Spending for Allah

Whenever we give anything “fee sabeelil-Laah,” in the way of Alláh, we remove any taint of pride, selfish egotism and vanity. This is real sincerity, al ikhlaas, in giving for Allah’s sake. A good test of sincerity is to give secretly, anonymously, so that ‘your left hand does not know what your right hand has given.’ That’s one way of ensuring that your intentions are absolutely sincere to Allah.

Remember that when you spend your money, your time, your talent sincerely in the service of others, seeking no thanks or praise or reward from them, then you are showing your gratitude, your faith and trust in Allah. You know that Allah will recognise and reward you as Allah pleases. You have now stepped up beyond mere formal worship. You are on the road towards ihsaan, excellence. You are beginning to worship Allah as if you can see Allah right there in front of you. And you know that even if you cannot see Allah, the Allah always sees you. This was taught to us by the Hadith of Jibreel (Gabriel). Please look it up.

In Ayatul Birr, the Verse of Righteousness, (2:v177) Allah reminds us,

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward East or West. But it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Messengers. To spend of your substance out of love for Him, for your family, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask and for setting free slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and to practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the righteous, people of truth the Allah-fearing. “

In one beautiful, sweeping and inspiring verse, we are told precisely, what “righteousness” really means. The truly righteous Muslim, is not one who simply faces east or west in ritual prayer. It is one who whose whole life has been dedicated to the service of Alláh, and taking good care of all Alláh’s creatures. A true believer’s heart is full of fear and reverence and respect for Allah. These are the qualities of Al Muttaqee, one whose heart is full of taqwa.

Brothers and Sisters, we find that in no less than 18 places The Holy Qur’án uses the expression: “..aqeemus salaata, wa aatuz zakaat” “Establish the prayer, and practice regular charity.”

Why does Allah mention Prayer and Charity in the same sentence so often? The one is a duty we owe to Alláh, the other is a duty we owe to our fellow human beings. The two complete each other. Prayer without active charity would be an empty ritual, and charity that is not done out of love and gratitude to our Generous Life-Giver would have the wrong motive, and be unworthy of Allah.

We must “spend out of our substance, out of Love for Him…” and for that reason alone. What about those who deliberately refuse to spend their wealth, their time, their talents and skills, in a way that pleases Alláh? They range from the frugal, cautious with money types to those who are downright selfish, stingy, miserly, niggardly. What has the Qur’án to say about them?

In the last verse of Sura Muhammad [47:38] we are warned that selfishness, niggardliness, is the work of shaytaan:

“Behold you are those invited to spend (of your substance) in the way of Allah: but among you are some that are selfish. Thos who are selfish are only harm their own souls. Allah is free of all wants and it is you that are needy. If you turn back (from the Path) He will replace you with another people; then they would not be like you! “

Selfish people do not have enough faith and trust in Alláh. They think that they are protecting themselves from hardship and need. Is Alláh not the best of protectors? But their selfishness only harms their own souls. Until they learn to trust Alláh, they will not be able to build strong faith, Imán. Their lack of faith makes them easy prey for Shaytán, as we see in Sura al Baqara, v268:

“The Evil One threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promises you His forgiveness and bounties and Allah cares for all and He knows all things.”

Khalil Gibran wrote:

“Is not the fear of thirst, when your own well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?”

Brothers and sisters, let us beware of Shaytán and his many ways of undermining our iman . If we try hard with sincerity, Alláh will strengthen the faith in our hearts, so we do not let the fear of poverty prevent us from spending in Alláh’s way. We are promised in Sura Al-Imrán v92:

“By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give (freely) of that which you love; and whatever you give, truly, Allah knows it well.”

And, in another beautiful metaphoric verse, we are asked in Sura Al-Baqara v245:

“Who is he that will loan to Allah a beautiful loan which Allah will double unto his credit and multiply many times? It is Allah that gives (you) poverty or plenty and to Him shall be your return.”

This metaphor is repeated no less than 6 times in The Holy Qur’án. Again, we are promised in Sura Al Baqara v277:

“Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day in secret and in public have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.”

Dear Sisters and Brothers, beware of Shaitaan’s traps. Trust Allah. Have faith and be generous with what Allah has entrusted to your care.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the world of mathematics, you can add, subtract, divide and multiply in precise quantities. When you give something away, you have less. You cannot increase what you have, by giving it away. That’s the world of mathematics. But, in the spiritual world, things work very differently. In the spiritual world, the more you give, the richer you become, the more you prosper. Whether you give of your wealth, or your time, or your love, your care and wisdom, you can never impoverish yourself by giving generously. Dear brothers and sisters: remember that. Don’t mix the rules of mathematics with the rules of Imán.

When a young couple have their first child, they are so full of love and affection, that they may well ask, how could they possibly have enough love left for another child? And yet, when Alláh gives them a second child, they find that their capacity for love has doubled. If Alláh gave them 10 children, they would find that their capacity for love would increase tenfold. This isn’t the laws of Mathematics. It’s how the spiritual world works. This is what happens when we spend ‘fee sabeelil-laah.” When we give generously out of the good things, which Alláh provided for us, we increase our true wealth, our good deeds. We don’t decrease it. This truth is beautifully described in Sura Al Baqara, v 262:

 “The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: it grows seven ears and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whoever He pleases; and Allah cares for all and He knows all things.”

Let us pray to Alláh, that he should remove from our hearts, the fear of poverty and the selfishness that prevents us from giving freely of the bounties, which He has entrusted to us. May Alláh strengthen our hearts, so that we not only pay the minimum for Zakát, fitra’ and sadaqa. But, let us really want to spend as much as we can, on good causes. Better still, let us even seek out opportunities to spend our money, our time, our education, our experience of life, for the benefit of others who are less fortunate than we are. O Alláh, help us to cleanse our hearts and remove every unworthy motive, so that every time we spend out of Your bounty, we are driven purely out of love and gratitude to You. O Alláh, please accept all our efforts to purify ourselves and our families and our possessions. Say, Ameen!

Dear Sisters and brothers, I don’t have to remind you that so many people are suffering extreme hardship in many parts of the world: The Rohinya in Burma, the Palestinians in Gaza, the people of Yemen and Syria. They need our help, our money and our prayers. Give generously as Allah has been generous with you.