Charity

By Nidah Chatriwala, TMO

The holy month of Ramadan is special for many reasons. Acts of worship, fasting are not the only ways to earn good deeds. The power of giving charity in Ramadan offers numerous rewards for the believer.

Charity is one of the five pillars of Islam and Allah and His Messenger (s) encouraged Muslims to be generous as much as possible.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said,“Upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is the hand of a giver, and the lower hand is the hand of a beggar.” (Narrated by Bukhari in hadith no. 1429, Muslim in hadith no. 1033).

Besides, ALLAH is pleased by those who are generous promising great reward in there hereafter.

Would like to be generous, but not sure where to begin? Here’s a list of suggestions below:

●    Donate to local mosque to help advance Islamic education
●    Donate to humanitarian organizations to help those who are living in difficult settings
●    Volunteer time as a mentor at refugee classes
●    Visit elders in senior homes to uplift their spirits
●    Sponsor iftaar dinners at shelters or mosques
●    Volunteer time to gift wrap Eid gifts for underprivileged children
●    Offer skills as a youth tutor
●    Share Quranic and Hadith translations to family and friends to increase each others level of deen
●    Donate slightly used clothes to a clothing drive or help organize one
●    Smile, it’s charity as well.

Pick one act of charity from the list above, then commit to it. Show up on schedule. Speak up when something needs to be said. Step it up by spreading the word and getting others involved as well. Add being generous to your Ramadan checklist.

The Messenger of Allah (s) set a good example about a generous man and a miser as follows:

“The example of a miser and an alms-giver is like the example of two persons wearing two iron cloaks from their breasts to their collar bones; and when the alms-giver gives in charity, the cloak becomes capacious till it covers his whole body to such an extent that it hides his fingertips and covers his footprints (obliterates his tracks).And when the miser wants to spend, it (the iron cloak) sticks and (its) every ring gets stuck to its place, he tries to widen it, but it does not become wide.” (Narrated by Bukhari in hadith no. 1443).

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