Sadaqa as a mean of Salvation

Sadaqah as a Means of Salvation

Khutba by Joe Bradford

Opening

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except while you are Muslims."

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer."

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will correct for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly achieved a great achievement."

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die unless you are Muslims. O you people, fear your Lord who created you from one soul, and created from her her husband, and spread among them many men and women.

O you who believe, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.

Allah is whom we praise, we praise Him and we thank Him, and we seek refuge in Him from the evil of our own souls and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever He guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide to the truth. And I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship but God Almighty alone, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The best of speech is Allah's speech. The best of guidance is Muhammad's guidance (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). And the worst of affairs are those which are newly introduced. And everything newly introduced is an innovation, and every innovation in faith goes astray. And everything which goes astray leads to the hellfire, and that which was promised will come to pass. And there is nothing that can be done to avert it.

The Hadith of Gabriel's Three Requests

In a hadith that is narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih, as well as Ibn Hibban and At-Tabarani, from Abdullah Ibn Umar as well as Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنهما - radiya Allahu anhuma) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was once standing on his minbar, and he said, "Ameen, Ameen, Ameen." The people said, "O Messenger of Allah, why did you just say Ameen, Ameen, Ameen?" - Ameen being the Arabic term for "O Allah, accept" - Amen.

In answer to a prayer, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: "The angel Gabriel came to me, and he said, 'Say Ameen,' so I said, 'Ameen.'" He then said (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam)

"Whoever catches Ramadan and is not forgiven, and then dies, then may Allah take him far away, say Ameen," so I said, "Ameen."

"And whoever you are mentioned in the presence of, and they do not send salawat upon you, and then they are not forgiven and they die, then may Allah carry them far away, say Ameen," so I said, "Ameen."

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) in this hadith, was informed that catching part of Ramadan was integral, or was one of the things that we can do to be forgiven of our sins in this Ramadan.

The Pillars of Islam

The fast of Ramadan is integral to the pillars of Islam. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar:

[Reference: Bukhari 8, Muslim 16]

"Islam was built upon five: The testimony that there is no one worthy of worship but Allah, and that I am the messenger of Allah. Establishment of prayer, giving of zakah, pilgrimage to the house and fasting in Ramadan."

Ramadan is one of those times of the year where most of us try to do more than just the basics. We can give our zakah at any time of the year, but we try to give it during Ramadan because we know that rewards in Ramadan are multiplied by 70 to 700 times. We try to pray more during Ramadan. We try to give more optional sadaqah during Ramadan.

Charity in the Quran from the Earliest Revelation

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) has made these things part and parcel of the acts of expression of faith since the earliest time of revelation. Since the earliest time in the period or in the time when he (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was in Mecca.

:says Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala)

"Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish the prayer and give their charity, then they will have a reward with their Lord, and they shall have no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve or worry."

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) in the earliest revelation, he said:

"And give your family their rights, and the poor, and the refugee, the wayfarer. And do not waste wastefully. Indeed, those who are wasteful are brothers of shayateen. And shaytan was one who showed ingratitude to his Lord."

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) here shows us that being wasteful is in not giving. Being wasteful is in not caring for our families. Being wasteful is in not taking care of our neighbors. Being wasteful is not taking care of the poor. Being wasteful is not taking care of the wayfarer and the refugee and those who have less. Being wasteful is in hoarding our money, not in giving it away.

:said (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) He

[Reference: Tirmidhi 2029]

"Wealth was never depleted because of charity."

Quality vs. Quantity in Good Deeds

So, while we are completing the month of our fasting, and hoping that we can get that one moment of Ramadan in which we are forgiven, ask yourself this: Will you be forgiven because of your fast alone? Will you be forgiven because of your salah alone? Will you be forgiven because of your charity alone?

Or can you try to take a moment of your Ramadan and catch the forgiveness and the mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) by doing all three, by accentuating one of those? You never know what act it is that you will do that will earn you Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala)'s favor.

Many times, we leave Ramadan thinking that we won't be forgiven, thinking that we didn't do enough, not understanding that it is not the quantity of the things that we do, but many times, it is the quality of the things that we do.

Is quantity helpful? Yes. When you want to corner a market, what do you try to do? Flood it with volume, which is why a man came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and he said:

"I love you and I want to be with you in the next life." The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:

[Reference: Muslim 489]

"Help me, help you, by making lots of sujood (prostrations)."

But does that mean that a person can't come and do one act and be forgiven? A man saw a dog on the street, who was starving, who was dying of thirst, and so he took his boot off, dipped it down a well, and brought up water, and gave that dog something to drink, and because of that, was given admission into Jannah. One good deed. All it takes is one good deed.

We have a few days left in Ramadan for us to be able to do that one good deed. Fasting is a given every day. Qiyam, InshaAllah Ta'ala, and prayer is a given every day.

But one thing that we leave off until the end of Ramadan, almost yearly, and we have a lot of questions about, is giving Sadaqah and giving Zakah. Is giving charity, whether it may be optional, or whether it may be obligatory. It's important that we understand the obligation, and the reason why we should be giving in this month.

Understanding Zakah as a Divine Command

: (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) tells the Prophet (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala)

"Take from their wealth a duty." Many times we translate the word Sadaqah as charity. No, it's a duty. Because it tests the truthfulness, the honesty, and the duty that one of us has to their fellow man. [Take from their wealth a charity] by which you purify them and cleanse them, and then pray for them. Indeed, your prayers are a source of peace for them.

Which is why from the etiquettes of Zakah is that when you give Zakah or when someone takes it from you, that a du'a is made for the one giving as well as for the one who is receiving.

Notice that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) before this, He mentions in Surah At-Tawbah:

When describing those people to take Zakah from, and perhaps this describes most of us: "And there are another people who realize their sins. They mixed some good deeds with some bad deeds. Perhaps Allah will forgive them. Perhaps Allah will forgive them, and indeed Allah is most forgiving and most merciful. Take from their wealth a charity, a duty to purify them."

We Are the Needy Ones

So when we give our Zakah, we're not giving it because of the needy. We're giving it because we are needy. Al-Fudayl ibn lyad (رحمه الله - rahimahullah) he used to say:

"How amazing are the poor. They carry our charity for us to the scales of justice on the Day of Judgment."

When we give, we're not doing the poor a favor. We're not doing the community a favor. We're not doing the projects that are in need a favor. We're having a favor done to us. We're having the ability to fulfill an

entire pillar of Islam.

We're having the ability to rid ourselves of the excess and the filth and the mistakes and the sins that we've committed, not only in our interactions in life, but even in our earnings. You may say to yourself, "But I have a halal business. I work in an area that I don't involve myself with any haram, alhamdulillah."

Yes, alhamdulillah. But do you at times cut corners? Do you at times wink or nod or tell what they call a white lie in order to get ahead? It happens. It happens.

So giving your zakah purifies your wealth of even those mistakes as giving your zakat al-fitr at the end of Ramadan purifies your fast of those mistakes.

The Eight Categories of Zakah Recipients

"[Zakah expenditures are only] to the poor and to the destitute and to those working for its collection and distribution and to soften the hearts and to free the slaves and to free people from debt and in the path of Allah and for the wayfarer or the refugee - an obligation from Allah, and Allah is all-knowledgeable and all-wise."

When trying to find out who you should give your zakat to this month, who you should give your sadaqah to this month, you should be very cognizant that they fit into a category that directly is related to one of these categories:

1. الْفُقَرَاءِ - The Poor

They may be poor, working with those who have absolutely nothing

2. الْمَسَاكِين - The Destitute

They may be miskeen, working with those who have some wealth but they need help to get back on their feet

3. الْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا - Those Working for Collection and Distribution

They may be working to collect and distribute. Why is this category there? It's so that we make zakah a stand-alone self-sufficient system where we don't have to overexert ourselves to be able to fulfill that obligation and we can employ those who are in need to be able to help those who are in need

4. الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ - Softening the Hearts

And in softening the hearts. Softening the hearts includes three types of people:

• Softening the hearts includes those who are obstinate to Islam to be able to tell them about Islam and so they soften their position

• Softening the hearts means to tell people who are accepting of Islam but they haven't accepted it yet

• Softening the hearts is to protect the hearts of those who have Islam but their Islam is at danger because of ignorance, because of age or because of circumstance

Some of the programs that go on here at the Dawah Center that fit into this category are the educational programs, the school trips, the field trips - hundreds of students coming from schools, high schools, colleges across the city to be educated about Islam happen here for this purpose, happen here to make Islam something normal for the people.

Why is that important? It's important because once Islam becomes something that doesn't make people's ears ring as soon as they hear it, then when their relative accepts Islam or their best friend accepts Islam or they have a Muslim neighbor, it's not something that they're afraid of, it's not something that's odd to them anymore. Normalization of Islam is one of the key objectives of the educational programs that happen here at the Dawah Center.

5. فِي الرِّقَابِ - Freeing the Slaves

And in emancipation, freeing the slaves. You might ask yourselves how is this even applicable? Still happens in the world. There's still slavery in the world. Indeed there's