Part 5/8 Abu Maalik al-Asharee رضي الله عنه reported: The Mes | Ilm4all

Part 5/8

Abu Maalik al-Asharee رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said:
❝ . and charity is proof.❞
[Saheeh Muslim (223)]

Notes:
❝And charity is proof (of one's faith)❞, meaning: it is a proof of the true Faith of the Believers, in opposition to the hypocrites. A hypocrite abstains from giving charity because he does not truly believe in Allaah and the Last Day. So, whoever gives charity, then through his actions he is proving the sincerity of his Faith in Allaah and the Last Day. As Allaah تعالى said:

الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

{Who believe in al- Ghaib (the unseen) and perform al-Salaah, and spend out of what we have provided for them [i.e., give charity]}
[Surah al-Baqarah (2): 3]

As for the hypocrites and the Kuffaar, Allaah تعالى mentioned about them:

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنُطْعِمُ مَن لَّوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

{And when it is said to them: “Spend of that with which Allaah has provided you,” those who disbelieve say to those who believe: “Shall we feed those whom, if Allaah willed, He (Himself) would have fed? You are only in a plain error.”}
[Surah Yaaseen (36): 47]

And if the hypocrites and the Kuffaar were to spend, they mostly do it for showing-off:

وَالَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ رِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۗ وَمَن يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ لَهُ قَرِينًا فَسَاءَ قَرِينًا

{And (also) those who spend of their substance to be seen of men, and believe not in Allaah and the Last Day [they are the friends of Shaitan], and whoever takes Shaitan as a companion; then what a dreadful companion he has!}
[Surah al-Nisaa (4): 38]



Be prompt in giving out your Zakaah and Sadaqah

Have you ever contemplated why the dead would prefer “Sadaqah” as his choice of good deed over the other things if he were ever allowed to return to this world?! As Allaah تعالى mentioned:

فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ

{…and he would say: "My Lord! If only You would give me respite for a little while (i.e. return to the worldly life), then I should give Sadaqah (charity of my wealth)…}
[Surah al-Munaafiqoon (63): 10]

It is not mentioned that he would say: “so that I could fast”, or “I could pray”…

Perhaps the reason for mentioning the Sadaqah here is because of its great virtues and its lasting effects which the dead will see after his death, as the believers will be under the shade of their Sadaqah…

Uqbah bin Aamir رضي الله عنه said that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said:
❝Every person will be under the shade of his Sadaqah (charity) till the Judgment has been settled among the people.❞
[Musnad of Imaam Ahmad (17333), Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan (3310) and al-Haakim in his Mustadrak (1517) and Saheeh Ibn Khuzaimah (2431) and Shaikh al-Albaanee commented on Ibn Khuzaimah saying: “It is Saheeh as per the condition of Imaam Muslim” See also Takhreej Mushkilah al-Faqr (118) and Saheeh al-Jaami (4510) and Saheeh al-Targheeb (872) of Shaikh al-Albaanee]

Also the Prophet ﷺ said: ❝Seven people will be shaded by Allaah under His shade on the day when there will be no shade except His. They are: …a person who practices charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity)…❞
[Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (660, 1423, 6479, 6806) and Saheeh Muslim (2248)]