THE BEST ALMS:
In traditions, there
are certain Alms, which have been regarded as the best and
superior in the sight of Allah (SWT). Some of them are as follows:
Unconditional
Sadaqah:
The Holy Prophet (saww)
was once asked,
“Which type of Sadaqah
is the best?”
He (saww) replied,
“That
Sadaqah which you give whilst you are still healthy, (by nature)
tight-fisted (possessive over wealth), hoping to remain alive (forever)
and you fear poverty.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
In other words, the
best Sadaqah
is that
which one gives at a time when one is still healthy and possessive over
one’s wealth due to the hope of living forever in this world and
averting poverty.
Many of us are
concerned about our future in this worldly life. It is for this reason
that we work hard and accumulate wealth, which becomes difficult to part
with. In addition, some of us also think that
Sadaqah
should only be given
when we feel necessary such as to safeguard from illnesses and
calamities.
Whilst it is true that
Sadaqah
protects us
from all such things, the best
Sadaqah
is that, which is
given purely to earn the pleasure of Allah (SWT), and its advantages
will automatically follow.
Sadaqah
Spent on
Poor Relatives:
Many of us consider
spending of
Sadaqah on
relatives as wrong and believe that such an act is disgraceful. Contrary
to our belief and thinking, Islam encourages us to do the same.
It is reported from
Imam ‘Ali bin al-Husayn (a.s.) that the Holy Prophet (saww) has said,
“Begin
your charity at home. By this I mean that you spend on your father, on
your mother, on your sister and on your brother. Thereafter, follow the
sequence of those who are nearer, and then nearer.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
He (saww) has also
said,
“If the
near ones are needy then the Sadaqah can not be given to anyone else.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
He (saww) has also
said,
“The best
Sadaqah is the one which you spend on your sister, or on your daughter
who has been returned to you (divorced), and she has no one save you who
can support her.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
There are two
advantages of giving
Sadaqah
to one’s poor
relatives:
Firstly, it will
increase in the weight of good deeds when the deeds shall be put on the
weighing scale in the Hereafter. Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) has
said,
“The
first thing that shall be put in the weighing scale of a servant (on the
day of Judgement) will be his charity on his relatives.”
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
And secondly, the
rewards of whatever one spends on his poor relatives shall be doubled.
The Holy Prophet (saww) has said,
“Verily
the reward of every Sadaqah that is spent on poor relatives shall be
doubled.” (Kanzul-‘Ummaal)
To be
continued………………………….
Mulla Mujahidali
Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk