Dispensing Charities - How & Where

 

By the grace of The LORD, here is a fresh approach on CHARITIES. In HIS Glorious Book, we find many terms the gains and possessions like money, material, jewelry etc liable of charities. For such different types of gains, different terms like ZAKAT, SADAQAAT, GHANEEMAT, ANFAAL, FAI are used in Holy Qur'an. The first two terms are frequently used in The Holy Book while the third and fourth terms occur in Surah 8 mostly. The Surah 59 deals with the last term.

The Muslims commonly know what are Zakat and Sadaqaat. Zakah is obligatory on every Muslim, male or female who has the surplus wealth. It is an obligation of ALLAH on him/her. Sadaqah may be voluntarily or when one is not able to fulfill his promises, covenants, swearing or committed some sort of errors etc. Ghaneemat may come personally or collectively, while Anfaal and Fai come in the result of a collective effort called 'War in the cause of ALLAH'. Thus the last two relate to gains and war-remainings. I will not discuss all of them here, but rather concentrate on Zakat and Sadaqaat, its usages, distribution and proper utilization.

Let it be clear once again that our RABB has ordained the faithfuls to pay Zakat on earnings, wealth, savings, stocks, live-stock, harvest, and in ornamental minerals like gold and silver one is possessing. As per different authentic Hadeeses, it is 2.5% per annum. While on edibles or items coming out of agricultural activities and animal husbandry, the ratio and timings are different, described in Hadees. It therefore implies that whatever wealth ALLAH has provided to one of HIS creature, he/she can utilize 97.5% of it and rest 2.5% is for ALLAH. Items other than Zakat and Sadaqaat have little relevance for general public as all are not involved in animal husbandry or doing agriculture. So to make the matter concise, I am touching only two items - Zakat and Sadaqaat. But what I want to remind all the people that this 2.5% ratio of Zakat is the minimum, one has to pay for the pleasure of The Original Provider, ALLAH, Who provided all these to one of HIS servants. In all such cases, one should not stand on the border line but to be on the safer side of Akhirah, hereafter, he should go to a reasonable limit.

Let me explain it with an example. Look, Zohar Namaz is obligatory (Farz) on us and out of all the rakaats, only 4 are Farz. But every one of us does not like to stand on the border line and offers some more rakaats of Sunnat and Nafils. While in regard to fasting (Roza), usually we keep ourselves on the border line seldom observing other Nafil Rozas throughout the year. We are even smarter on Zakat and firmly stick to the border line of 2.5% which is the minimum and a must (Farz). Many people feel it like a tax and plan for it’s saving. Personally, I think, to plan for the saving of Zakat must be an unpleasant act in the sight of ALLAH our RABB Who is the Real Provider of all kinds of wealth and comforts.

Now coming to the core, where this amount of Zakat and Sadaqat should be spent and who are eligible for it. There are a few Ayaat in the Qur'an but I will mention here the fundamental one which is in Chapter 9, Verse 60: "The Sadaqat (all kinds of charities including Zakat) given for the sake of ALLAH are meant only for the poor and the needy, and those who are incharge thereof, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and for the freeing of human beings from the bondage, and for those who are over burdened with debts, and (for every struggle) in ALLAH's cause and for the wayfarer (public utilities). This is an ordinance from ALLAH and ALLAH is All-knowing, Wise."

 So there are 8 items eligible for its utilization. Look, the coverage is vast! Now one needs to locate the most eligible ones. Let us go to the Qur'an for help. Here it is in Chapter 4, Verse 36: "And worship Allah Alone and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside HIM. And do good (Ahsan) unto your parents, and near people of you (by blood relation and place), and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbor near to you, and the neighbor even stranger, and the person sitting beside you, and the wayfarer (public utility items useful to all passers-by) and to your sub-ordinates. Verily ALLAH does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner."

Now it must be very clear that who deserves the charities and its sequence of preference. By relation and by location, one who is nearer to us physically, emotionally and relatively is of course, more eligible. Now many other questions crop up. For example, we know that at many places in the Holy Qur'an, our RABB commands us to take care of orphans but where is the color, cast, creed, gender, family, tribe, nation, religion of orphan described? In my opinion, he/she may be the child of my enemy, but I have to do good to them as they fall in the category of orphans. You know well that The Holy Book in such matters does not discriminate. So where arises the question of religion of the orphan?

It is time to ponder what is our relation with every other person of the world. Very firstly he/she is the off-spring of Hazrat Adam and Mother Eve. By this relation he is my brother/sister in humanity. Please refer the Qur’an, first Verse of Chapter 4: "O mankind, be conscious of your RABB who has created you out of one single living cell and out of it created its pair, and spread by this single pair, multitude of men and women ... be conscious of the blood relations ..."