Charity In Islam

Bismillah Hir Rehman Ir Raheem
Start In the Name Of Allah The Most Beneficent The Most Merciful

Like us on facebook:

---

If you disclose your charitable expenditures, they are good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you, and He will remove from you some of your misdeeds [thereby]. And Allah , with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted. [2:271]

Charity is not just recommended by Islam, it is required of every financially stable Muslim.  Giving charity to those who deserve it is part of Muslim character and one of the Five Pillars of Islamic practice.
Every wealthy adult Muslim must give 2.5% of his or her wealth in charity every year.
Allah says: "O you who believe! Spend out of what We have given you" [2:254].
This is the least charity a Muslim must give every year. For a Muslim, charity is given to stave off miserliness and to draw nearer to Allah, if instead the donor seeks fame, then the act of charity becomes worthless. Giving in secret is often better for the donor since it protects against insincerity, and it is better for the recipient as it maintains his dignity.

Why charity?
Allah says in Quran
"Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan [spend in way of Allah] so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned." [2:245]

Merit of charity
"The charity of those who expend their wealth in the Way of Allah may be likened to a grain of corn, which produces seven ears and each ear yields a hundred grains. Likewise Allah develops manifold the charity of anyone He pleases, for He is All-Embracing, All-Wise." [2:261]

The command of charity comes after the commandment of Quran
"And be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity: and whatever good ye send forth for your souls before you ye shall find it with Allah; for Allah sees well all that ye do." [2:110]

Spending in Charity
" And spend [in the way of Allah ] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous." [63:10]

Like prayer, which is both an individual and communal responsibility, "zakat" expresses a Muslim’s worship of and thanksgiving to God by supporting those in need.  In Islam, the true owner of things is not man, but God.  Acquisition of wealth for its own sake, or so that it may increase a man’s worth, is condemned.  Mere acquisition of wealth counts for nothing in the sight of God.  It does not give man any merit in this life or in the hereafter.  Islam teaches that people should acquire wealth with the intention of spending it on their own needs and the needs of others.
Thus, a Muslim should spend on the poor and needy around him and enjoying what is good. Neither Jewish nor Christian scriptures praise slave manumission by raising it to worship. Indeed, Islam is unique in world religions in requiring the faithful to financially help slaves win their freedom and has raised the manumission of a slave to an act of worship - if it is done to please God.

Giving charity at young age
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2860  Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘A man giving a dirham as sadaqah (charity) during his life is better than giving one hundred dirhams as charity at the moment of his death.’

Virtue of charity
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1527 Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Charity obliterates sins just as water extinguishes fire.’

Charity saves
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.793 Narrated by Adi bin Hatim
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, "Save yourself from the (Hell) Fire even with half a date (to be given in charity); and if you do not find a half date, then with a good pleasant word."

Apart from zakat, the Quran and Hadeeth (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him) also stress sadaqah, or voluntary almsgiving, which is intended for the needy.  The Quran emphasizes feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping those who are in need, and the more one helps, the more God helps the person, and the more one gives, the more God gives the person.  One feels he is taking care of others and God is taking care of him.

Not only in Islam charity is obligatory but is also an act of worship and commandment of Allah, thus to narrow the gap between rich and poor.
Allah knows the best