Sadaqah is an Islamic term that means to voluntarily give charity out of the goodness of one’s heart. This is not an Islamic obligation, but rather a practice conducted to help those in need or the deprived. Quran says,

Hidath on Charity 

“O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth.” (2:267)

This act goes to show the strength of the believer’s faith and increases it further. Sadaqa does not refer solely to money in Islam. A Sadaqah can be anything as small as a smile towards a stranger or removing an obstacle or thorn from a path. It is simply a deed that helps someone else, in any way. 

As Quran decrees,

“practice regular charity.” (2:43) 

Quran Verses About Charity

The Quran has emphasized giving charity in many aspects. Few ayahs are here,

1. و أنفقوا ممّا رزقناكم من قبل أن يأتي أحدكم الموت فيقول ربّ لولا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب فأصدق وأكن من الصّالحين
2. “Be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity.” (2:110)
3. “Charity is for those in need, who, in Allah’s cause are restricted (from travel), and cannot move about in the land, seeking.” (2:273) 
4. “who give to charity during the good times, as well as the bad times.” (3:134) 
5. “Of their money take a charity that you may purify them and sanctify them by it, and pray for them for indeed your prayer is a source of comfort for them and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing”. 9: 103
6.  “The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain that sprouts seven spikes. In every spike there are 100 grains, and Allah multiplies for whom He will”. (2:261).

Learn more: Reasons to learn the Quran from a Native Arabic tutor

Definition of Charity, Based on Hadith

The following hadith discusses the variety of voluntary spending from freeing a slave and giving to the poor. However, giving to the family as mandatory charitable giving is prioritized and highly rewarded.

Abu Ḥurairah reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: 

دينار أنفقته في سبيل الله  ودينار أنفقته في رقبة ودينار تصدّقت به على مسكين ودينار أنفقته على أهلك أعظمها أجرا الذي أنفقته على أهلك. 

“Of the dinar, you spend as a contribution in Allah’s path, or to set free a slave, or as a sadaqah given to a needy, or to support your family, the one yielding the greatest reward is that which you spent on your family”.

Interestingly, charitable giving in hadith is very wide in meaning as according to the Prophet, every good deed is considered as charity. Jabir bin Abdullah narrated that the Prophet said,

كل معروف صدقة 

 “Enjoining, all that is good is a Sadaqa”

Learn more Islamic scholars: ibn majah

Types of Charity in Islam

The importance of charitable giving is mentioned throughout the Qur’an and in many hadiths. Charity is a central tenet of Islam. There are three main forms of charity in Islam: zakat, sadaqah, and waqf. 

1. Sadaqah (صدقه)  is voluntary charitable giving and appears several times in the Qur’an. There is no minimum or maximum amount a Muslim is expected to give. Sadaqah is also a means of moral learning. Sadaqah (Charity) is worship. According to Hadith, 

Sadaqah is prescribed for every person every day the sun rises. 

1. Zakat (زكاة)  is one of the five core obligations (pillars) of Islam. It requires every Muslim to give a set proportion of his or her wealth to the poor and needy in proportion to their means. Zakat can be translated to mean ‘purification’ or ‘growth’: by paying zakat a person is believed to be cleansing themselves and their remaining wealth and redistributing wealth to restore social equality and promote a more just society.  In a hadith on Charity, the Prophet (PBUH) said, “No wealth (of a servant of Allah) is decreased because of charity.” (Tirmidhi, 2247).
2. The third type of charity is waqf (وقف), an endowment of property or investment for a charitable purpose. Although not mentioned in the Qur’an, the legal authority for waqf derives from various hadiths. Waqf is a fast-developing area of charitable giving. For example, ‘Umar al-Khaṭṭāb, the Prophet’s companion who donated his land in Khaybar in the form of waqf in which the possession is still intact but the production from the land is given for charity.

Thus, the Holy Quran states: “And be steadfast in your prayer and pay charity; whatever good you send forth for your future, you shall find it with Allah, for Allah is well aware of what you do” (2:110).

How to Give Sadaqah?

Every Muslim needs to follow some ethics while giving charity 

• Do not harm the feelings of others 
• Give charity in secret 
• Start with those related to you and those in need 
• Give charity out of lawful earnings 
• Give out what you love most 
• Do not belittle or ridicule the effort of others

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said about those protected by Allah on the Day of Judgment: 

“And a person who gives charity so that his left-hand does not know what his right hand has given”. (Bukhari)

Benefits of Giving Charity

The benefits of giving charity have been clearly described in Quran and hadith. Like,   

• Charity removes the evil, disasters, sickness, and unfortunate incidences.
• The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said that: 

“An act of charity shields seventy dead people from ill fate”. 

• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said in a hadith on charity that: 

“Allah says that when the angel of death is asked to remove the soul of a person, and if he or she gives Sadaqah, Allah orders the angel of death to stop”. 

• According to Islamic beliefs, when we give charity, Allah due to his mercy changes our fate. The Holy Quran says that: 

“Allah removes what He wishes and establishes what He wishes, for He has the Mother of Books”. (13: 39) 

• Indeed the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in a hadith: 

“Cure your sickness with charity”.

• The Angels pray on behalf of those who give in charity.
• Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: Every day in the morning two angels come down: one of them says: “O Allah replace the money of those giving in charity”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Importance of Charity

Charity, in its form, is important for Muslims in daily life. The true importance of giving Sadaqah can be understood in a hadith on charity as,

1. Ikrimah narrated that: a man said: “O Messenger of Allah! My mother died, will it benefit her if I give charity on her behalf?” Muhammad (PBUH) said: ‘Yes.’ He said: “I have a Makhraf, so bear witness that I have given it in charity on her behalf.”
2. Charity purifies our hearts from greed. 
3. We earn Allah’s reward and Allah replaces whatever we spend on charity.
4. Charity atones for our sins.
5. Allah multiplies our good deeds. 
6. The money is not hoarded, but circulated and creates jobs and benefits the community.

What is the Best Charity?

In a hadith on charity, Abu Hurairah narrated that:

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): “O Messenger of Allah, which sadaqah (charity) is the best ?“ He replied: 

“The best sadaqah is that you give something as sadaqah (charity) when you are healthy, greedy, expect survival and fear poverty, and not that you postpone it until your death.”

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that 

“the leader of the good-doers on the Day of Judgment is the one who did good to his parents after their death.” 

The Reward of Giving Sadaqah

There have been promised of many rewards for those who give charity in Quran and hadiths. For example,

• The Muslim who give Sadaqah, his deeds remain eternal despite his death.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that:

“Four things continue to reward a person even after his death; a man who dies on the true path, a good advice or knowledge is given by him to someone who acts on that advice, an act of charity and a good son who prays for him and asks for forgiveness on his behalf”.

• Charity increases sustenance and protects wealth The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said in a hadith on charity: 

“Attract sustenance by giving charity”.

The Qur’an also says that: “The person who lends to Allah, a good lending will receive many times more”. (2:245 )

• Our sins are forgiven when we give in charity. As Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: 

“Charity wipes out the sin, as water extinguishes the fire”. (Tirmidhi)

• Charity protects us from Hell Fire and ensures entering paradise. Allah’s Messenger (PBUH ) said in a hadith on charity: 

“Protect yourselves from Hell Fire by giving charity, even half a date; if you do not find anything to give, then by a good word”.

• Our money never decreases when given to charity, on the contrary, it increases. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) in a hadith on charity: 

“We should give charity as it increases our property, and it makes the mercy of Allah befall on us”.

Whom to Give Charity to?

The characteristic of the person who deserves charity is described in the following verse: 

للفقراء الذين أحصروا في سبيل الله لا يستطيعون ضربا في الأرض يحسبهم الجاهل أغنياء من التعفف تعرفهم بسيماهم لا يسألون الناس إلحافا○ وما تنفقوا من خير فانّ الله به عليم○

According to Ibn-e Kathir, this verse describes the characteristics of the poor who deserved to be given charity, who; 

1. is fighting in the way of Allah, giving all his strength in Jihad and seeking the pleasure of Allah, 
2. does not have the capability to work due to illness or others,
3. does not want to beg for keeping his or her dignity until no one knows of his/ her misery
4. has a special characteristic only known by sincere believer such as being tawaddhu’ without deliberately revealing the physical state of a needy person. 
5. is not begging as forcefully as the usual beggars do. The Prophet (PBUH) said: 

“The needy is not the person who leaves if you give him something to eat, but the needy is the person who has no money but feels shy and does not ask for help”.

Similarly, in another ayah, eight deservers have been mentioned as,

“Charity is for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the funds; and for those whose hearts have been reconciled (to the truth); for those in bondage; and those in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer. Thus is it ordained by Allah, for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom”. (Tauba)

Charity is more than just giving money 

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in a hadith on charity: 

“A kind word is a charity, and every step that a person takes for prayer is a charity; if you remove obstacles in the road it is a charity”

• Thus, our effort to help others in need is a charity 
• The guidance we provide and the example we set for others is a charity 
• Kind words that help and comfort others is a charity 
• Not harming others is a charity

In another hadith, He (PBUH) said: “Every Muslim who plants a plant or a tree, and whatever eats of it, whether a bird or a human being or an animal, till it is written for him as a charity”.

Conclusion

Thus, where money circulates in society through (Sadaqah and charities), it also becomes a source of fulfilling many needs of the poor and destitute people. Thus, Quran says,

إن المصدقين والمصدقات وأقرضوا الله قرضا حسنا يضاعف لهم ولهم أجر كريم○ 

“Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity and (they who) have loaned Allah a goodly loan – it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward”. (57:18)

Read more about Hadith about Parents.