What is sadaqah, and why give it?

Sadaqah means charity you give for Allah. Zakat is the part you must give. Sadaqah is everything on top of it: any amount, any time, to anyone in need. The word comes from sidq, which means being true. Giving shows that your iman (faith) is real.

Many people fear that giving will make them poorer. Allah and His Messenger ﷺ say the opposite:

• Nabi ﷺ said: charity does not make wealth less¹. The number in your bank account may go down. But the barakah (blessing) in what is left goes up. See Barakah: why money never lasts.
• Allah says: whatever you spend, He will give you back in its place. He is the best of those who give².
• Every day two angels come down. One says: O Allah, give more to the one who spends. The other says: O Allah, bring loss to the one who holds back³.
• Charity puts out sins the way water puts out fire⁴.

One seed becomes seven hundred

Allah gives a picture. Spending for Him is like one seed that grows seven ears of grain, with a hundred grains in each ear. And Allah gives even more to whoever He wants⁵. So one coin can come back seven hundred times, and more.

Nabi ﷺ said: if someone gives even one date from money earned in a halal way, Allah takes it in His right hand. He makes it grow, the way you raise a young horse, until it is as big as a mountain⁶.

Why pay zakat first?

Zakat is a pillar of Islam. It is a duty, and it has its own rules: who pays, how much, and who can receive it. This chapter does not repeat those rules. You can read them in the Fiqh Guide:

• Zakat basics: who pays, and when
• Zakat on your wealth: savings, gold, business and more
• Who receives zakat, and zakat al-fitr
• To work out how much you owe, use the Zakat calculator.

Pay your zakat first. After that, with sadaqah you can be as generous as you like.

Is a small gift worth giving?

Nabi ﷺ said: protect yourself from the Fire, even with half a date⁷. You do not need to be rich to give. A few coins, a meal, a bottle of water: it all counts.

Every good deed is charity

Charity is not only money. Nabi ﷺ said you owe a charity for every joint in your body, every day. Then he showed how easy it is to pay. A good word is charity. Settling a problem fairly between two people is charity. Helping someone lift his bags is charity. Every step you walk to the prayer is charity⁸. Smiling at your brother is charity too⁹.

These everyday charities are taught in full in Salam and everyday manners.

Who can you give sadaqah to?

• People who are not Muslim. Asma's mother was not Muslim. She came to Asma hoping for help. Nabi ﷺ told Asma: yes, be good to your mother¹⁰. You can give sadaqah to anyone in need. (Zakat has its own rules about who can receive it.)
• Animals. A man gave water to a thirsty dog, and Allah forgave him. Nabi ﷺ said: there is a reward for being kind to every living thing¹¹.

Who should you give to first?

Many people send money far away while a brother or an aunt nearby is struggling. Islam says: start with those close to you.

• Spending on your home is charity. When a man spends on his family hoping for Allah's reward, it counts as charity for him¹².
• It brings the biggest reward. Nabi ﷺ listed four coins: one spent for Allah's cause, one to free a slave, one given to a poor person, and one spent on your family. Then he said: the biggest reward is for the one you spent on your family¹³.
• Start with the people you look after. The best charity comes from what is left over once your own needs are met. Start with those you are responsible for¹⁴.
• A relative in need means a double reward. Nabi ﷺ said: charity to a poor person counts once. To a relative it counts twice: as charity, and as keeping family ties¹⁵.

Should you give in secret or openly?

Allah says: if you give charity openly, that is good. But if you hide it and give it to the poor, that is better for you, and it wipes away some of your sins¹⁸.

On the Day of Judgement there will be no shade except Allah's shade. Nabi ﷺ named seven people Allah will shade on that day. One of them is a person who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gave¹⁹.

• Secret giving is usually best for sadaqah. It keeps your heart sincere. It also protects the dignity of the person you help.
• Giving openly is not wrong. Allah praises those who give by night and by day, in secret and in public²⁰. Giving openly can encourage others to give, for example at a masjid fundraiser.

Why give from what you love?

Allah says: you will not reach true goodness until you give from what you love²¹. He also says: give from the good things you have earned, and do not pick out the bad things to give away. Those are things you would only take yourself with your eyes closed²².

• Give while you still want the money. Nabi ﷺ was asked which charity is best. He said: what you give while you are healthy, afraid of being poor, and hoping to become rich. Do not wait until death is near and then say: give this much to this person, and that much to that person²³.

How can you lose the reward of a gift?

You can lose a gift's reward even after you give it. Allah says:

• Some people give and then do not remind others of it or hurt them. Their reward is with their Lord. They will have no fear and no sadness²⁷.
• A kind word and forgiving someone are better than charity followed by hurt²⁸.
• Do not wipe out your charity by reminding people and hurting them, like someone who gives only to be seen. It is like a thin layer of soil on a smooth rock. Heavy rain falls and leaves the rock bare²⁹.

Nabi ﷺ named three people Allah will not speak to or look at on the Day of Judgement. One of them is the one who keeps reminding people of what he gave them³⁰.

What this looks like today

• Saying to a relative, in front of others: after all I did for you.
• Posting photos of the people you help, with their faces showing, so you look generous. If a charity has to share pictures, many scholars say it should protect people's dignity and ask their permission first.

The believers say: we feed you only for Allah. We want nothing back from you, not even thanks³¹. Give, then forget about it. Allah has not forgotten.

How much should you give?

Apart from zakat, there is no set amount for sadaqah. Give what you can, as often as you can. Islam asks for a middle way:

• Allah praises people who spend without wasting and without being stingy, but somewhere in between³².
• Do not hold your hand tied to your neck, and do not open it all the way. If you do, you will end up blamed and with nothing³³.
• The best charity comes from what is left over after your needs and your family's needs³⁴.
• Ka'b ibn Malik wanted to give away all his wealth. Nabi ﷺ said: keep some of your wealth. That is better for you³⁵.
• Nabi ﷺ asked: which of you loves the money of his heirs (the people who inherit from him) more than his own money? They said: none of us. He said: your money is what you send ahead of you. What you leave behind belongs to your heirs³⁶.

What is sadaqah jariyah?

Nabi ﷺ said: when a person dies, their good deeds stop, except three: a charity that keeps going, knowledge that people still benefit from, or a good child who makes dua for them⁴¹.

Sadaqah jariyah (charity that keeps flowing) is a gift that goes on helping people for years. As long as people benefit from it, the reward keeps reaching you, even in your grave.

• A water well or a water pump.
• Helping to build a masjid, a school or a clinic.
• Copies of the Quran or useful books that people read.
• Paying for a student to study, or teaching someone a skill.
• Planting a tree that gives shade or fruit.

What is a waqf?

A waqf (a lasting gift for Allah) is the strongest kind of sadaqah jariyah. You give something that lasts, like land, a building or a well, for Allah, forever. The thing itself is never sold. Only what it produces is used: the fruit, the rent, the water, or the use of the building.

Where it comes from: Umar's land at Khaybar

Umar got a piece of land at Khaybar. It was the best land he ever owned. He asked Nabi ﷺ what to do with it. Nabi ﷺ said: if you like, keep the land itself, and give its fruit in charity⁴⁵.

So Umar made it a waqf, with these terms⁴⁶:

• The land is never sold, never given away, and never inherited.
• Its harvest goes to the poor, relatives, freeing slaves, Allah's cause, travelers and guests.
• The person who looks after it can eat from it fairly and feed others, but must not build up wealth from it.

How does a waqf work?

• The giver must really own the property, and it must be halal.
• The property must last, and be useful without being used up: land, a building, a well, books.
• The giver names who benefits: the poor, a masjid, students, travelers, or the giver's own family.
• The caretaker (mutawalli) runs it honestly and sticks to the giver's terms. The giver can run it, or choose someone else to⁴⁷.

Where scholars differ

• Can you take it back? Most scholars say that once you make a waqf, it is final. Abu Hanifa had a different view. But his two main students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, said it is final, and Hanafis follow them on this.
• Can it be for a set time only? Malikis allow a waqf for a fixed period. The other schools say it must last for good.
• Cash waqf (money kept and invested in halal ways, with only the profit given away): Malikis allowed it, and so did some Hanafis. Many scholars and fiqh councils today accept it. Others say a waqf should be something that lasts in itself.

Waqf today

Many masjids, schools and charities run waqf funds. You give once. The money is kept and used in halal ways, and only the income is spent each year. A family can also set up a waqf for a masjid, a well, or poor relatives. Setting one up for land or a large sum involves legal steps, so check your local law and talk to a qualified adviser.

Can you give for someone who has died?

Yes. Your parents and loved ones can still receive good from you after they die.

• A man told Nabi ﷺ: my mother died suddenly. I think if she could have spoken, she would have given charity. If I give charity for her, will she get the reward? Nabi ﷺ said: yes⁴⁸.
• Sa'd ibn Ubadah's mother died while he was away. He asked the same question and was told yes. So he gave his garden in charity for her⁴⁹.
• A man said his father had died and left wealth, but had not made a will. Would charity for him help him? Nabi ﷺ said: yes⁵⁰.

Scholars agree that charity and dua for the dead reach them. Paying off their debts also helps them. About other deeds, like reciting Quran and gifting its reward to them, scholars differ. Follow a scholar you trust.

• Make the intention in your heart: this is for my mother, or for my father. You do not need to say it out loud.
• A water well, a share in a masjid, or copies of the Quran are good choices, because they keep giving.
• Scholars say you get a reward too, for being kind to them.

How do you choose a charity you can trust?

When you give through a charity, it holds your money as an amanah (a trust). Nabi ﷺ spoke of an honest Muslim treasurer who pays out the full amount he was told to, gladly, to the person he was told to give it to. He said that treasurer is one of the two givers⁵¹. So a good charity worker earns a reward like yours. A careless one carries a heavy responsibility.

Simple checks before you give

• Is it registered with the charity regulator in your country? Can you look it up?
• Does it publish its accounts or reports, so you can see where the money goes?
• How much goes on running costs? Some cost is normal. A good charity will tell you plainly.
• Does it keep zakat separate from sadaqah, and give zakat only to people who are allowed to receive it?
• Personal appeals online: check the person is real, ask people who know them, or give through someone you trust.

What if you were tricked?

Check as well as you can, then trust Allah. Nabi ﷺ told of a man who went out at night three times to give charity. Each morning people said he had given it to the wrong person: first a thief, then a woman who sold herself, then a rich man. Each time he praised Allah. Then he was told: your charity was accepted. It might stop the thief from stealing and the woman from sinning, and it might teach the rich man to give⁵².

A man's charity once ended up with his own son. Nabi ﷺ told him: you will be rewarded for what you intended⁵³.

Can you give interest or haram money as charity?

Nabi ﷺ said: Allah is good, and He accepts only what is good⁵⁴. The big reward for sadaqah is for charity from money earned in a halal way⁵⁵.

• Interest (riba) you were paid, for example on a bank account, is not yours to keep. Most scholars say give it to the poor or to things everyone uses, like roads or public toilets. But you give it to get rid of it, not as sadaqah. Do not expect the reward of charity for it. See What riba is.
• Do not use interest money for your own needs. Many scholars also say do not use it to build a masjid or buy copies of the Quran.
• The same goes for money from a haram job or deal that you knew was haram. See Doubtful things, need and mistakes for how to leave haram income behind and start again.

What about fitrana and udhiyah?

Two kinds of giving come at the two Eids. Each one has its own chapter in the Fiqh Guide:

• Zakat al-fitr (often called fitrana): a small set amount of food for each person in your home, given before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan. Hanafis also allow giving its value in money. See Who receives zakat, and zakat al-fitr.
• Udhiyah (qurbani): the animal sacrificed at Eid al-Adha. Its meat is shared with family and the poor. See Udhiyah and aqiqah.

Neither of these takes the place of your zakat on savings. And giving cash instead of an udhiyah animal is good charity, but it does not count as udhiyah.

Common questions

I can only spare a little each month. Is it worth it?

Yes. Nabi ﷺ said the deeds Allah loves most are the ones done regularly, even if they are small⁵⁶. And a single date can grow as big as a mountain⁵⁷. Set up a small monthly gift and let it run.

My brother is struggling, but I already give to a charity abroad. Who comes first?

Start with your brother. Charity to a relative in need gives two rewards⁵⁸. Nabi ﷺ told Abu Talha to give to his relatives⁵⁹. You can still give abroad as well.

Can I give sadaqah for my father who has died?

Yes. The reward reaches him⁶⁰⁶¹. A gift that keeps giving, like a well or a share in a masjid, is a beautiful choice.

I have bank interest in my account. Can I give it as my sadaqah?

Give it away to the poor or to things everyone uses, but only to get rid of it, not as your sadaqah. Give your sadaqah from your halal money⁶². See What riba is.

A man asks for money outside the masjid every week. Should I give?

You can give or not, it is up to you. If you give, you are rewarded for your intention, even if he did not really need it⁶³. If you are unsure, buy him food, or give to a trusted local fund that checks who is in need. Never shame him.

Can I give a lot of my wealth away? My family says I am being foolish.

There is no upper limit, but keep enough for your family. Nabi ﷺ told Ka'b: keep some of your wealth, that is better for you⁶⁴. Give from what is left after your family's needs are met⁶⁵.