How The Almsgiving Should Be Spent

 

How to spend in the Way of God (L-341)

وَما أَنفَقتُم مِن نَفَقَةٍ أَو نَذَرتُم مِن نَذرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعلَمُهُ ۗ وَما لِلظّالِمينَ مِن أَنصارٍ270.  إِن تُبدُوا الصَّدَقاتِ فَنِعِمّا هِيَ ۖ وَإِن تُخفوها وَتُؤتوهَا الفُقَراءَ فَهُوَ خَيرٌ لَكُم ۚ وَيُكَفِّرُ عَنكُم مِن سَيِّئَاتِكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ خَبيرٌ271.

270.  Wa  maaa  ‘anfaqtum-min-nafaqatin  ‘aw  nazartum-min-nazrin-  fa-‘innAllaaha  ya’-lamuh.  Wa  maa  liz-zaalimiina  min  ‘ansaar. 271.  ‘In-tubdus-Sadaqaati  fa-ni-‘immaa  hii.  Wa  ‘in- tukh-fuu-haa  wa  tu’-tuuhal-fuqa-raaa-‘a  fa-huwa  khayrul-lakum.  Wa  yukaffiru  ‘ankum-min-  sayyi- ‘aatikum.  WAllaahu  bimaa  ta’-maluuna  Khabiir.

270. Whatever charity you give, or a pledge you fulfill, God knows it. The wrongdoers have no helpers. 271. If you give charity openly, that is good. But if you keep it secret, and give it to the needy in private, that is better for you. It will atone for some of your misdeeds. God is cognizant of what you do.

Nazrin – (vow, intention, promise), according to the Divine law; the definition of this word is ‘considering anything necessary for completion of any object, which is not reasonable’. After admitting once a vow, it becomes duty and necessary to fulfill it. 

‘Al-fuqaraaa-‘u – (the beggars, the necessitous, the poor), its single is faqiir, which usually means a worshiper of God also, a saint as well as a beggar. According to Holy Qur’an the faqiir is that indigent/poor person, who does not have any  source of income.

It has been described in this verse that ‘whatever we spend in the Way of God or have a vow to spend, that entire exists in the Sight of God. To intend for unlawful work, to mind vow at any unlawful place or to plan for spending on any unlawful occasion is tyrannizing oneself, and there will be neither any helper or supporter of the person like this and nor God will accept his deed.

In the last verse of this lesson, God has commanded that whether you publish your alms-giving and charity, or hide it and give it to the poor, God is Aware of what you do. If you fear that the people will misunderstand it as in-sincerity and ostentation, then it will be better for you to hide this goodness. If you think that the people will get instigation due to publishing it, then it is better to do so in front of the people. However, acceptance of the goodness depends on personal intent. To spend either hiding it so that the person who takes the alms/charity, should not feel shame, or publishing it so that others do it fondly also, both the ways are better, but regard of situation and convenience, and correction of intention is indispensable. https://youtu.be/QOUIGRdpLPo