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Etiquettes of charity – Tarawih reflections 11

Etiquettes of charity - Tarawih reflections 11
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March 20, 2024
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Allah dedicates two and a half pages of Surat al-Baqarah to the verses of infaaq, spending, ayahs 261-274. In fact, in the whole Quran, there are more ayahs encouraging people to spend in the way of Allah than commanding people to pray.

This is because it’s very difficult for people to give away their money. One of the first things that happened after the Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ death was that some tribes decided they would not pay zakat anymore. They didn’t say they would stop praying, or anything else, but it was zakat that they abandoned. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) ended up going to war with them. This is how difficult it can be to spend.

These ayahs of Surat al-Baqarah are all about the etiquettes of spending, the intention you should have, and the reward for it. Allah gives the example of the grain that sprouts 700 grains:

مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِینَ یُنفِقُونَ أَمۡوَ ٰ⁠لَهُمۡ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتۡ سَبۡعَ سَنَابِلَ فِی كُلِّ سُنۢبُلَةٍ مِّا۟ئَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَٱللَّهُ یُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن یَشَاۤءُۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَ ٰ⁠سِعٌ عَلِیمٌ

The example of those who spend in the way of Allah is just like a grain that produced seven ears, each ear having a hundred grains, and Allah multiplies (the reward) for whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing. (Al-Baqarah, 2:261)

Thus Allah will increase the provision of the one who spends for His sake.

The generosity of Uthman

The Prophet ﷺ was always encouraging people to spend for Allah. Scholars have commented that these verses were revealed in reference to the actions of ‘Uthman and Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with them) during the preparation for the Battle of Tabuk.

This battle has been referred to as the ‘army of difficulty’, as the Muslim army had no money. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged people to spend, and this was the famous story when Abu Bakr came with his entire fortune, Umar gave half of his money, Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf gave 2000 dirhams, which was half of all his wealth and Uthman gave 1000 dinars and 300 camels.

In response to Uthman’s generosity, the Prophet ﷺ said,

‘From this day on, nothing will harm ‘Uthman regardless of what he does.’ [Tirmidhi]

In fact, there are still waqfs under Uthman’s name in Madinah and Makkah that are still making money today, and all of that reward over so many centuries is all still going to him.

The etiquettes of giving

The Prophet ﷺ said

‘The upper hand is better than the lower hand; the upper hand is the giving hand, and the lower hand is the hand that asks.’ [Bukhari]

But the giving has to be for the sake of Allah, not to show off or to get likes on social media. The Quran also says,

‘Do not follow up [your] charity by reminding recipients of the favour, or causing them offence.’ [2:262]

Do not ruin your sadaqa by constantly reminding the person that you have helped, or employing hurtful words to make yourself feel superior to them. There will be no reward for spending like this.

The etiquettes are more important than the giving itself. You may give a hundred thousand pounds with the wrong etiquette and get no reward. Meanwhile someone could give £1 with the right intention, and Allah will multiply it beyond their wildest dreams.

The reward for giving is multiplied

The Quran and hadith both say that for every good deed, the reward is multiplied by at least ten. But this can go up to one hundred times, one thousand, five thousand… There is no limit, but it depends on the intention and the scenario.

The point is that giving sadaqa will not diminish your wealth, but increase it. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,

“Wealth does not diminish by giving Sadaqah (charity).” [Muslim]

This is the special thing about infaaq – Allah will multiply your efforts manifold. He is the most generous, beyond our imagination.

This is why the Prophet ﷺ encouraged us to spend in charity with no fear of poverty. We need to train ourselves and our children to give for Allah’s sake.

Give in secret

Something else mentioned in these ayahs is secret sadaqa.

‘To give charity publicly is good, but to give to the poor privately is better for you, and will absolve you of your sins.’ [2:271]

This is because giving in secret means we avoid the risk of showing off and hypocrisy. Allah talks about ‘those who give their wealth in charity by night or by day.’ [2:274] He is talking about giving away from people’s sight.

Secret sadaqa is better than public sadaqa, but both are accepted with the right intention. We ask Allah to enable us to be among those who spend for His sake with the right intention and etiquette.

Based on the reflections of Shaykh Haytham Tamim

Transcribed by Hana Khan

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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