Semester A 17/18, 20 October 2017
- The best men who walked the face of the planet were the prophets, so naturally we should aspire to be like them
- However, none will come after them who is better or exceed them in their character and achieve what they have in this dunya
- It is mentioned above that we should aspire to be like them, even though we cannot be like them; so this begs the question what is the best we can be?
Allah mentions in Surah Nisaa :”Whoever obeys God and the Messenger will be among those He has blessed: the messengers, the truthful, those who bear witness to the truth, and the righteous – what excellent companions these are!”
— Qur’an 4:69
- Of the 4 categories mentioned in this ayah, we should aim to earn the rank of the siddiqeen as it is the highest we can achieve and is attainable by anyone so long as you are willing to put the effort in to reach it
- Simply put, a Siddiq is someone who is steadfast on the truth, but there is a much deeper understanding to what a Siddiq is to truly respect this rank
- Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was a man amongst this calibre
- One story from among many about Abu Bakr is:
“Umar ibn Al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ordered us to give charity and at the time I possessed some wealth. I said to myself, “If there is a day I can do better than Abu Bakr, then this is the one.” So I went with half of my wealth to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said, “What have you left for your family?” I said, “The same amount.” Then Abu Bakr came with everything he had. The Prophet said, “O Abu Bakr, what have you left for your family?” He said, “Allah and His messenger.” I said, “By Allah, I will never do better than Abu Bakr.”
— Narrated in At-Tirmidhi
- When it comes to Sadaqah it depends on percentage, it doesn’t matter about quantity; it’s all individual upon yourselves
- For example if you give £50 in charity but you’re a millionaire, it doesn’t hurt you, but if you have £100 in your bank account you’ve given half of what you have and you will be receive a much greater reward
- The main point here is that Abu Bakr As-Siddiq always strove to be the very best in every aspect of his life, and one of those aspects is being charitable
- Briefly mentioned above is why we need to better ourselves and one of those ways is to be more charitable; as Charity Week is upon us let’s talk about charity in a more comprehensive way
“Who will make God a good loan? He will double it for him and reward him generously”
— Qur’an 57:11
- Those who spend their wealth by night and day both secretly and publicly, they will have their reward with their Lord and no fear will there be concerning them nor will they grieve
“Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said, “Charity does not decrease your wealth”
— Narrated in Muslim
- When you give charity, you’re not losing that value, rather you’re increasing in that value. What is the value of £1 compared to one hasanat in the hereafter? That is what is really valuable to you?
- In the hadith which mentions you should make use of 5 before 5, one of those is that you should ‘make use of your wealth before your poverty’ and sadaqah extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire
- One of the 7 under the only shade on that day will be the one who gives charity with his right hand such that his left hand doesn’t know
- This is referring to those who give with the right intention; there’s no point looking for the praise of the people when the only praise that matters comes from Allah
- So far charity has been mentioned in a very monetary way, but you can also be charitable in your character
- For example, you can give up your time to help your brothers/sisters, taking time out of your day to visit someone who is ill, smiling
- These are just a few examples of many; but all of this still goes back to your intention. Ultimately you will get that which you intended.
- If one were to mention all the benefits of charity this post would be too long, there are numerous benefits
- The main point here is that when we give, Allah gives to us, He is the one who gives, and everything belongs to him
- If you truly believe that Allah is the one who provides and grasp onto this, you will have no difficulty in extending your hands in charity
May Allah give us the ability to achieve the rank of the siddiqeen and increase us in charitable actions, Ameen!