adversity. It is ironic to see them inflicting upon themselves by their own hands the same hardships which they are guarding against. What a fool he is? He collects the money by hook or crook, lives in a wretched condition, earns the displeasure of God, is despised by his fellows; and when he dies, the heir spend that ill-gotten money extravagantly in pursuit of their sinful ambitions. the miser does not get any benefit from his wealth and earns the condemnation of God for his miserliness... and, as if that was not enough, gets his share in the punishment of the heirs also.”

Justice & Generosity.

“Verily, God commands (you) to do justice and be generous....”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 16:90).

Islamic code of conduct is based on justice and love in every sphere of life. For example, it commands the trader to “to give full measure and weight.” It is justice. Then is exhorts him to give more than the agreed quantity while, side by side, the buyer is encouraged to try to take less than that. It is love. In this atmosphere, friction and litigation are things unimaginable.

Another example: Islam prohibits hoarding food grain when there is a shortage in the market. It is justice, and it rules out that possibility of artificial famine and black market which are the cause of our present day society. But our religious leaders have gone further, setting the example of Islamic love and sympathy.

Imam ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s) used to purchase his one year’s requirement of food grains at the beginning of the year. Once there was a danger of famine in Madina. He asked his men how much grain was left in his store. They assured him that therewas enough to suffice for a long time. Hearing it, he ordered them to take out all grain and sell it at once at a much cheaper price. They protested that his family would have to suffer from famine if the grain was sol out. The imam replied: “Let us alleviate the present calamity as much as we can. Afterwards, we will be just one of the public, sharing with them the hardship of the famine. We shall eat when they will eat; we will be hungry when they will hungry.” This was the love. And what is our behaviour these days? Famine conditions are created artificially to raise the prices. Such people literally feast on the dead-bodies of the poor. The present day economy of the world, which is based on un-Islamic principles, encourages human greed instead of suppressing it. Islamic love and sympathy have no room in the structure of today’s commerce and industry.

The people are taught from the childhood the God-less theory of struggle for self-preservation and the survival of the fittest. Everybody is made to believe that his survival depends, not on co-operation with others, but on killing the weaklings. In this background, the strife’s and conflicts are inevitable.

This way of life, which denies the authority of God in our daily life, offers no solution to the suffering of our times. The only refuge is in the precincts of Islam which accepts the authority of God in every sphere of our life, be it material or spiritual.