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ZAKAH AND SADAQAH
Islam has
five pillars that are obligatory on every Muslim. These are as follows: to
recite the testimony of faith (known as shahadah), to pray salah (daily
prayers, performed five times a day), to fast during Ramadan, to give zakah
(obligatory charity/alms) and to make the pilgrimage.
The Prophet
Muhammad ﷺ said to his followers: "Invite the people to testify that none
has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah's Messenger ﷺ, and if
they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five
prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours), and if they obey you to
do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the
Zakah from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and
given to the poor." [Bukhari]
Although
the other four conditions are more individual, zakah has a social dimension.
This is because zakah helps elevate society in Islamic countries, and ensures
the social security of its citizens. It is a constant flow from the wealthy to
the poor. Thus the poverty of the poor is reduced, and the rich are protected
from excess wealth. It encourages compassion and collaboration between the poor
and the rich. It cleanses both the sins and the property of the rich. It saves
society from anarchy. It improves conditions in the material world, and clears
a path to the hereafter.
Zakah is
not assistance from the wealthy; poor people have rights over a portion of the
wealth of rich people.Zakah is obligatory, and people with sufficient wealth
have to pay it to the poor every year. But in Islam, helping each other is not
done only through zakah. Islam also strongly encourages charity of all kinds,
or sadaqah. Charity does not always have to be financial. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
said, "Every good deed is charity. Indeed among the good is to meet your
brother with a smiling face, and to pour what is left in your bucket into the
vessel of your brother."
Charity, in
its broadest sense, includes money, good deeds, kindness, favours and
assistance given to people and animals; even saying or doing something nice to
gladden someone’s heart is considered sadaqah. Charity can be thought of as an
umbrella term. Zakah is an obligatory form of charity. Another obligatory or strongly
recommended form of charity is sadaqah al-fitr, given to the needy every year
in the month of Ramadan. Beyond these compulsory forms of charity, other types
of sadaqah are voluntary.
This idea
of charity was reflected in the culture of Ottomans as well. During the time of
Ottoman, a type of structure called “charity stone” was built, especially in
the mosque complexes. People who wanted to help other people used to put some
money on these charity stones, and needy people would take money from them as
much as they needed. The importance and beauty of this practice is that people
would put or take money without anyone noticing them; thus any possible feeling
of arrogance of the giver and embarrassment of the taker was prevented.
Another
type of charity is called sadaqah al-jariyyah (ongoing charity). It means
charity that brings continued reward. In a hadith, deeds that are a constant
source of reward are listed as follows: "When a person dies, his deeds end
except for three. Sadaqah al-jariyah, knowledge that is benefited from, or a
righteous child who prays for him." [Dârimi, Mukaddime, 46]. The sadaqah
al-jariyyah mentioned in this hadith includes structures and venues that
benefit others, such as roads, bridges, water wells, mosques, soup kitchens for
the poor, hospitals and schools. For as long as people continue to benefit from
such places, those who established them or contributed to their construction
will continue to be rewarded for charity, both while alive and after their
death.
We would like
to conclude with these verses from the Qur'an:
“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 traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing
slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakāh; [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.” [Qur'an 2:177]
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