Quran: Spending Wealth in Islam - Part 1 (Sadaqah and Infaq)

Introduction

All of us as good practising Muslims endeavour to attain righteousness. The Holy Quran has prescribed many paths to achieve this goal. One key tenet is to spend the wealth we have and which we dearly love in the ways Allah has prescribed.

You can never have extended virtue and righteousness unless you spend part of what you dearly love for the cause of God. God knows very well whatever you spend for His cause (3:92)

Believers, out of what We have given you, spend for the cause of Allah before the coming of the day when there will be no trading, no friendship, and no intercession. Those who deny the Truth are unjust (2:254)

And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good (2:195)

Rather on the day of judgement one would be punished for saving extra for themselves beyond their needs in this world. As Islam is a religion which supports the circulation of money in the society, hence it strongly condemns the accumulation of wealth.

And let not those who [greedily] withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them. Their necks will be encircled by what they withheld on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. And Allah , with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted (3:180)

And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good (2:195)

In Holy Quran, there are literally hundreds of verses emphasising the importance of spending money beyond one's needs, under the categories of

Sadaqah
Infaq
Zakah
Qarz e Hasanah & Infaq fe sabeel Lillah

This blog is based on our understanding of Allah's commandments in Holy Quran - the book of ultimate guidance. We would try to explain the difference in the above categories with Quranic references. It is then for the readers to think more about this topic and make decisions based on the evidence presented here.

Sadaqah & Infaq

Holy Quran is literally full of Ayahs on these topics. Before we explain the relationship of Infaq and Sadaqah you might like to watch and listen to the two parts video below with recitation and English translation of Ayah's 261 - 281 of Surah Al Baqarah. This is one beautiful collection of Allah's commandments on Infaq, Sadaqah and Riba (interest). Though we will not be discussing the topic of Riba in this blog. Even if you skip these videos, you will find most of these Ayahs described and referenced in this blog at various points,

Spending Wealth Part 1

Spending Wealth Part 2

Although the words Infaq and Sadaqah have been used interchangeably in the Holy Quran. On deeper analysis one can find that some categories of Infaq and Sadaqah overlap, while in other forms Infaq and Sadaqah are separate from each other as well. To understand the relationship between Infaq and sadaqah let us look at the Venn diagram below.

The overlap

Let us start with the overlap area first where, Allah has used the words Infaq and Sadaqah interchangeably.

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).

Allah has used the word Infaq for spending on parents as well as poor and needy as in 2:215

They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, "Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveller. And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it (2:215)

The orange area (Infaq)

But when we look at the above Ayah 2:215 in the context of 9:60 and 12:88 (below) it becomes clear to us that Infaq on parents does not fall into the category of Sadaqah while spending on needy and those 'asking for help' does. So some categories of Infaq are Sadaqah while others are not.

Alms (sadaqat) are only for the poor and the needy, and the officials (appointed) over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the way of Allah and the wayfarer; an ordinance from Allah; and Allah is knowing, Wise (9:60).

So when they entered upon Joseph, they said, "O 'Azeez, adversity has touched us and our family, and we have come with goods poor in quality, but give us full measure and be charitable to us. Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable (12:88).

Infaq literally means 'spending', Allah has used this terms in various contexts and each context is subtly different from the others at times. For example, spending money routinely to help others and spending money if we have vowed (promised to spend, if Allah blesses us with our wishes) both fall under the category of Infaq.

And whatever you spend of expenditures or make of vows - indeed, Allah knows of it. And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers (2:270).

The blue area (Sadaqah)

As one can see that Allah has mentioned some other categories of Sadaqah here including paying ransom for captives, for which to the best of our knowledge Allah has not used the term Infaq specifically. It can still be argued that the later categories can also be classified as Infaq as well, but then there are Ayahs like 2:280 where writing off somebody's debt is classed as Sadaqah. This category clearly distinguishes Sadaqah from Infaq as one is not spending anything in hand rather letting go what one was owed.

And if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him to repay, but if you remit it by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know (2:280)

In simple words we can say where there is a matter of WAIVING ones right it falls purely in the category of Sadaqah separate from Infaq. This is substantiated by a number of Ayahs in Holy Quran. Like waiving the right to blood money is also Sadaqah as in 4:92.

And never is it for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake - then the freeing of a believing slave and a compensation payment presented to the deceased's family [is required] unless they give [up their right as] charity. But if the deceased was from a people at war with you and he was a believer - then [only] the freeing of a believing slave; and if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty - then a compensation payment presented to his family and the freeing of a believing slave. And whoever does not find [one or cannot afford to buy one] - then [instead], a fast for two months consecutively, [seeking] acceptance of repentance from Allah. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise(4:92).

Similarly if one waives their right to Qasas is also Sadaqah as in 5:45.

And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution. But whoever gives [up his right as] charity, it is an expiation for him. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the wrongdoers(5:45).

Another category of Sadaqah is money spent as a compensation (FIDYAH) for an Obligatory Practice which one was unable to perform due to legitimate reasons. In 2:196 Allah has set the compensation for not being able to shave heads in the context of Hajj to be either fasting, sadaqah or sacrifice.

And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And when you are secure, then whoever performs 'umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj [offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home]. Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid al-haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty(2:196).

Allah Almighty has used the word Sadaqah for the money given by men to women at the time of their marriage (meher) as in 4:4.

And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease(4:4).

General principles and reward for Sadaqah

Sadaqah is one's personal act, and if somebody has not got the means to do Sadaqah it is a matter between that person and Allah, nobody should make fun of them as in 9:79.

Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment (9:79)

One is allowed to do Sadaqah openly but doing sadaqah secretly is better, irrespective of the way one does Sadaqah Allah takes away our sins in return for Sadaqat.

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).

Although, Allah has forbidden secret planning for most things but one is allowed to plan good deeds including Sadaqat in a group discreetly.

No good is there in much of their private conversation, except for those who enjoin charity or that which is right or conciliation between people. And whoever does that seeking means to the approval of Allah - then We are going to give him a great reward (4:114).

Allah has given us the example of Munafiqeen that they promised Allah to spend in Sadaqah if they were blessed with money 9:75, and when they were rewarded they did not do the Sadaqah 9:76. So Allah will severely punish them 9:79. In this there is the lesson for us to fulfil the promises of Sadaqat we make to Allah to seek his blessings.

And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah , [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous (9:75)."

But when he gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused (9:76).

On the contrary there is a great reward for those who do Sadaqah 33:35 and doing Sadaqah is a characteristic of salaheen 63:10. Those who do Sadaqat and spend in the way of Qarz-e-Hasanah (described later) will have a great reward (57:18).

Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward (33:35).

Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity and [they who] have loaned Allah a goodly loan - it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward (57:18).

At the same time, we can find Allah's commandment to Holy Prohpet PBUH (9:102-104) to take Sadaqat from those believers who had done some bad deeds as a way of cleansing them and a means of seeking forgiveness from Almighty. This lays down the principle that doing Sadaqah can take away our sins only if it is accepted by Allah.

And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful (9:102).

Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah 's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing (9:103).

Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful? (9:104)

All Sadaqat should be purely to gain righteousness and the persons doing Sadaqah should not remind the people they have helped, to cause injury or insult to those being helped.

O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury as does one who spends his wealth [only] to be seen by the people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. His example is like that of a [large] smooth stone upon which is dust and is hit by a downpour that leaves it bare. They are unable [to keep] anything of what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people (2:264).

Allah asks us to speak politely to the one who are in need of help, even if we are not in a position to help them at that point in time.

And if you [must] turn away from the needy awaiting mercy from your Lord which you expect, then speak to them a gentle word. (17:28)

Finally as already referenced above in 9:60 Sadaqat can be used legitimately for paying the officials running the charitable organisations or for the salary of those who collect the Sadaqat.

Let us now return to Infaq (the orange area in the Venn diagram above)

As mentioned in the introduction earlier, Allah has linked the attainment of righteousness with the spending of wealth in charity and for His causes. “Infaq” covers spending on parents, family, relatives, friends, neighbours, needy, poor, orphans and travellers.

In some places Allah has used a specific terms for spending of wealth particularly in spreading the religion, i.e 'Infaq fi Sabeel Allah' and 'Qarz e Hasanah' (literally; 'lending for a good reason') the later is discussed separately.

A common belief is that doing “Infaq” is not obligatory while Zakat is. There is some truth in this, but when we look at Quranic commandments we find out that personal acts of charity come before the establishment of a system of Zakat (which will be discussed in detail later). In the following verse of Surah Al Baqarah, we see that Allah has mentioned “spending of wealth” before establishing a system of Prayers and Zakat. This clearly emphasises on the importance of spending the wealth on people around us. It also confirms that Zakat is different from personal charitable acts of spending of wealth on people around us.

Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous (2:177)

Key Points from this Ayah are that general spending on good causes and 'Zakat' are two separate things. Commandment to spend comes even before Aaqeem us Salah wa Aa tuz Zakah. We will discuss in detail, why this is so in the section on Zakat but at this stage it should suffice to say that Infaq and sadaqaat are personal charitable acts and Zakat is a system of taxation set-up by the Islamic state.

How much Infaq one should do?

They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they should spend. Say, "The excess [beyond needs]." Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought (2:219)

Allah, the most beneficent and merciful, has left it open for us to decide what is our need and what is in excess of our needs. Allah has not given us any fixed figure as needs change with the time and circumstances, and people’s needs vary from each other, and Allah doesn't want any hardships for us. Whole life is a test, so is this question, what are our reasonable needs and what falls under extravagance? Allah has described excessive spending as a satanic act. Each one of us would be answerable to Allah on the day of judgement whether we spent too much on ourselves or did we strike the right balance to do Infaq while justly fulfilling our own needs first.

Children of Adam, dress well when attending the mosques, eat and drink but do not be excessive for God does not love those who are excessive (in what they do) (7:31)

Do not be a wasteful spender. Squanderers are the brothers of satan. Satan was faithless to his Lord (17:27)

Hence, One should spend any money in excess of their needs in the way prescribed by Allah and avoid wasteful spending on themselves.

Under the category of Infaq, who should we spend on?

Charity begins at home. Sometimes, while spending on the needy and poor to please Allah, we forget the needs and rights of our immediate family members. At other times, by mistake, we either take our family for-granted and undermine their requirements or we think that spending on other people has got priority over spending on our own family. In the above verse of Surah Al Baqrah, Allah has described the hierarchy of beneficiaries and we notice that Allah has mentioned parents and relatives before orphans, needy and the travellers. This verse shows the importance of spending wealth on our parents and family, and it is important that we spend our wealth in the order of priority. The whole idea is to prevent the accumulation of wealth in few hands, and to promote the flow of money in society so that everyone (including deprived, oppressed and needy) get benefit from it.

Principles of Infaq

One should do Infaq purely to please Allah and attain purity, and not to gain favours or rewards in this world, as they will be rewarded on the day of judgement.

[He] who gives [from] his wealth to purify himself (92:18)

They do not expect any reward (92:19)

Except the pleasure of their Lord, the Most High (92:20)

He surely will be pleased (when he will enter Paradise) (92:21)

Not upon you, [O Muhammad], is [responsibility for] their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills. And whatever good you [believers] spend is for yourselves, and you do not spend except seeking the countenance of Allah. And whatever you spend of good - it will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged (2:272)

After spending on people one should not make the recipient obliged or insulted, such people will be rewarded by Allah Almighty.

Those who spend their property for the cause of God and do not make the recipient feel obliged or insulted shall receive their reward from God. They will have no fear nor will they be grieved (2:262)

Infaq should be purely for Allah and not to show-off for any worldly reasons.

Those who spend their property out of a desire to show off and not because of their belief in God and the Day of Judgment, and (lastly) those who choose Satan for a friend; what an evil friend! (4:38)

At the same time Allah does not strictly ask us to hide our charitable acts and we are allowed to do charity openly as well. We believe that this is so that others around us also get motivated in doing charitable work.

Those who spend their property for the cause of God, any time during the day or night, in public or in private, will receive their reward from their Lord. There will be no fear for them nor will they grieve (2:274)

· Allah asks us to spend moderately. He asks us not to be extravagant in spending on ourselves and others. The concept is to spend sensibly so that we ourselves don’t end up in despair, destitute or poverty.

Who in their spending are neither extravagant nor stingy but maintain moderation (25:67)

And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully (17:27)

And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe poverty (17:29)

Outcomes of Infaq

There is a great reward for those who do Infaq.

And the likeness of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah's Pleasure while they in their ownselves are sure and certain that Allah will reward them (for their spending in His Cause), is the likeness of a garden on a height; heavy rain falls on it and it doubles its yield of harvest. And if it does not receive heavy rain, light rain suffices it. And Allah is All-Seer of (knows well) what you do (2:265)

Allah promises great reward for Infaq on the day of judgement as well

Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward (57:7)

Say, Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it] for him. But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers (34:39)

So fear Allah as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend; it is better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful (64:16).

Punishment for stringiness (not spending the wealth)

Islam teaches us the lessons of generosity and open-heartedness. It condemns collecting of wealth and not spending it in the prescribed ways. Allah has promised punishment for those who do not spend wealth and those who ask others not to spend as well.

Those who are miserly and ask others to be stringy (as well) and hide what Allah has bestowed upon them of His blessings. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment (4:37)

[Those] who are stingy and ask other people to be stingy (as well). And whoever turns away - then indeed, Allah is the free of need, the Praiseworthy (57:24).

Allah knows that humans love their wealth, and Almighty dispels the false belief that money will stay with them forever, rather the fire of hell is promised for those who collect wealth and keep counting it.

Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it (104:2)

He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal (104:3)

No! He will surely be thrown into the crushing fire (104:4)

Quran

Saturday, 8 August 2015

Spending Wealth in Islam - Part 1 (Sadaqah and Infaq)