Jannah or Paradise is the place where believers enjoy the pleasure of their good deeds. Allah (s.w.t) has beautifully described heaven in the verses of the Quran. He defined the word Paradise as a beautiful garden. He has mentioned in the Quran that;

Jannah is the Paradise, where those who have been good will go. It is described in the Quran as “Gardens of pleasure” (Quran 31:8).

Do you ever wonder how can we enter Jannah and what the right path leads to the pleasures of heaven? and the answer is only by doing righteous acts and by seeking the rules of Allah can enter the Jannah. Among those right and good acts, one of the dominant acts is a charity (sadaqah).

What is sadaqah?

Sadahqa is a voluntary charitable good act with others for the sake of Allah. Charity is not only a monetary act but the act of generosity, goodness, and love also comes under the heading of charity. Even becoming a helping hand to someone or a single smile to others are seen as acts of charity. Each and everything we have is the bounties provided by Allah (s.w.t) and we must share the wealth provided by Allah (s.w.t) with those who are in need.

Types of sadaqah (charity)

In Islam, there is the concept of sadaqah and sadaqah e jariyah. Most people count these two terms as single but there is a big difference between them.

Sadaqah

Sadaqah is a simple, single act of kindness that a person shows to another person in the form of charitable donations or a generous smile at a stranger all come under the heading of sadqa. Sharing your happiness, wealth or love are the attributes of sadaqah.

Sadqa e jariya

If a person performs any act of sadaqah and it continuously provides outgoing benefits to others even after the person leaves this world is called sadaqah e jariyah.

What does the Quran say about charity?

We can understand the importance of charity (sadaqah) by reading Quran.
Being compassionate and caring with the fellow is a good deed in Islam. The Almighty Allah (S.W.T) has discussed charity in Quran numerous times. The Quran says that;

“There is a recognized right, for the needy and deprived over our wealth” (70:24-5).

It clears out that our wealth is not ours, it is a gift of Allah (s.w.t) it is not only for us but for our fellow human beings who are in need. A Muslim must share his wealth with others in the form of charity, without becoming proud of their act of generosity. Our small, single act contains an enormous amount of reward. The almighty Allah has mentioned in the Quran about a reward of charity. He says that;

An example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed of grain, which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. Allah multiplies his rewards for whom he wills. (Surah Baqarah 261)

What does hadith say about charity?

Hadith is the saying of the Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.w). Every Muslim needs to understand his sayings and follow the hadith. He is a role model for every Muslim. His life has always been ideal for every Muslim around the globe. He has talked about the sadaqah (charity) quite a several times. One of the hadith in Tirmidhi says that:

“The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his charity”.

He has clearly announced the rewards of a charity by saying that it will act as a shadow on the day of judgment. Our helping hand will become the reason for forgiveness for us on the day of judgment. Another hadith of Prophet Muhammad PBUH is;

“Protect yourself from hell-fire, even by giving a piece of date as charity” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Benefits of giving charity

None can deny the rewards and blessings which one can receive after doing a little act of kindness and charity. There are countless rewards and befits of performing charity. First thing first, charity is a mood booster. It makes your soul more peaceful and comfortable. Sadaqah is the best way to combat misfortune, it will make your values stronger and most importantly charity protects one from tragedies. Charity will also protect its doer on the day of judgment.

Simple deeds of charity

When people say charity the first thing that comes to your mind is donating the money but it is not the case as we are well aware, of how merciful and great our lord is. He has made several things counted as charity. Islam is the religion of love and humanity. The simple daily life stuff that we do can become our key to Jannah so even if we are short on money, we can continue our enormous work of charity. Few deeds which come under charity are;

Smiling at any stranger
Planting a tree
Volunteering at a shelter house
Helping someone in a need
Digging a water well
Teaching / sponsoring an orphan
Giving directions to a lost person
Removing a rock or thorn from the way
providing food and water to animals

Above mentioned simple deeds may sound ordinary and simple but those deeds can make a big difference in your life, as well as the life of the people living in our society. One of the hadith of the Holy Prophet PBUH present in the Tirmidhi says;

Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is a charity for you, your seeing for a man with bad eyesight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, thorn or a bone from the way is a charity for you. Pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is a charity for you.

Holy Prophet and his companions stories regarding charity

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBHU) thought us the importance of charity (sadaqah) by his own action and lifestyle.
Qasim Rahim Ullah narrates that once a man passed by Abu Darda in the city of Damascus and Abu Darda was planting a tree. A man said to him; are you also doing work, though you’re a sahabi of the Holy Prophet PBUH to which Abu Darda replied; Don’t hasten to blame me; I’ve heard Holy Prophet PBUH said that never did a man planted a tree and other man or any other creation of almighty ate or benefitted from it, becomes the sadaqah charity for the planter.

A companion of Holy Prophet PBUH, Hazrat saad R.A went on a battle outside the Medina. His mother felt seriously ill and he wanted to do charity, therefore, he came to the Holy Prophet PBUH and asked, I want to do charity on his behalf and right now it is not possible for me so, what should I do? The Holy Prophet PBUH said that on our route to the battlefield, I saw a lot of thirsty soldiers who wanted to drink water and suggested that the best charity one can do right now is to dig a well on the side of the road so the soldiers can get benefitted and this deed of one can become sadaqah e jariyah for him. Hazrat saad did the same.

People in need of your charity

Islam shows us the importance of charity (sadaqah).
Allah has obligated us to help those who need our help. There are still millions of people in the world who are waiting for our charity. The people of this world are facing real-life problems like floods, climate change, and natural disasters and trying to cope with these bad situations.

Our simple act of charity can help them copping it. Nowadays, floods have greatly affected the world. Many countries have been affected by it and one of the most dangerously affected countries is Pakistan. The flood disaster has affected one-third area of Pakistan. More than 1100 people have died and about 33 million people have been affected by this disaster. These people are waiting for the help of the people around them. Please try to understand the importance of charity (sadaqah) and help them. We should donate our money to them so they can survive in this situation. So to whichever organization, you are donating your money to, just make sure it is reaching them.

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Conclusion:

Allah has made us worthy of helping others so we must help those who are less fortunate. Charity is one of the best ways to seek Jannah. Our simple deeds of this world can become our shield in the world hereafter. All of us should try to do a single deed of charity every day so, that way we can stay humble and get used to doing charity. May Allah grant us all the chances to do charity and understand the importance of charity (sadaqah) and help others. Ameen

Importance of Charity (Sadaqah)