The Importance of Charity

A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ar-rajim. Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim.

Sadaqah. Can be interpreted to mean voluntary Charity. Not to be confused with Zakat which is obligatory. You can tell the faith of a person by what they are willing to give up for God.

One of the many important reasons of why we should be doing sadaqah, is for the day of judgement. When Allah will ask us "I gave you wealth, what did you do with it?". All our wealth is a gift from Allah. One that is there to test us. What are we doing with this gift? Are we putting it towards helping others and increasing their lives? Or just our own lives?

Your sadaqah will come and speak for you on the day of judgement. That really proves how important it is. It is also said that those who are secretive about their sadaqah, will be given shade on the day of judgement. Much needed shade from the hot sun that will be making us feel very uncomfortable.

Always give sadaqah. If you fear that giving in Allah's name will make you poor, Allah reminds us that he is the one who gives blessings and forgiveness. No one becomes poor by giving sadaqah. If you want job security oryour financial security to increase then remember that the best way for it to increase is by giving in the name of Allah SWT.

When you make a transaction, that transaction should be with Allah. "A decent word and forgiveness, is better than charity given which is followed by painful words" - Al Baqarah 263. We should always check our intention when giving sadaqah. Make sure our intention is not to make someone feel bad. You can give in a way that hurts people and that can completely erase your good deed.

Also make sure you are not giving to get something in return. You can't give to someone and then when they don't give anything back be like "look at what i did for them and they did nothing back for me". When you start expecting something in return for your charity it is then no longer a pure act. Plus if you are giving and expecting something back then you did it out of selfish desire in the first place so you never really helped them, you just helped yourself.

There are many different types of Sadaqah. Giving wealth, property, strength or even a smile for Allah SWT. Another type of sadaqah that is really useful to give is sadaqah al jariyah. Which literally means 'A charity ongoing'. This is something you can do that will continue after you pass away. For example help build a masjid or a school. These are really good ways to keep earning good deeds even when you're in the grave.

The prophet Muhammad PBUH was the most generous of people. He gave whatever he had and never said no to anyone. He never had anything extravagant, he slept on a straw mat, he would go months where we would just eat dates. He refrained a lot from worldly desires so he could give things up for the sake of Allah. Receiving gifts and then giving them away in Allah's name is one of the best ways to show Allah you love him more than the dunya.

So make sure when you're asked on the day of judgement how you spent your wealth. You have a nice big sadaqah to come and talk for you and show Allah how you chose to spend your life in dunya and make a good case for you to enter Jannah. I hope everyone reading this will be among the people of Jannah. Ameen.