Sadaqah

By Sheikh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat Saheb

Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam, said : Sadaqah does not decrease wealth. (Muslim)

We learn from this hadith that no one will ever suffer financial loss due to spending in the path of Allah Ta'ala. Financial experts and economists may not agree, but the words of the Rasul of Allah salallahu alayhi wa salam can never be wrong. The misinformed intellect says that spending, whether in sadaqah or for wordly matters decreases one's wealth. It calculates that someone with £1000, who spends £100 on helping the yateem (orphans) or building a mosque will be left with £900, therefore spending decreases wealth. However, sadaqah does not decrease wealth and this thought comes from Shaytaan, and is in direct contradiction with the teachings of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam.

Shaytaan's Promise

This deception that Shaytaan has created is described in the Qur'an:

Shaytaan promises you poverty, and commands you to indecency...(2.268)

When dealing with people who are not particularly religious, Shaytaan scares them with the threat of poverty and tries to persuade them not to spend fisabilillah (in the path of Allah) at all. The approach he takes with religious people is to persuade them to spend only on what is obligatory; arguing anything beyond will lead to poverty. He asserts that zakah, which is Fardh, is already a drain on resources so giving voluntary sadaqah will only incur a further decrease in wealth.
The cursed Shaytaan will exert his energies to stop a person spending a mere £5 towards a masjid, yet will allow the same person to spend £50 in the market, he encourages people to indulge in israf - being extravagant and wasteful with money - as it bring the displeasure of Allah.

Allah's promise
...And Allah promises you forgiveness from himself and Abundance, and Allah is All - Embracing, All - Knowing (2.268)

While Shaytaan promises poverty, Allah promises two things, forgiveness and an increase in wealth. The former is a blessing that secures success in the hereafter, and the latter brings ease in the dunya - world.

If £1 is spent fisabilillah, the minimum He will receive to the giver is £10, a tenfold increase. Thereafter, Allah increases the return by whatever multiple he wishes, up to seven hundred times and beyond, depending on the level of sincerity with which Sadaqah is given and the difficulties borne by the giver.

Allah uses a beautiful example to illustrate the reward for spending in his path:

The example of those who spend in the way of Allah is just like a grain that produced seven ears, each ear having a hundred grains; and Allah multiplies [ the reward further ] for whom he wills. Allah is All Embracing, All Knowing. (2.261)

Allah repays a person by giving a reward in the akhira equal to having spent seven hundred times the amount that was actually spent. And that is not all: Allah gives even more when He wills.

May Allah grant us all the ability to spend in His path and earn the vast rewards He had promised in both worlds. Amin.