Welcome to the University of Sufism's Ramadan reading of Rosina Fawzia al-Rawi's book,
The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.
Today I will be sharing day 12 about alms and charity,
Also known as zakat and sadaqah.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
For every one of his bones,
Every human being should pay alms every day the sun rises.
Judging justly between two people who are quarreling is charity.
Helping someone ride his animal or lifting his luggage on it is also charity.
A kind word is like charity.
Every step you take to go and pray in the mosque is like charity,
And to remove from the road a potential cause for damage counts as charity.
It has been imposed on Muslims to pay every year a zakat,
Alms,
Of 2.
5% on their capital,
Which goes to the poor and needy.
The sadaqah is a voluntary charitable contribution,
Which can take many different forms.
The zakat,
Obligatory contribution,
Is a given percentage of their own wealth that rich Muslims give the impoverished out of contentment with and surrender to Allah,
So that they may satisfy their needs without having to beg.
Zakat is therefore alms we give with gratefulness in our hearts for the blessings we live in,
To those who have a different fate and cannot cover their needs.
All Muslims who own a certain amount of wealth are subject to this contribution.
Ever since they were ordered to fast,
Muslims have considered Ramadan as an opportunity to spread justice and helpfulness amongst the people.
They have endeavored to fight famine,
To help the poor,
And to support the orphans.
Since the very beginning,
Those deeds have been stamped on the Muslims' hearts,
And they have united the Muslim community,
Ummah,
In mercy,
Rahmah,
Just like our Prophet,
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
Demonstrated through his own life.
Gratitude floods our heart when we are given the honour to be able to give,
When Allah puts us in a position where we can taste and experience goodness and community spirit.
We all know that everything can change in a moment,
And all of a sudden we can find ourselves in the opposite situation.
Alhamdulillah alakuli hal,
Praised be Allah in every state He gives us.
The word zakat comes from the root z-k-w,
And it means to cleanse and to purify,
But also to multiply and to grow.
When we give out of love for Allah,
We become receptive to His generosity,
To His Divine Name,
Al-Karim,
The One who gives endlessly,
The endlessly generous,
The endlessly charitable.
What growth is to plants,
What movement is to animals,
Giving is to human beings.
The parable of those who spend their possessions for the sake of God is that of a grain out of which grows seven ears.
Quran 2,
261 Zakat is meant to remind us that everything we think we own is a temporary gift from Allah.
And spend in charity for the good of your own selves,
For such as from their own covetousness are saved,
It is they,
They that shall attain a happy state.
Quran 64,
16 Of all creatures,
Human beings are the cruelest,
Yet man and woman are the cradle of eternal joy and harmony.
Show your generosity and your magnanimity by going along the path of your own transformation,
By fanning the fire of the love for Allah in your heart,
And by learning to transform through that fire,
Everything in you into a blessing for all of creation.
The Messenger of Allah,
Peace be upon him,
Said,
Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the zakat on his wealth,
On the day of resurrection,
His wealth will be made into a huge,
Highly poisonous snake with two small black horns.
The snake will clasp his neck,
Seize his lower jaw and say,
I am your wealth,
I am your treasure.
Then the Prophet,
Peace be upon him,
Recited the following Quranic verse,
Quran 3,
180 And they should not think,
They who niggardly cling to all that God has granted them out of his bounty,
That this is good for them,
Nay,
It is bad for them.
That to which they so niggardly cling will,
On the day of resurrection,
Be hung about their necks.
For unto God alone belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth.
And God is aware of all that you do.
In this way,
The Prophet Muhammad,
Peace be upon him,
Wants to show us that the main obstacles that prevent us from reaching a blissful state in this world and in the next are greed,
Stinginess,
And insatiability.
For such as from their own covetousness are saved,
It is they,
They that shall attain to a happy state,
Quran 59,
9.
Ramadan is a month in which both the community and the retreat into one's own inner space,
Where the intimate dialogue with Allah takes place,
Come to the fore.
How essential these two aspects are in our life is never as clear as during Ramadan.
We need our family,
Our friends,
And our fellow human beings.
To realize where we stand,
How much we have developed,
How mean or touchy we remain on some subjects,
Or how much our trust,
Surrender,
And compassion have grown.
Ramadan calls us together,
Those who have retreated from society,
The lonely ones,
Those who have fallen out,
Those who may have become estranged to human values.
Open your heart as little as it may be,
So that you may experience Allah's love and support,
And pull down the walls of the wounded self.
May our pride steadily change into dignity,
Win people's hearts.
There is much pain,
Much sorrow in the world,
So much need wherever you look,
And so often we have the feeling that these small deeds of Sadaqah do not really make a difference.
Yet we should not forget that all beginnings are small,
With time drops form a river,
Grains of sand a mountain,
And one sperm cell and one egg a human being.
Aisha,
Mother of the believers,
Reported,
The most beloved good deed in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah was the one endowed with a lasting effect.
Never underestimate what Allah creates in this world through a kind heart and a compassionate hand.
Does Allah not say,
And so he who shall have done an Adam's weight of good shall behold it?
Quran 99 7 Deal with this world as if you were to live here forever,
And with the next as if you would die any moment.
Imam Ali Practice suggested for today.
The word Sadaqah comes from the root S-D-Q,
And means truthful,
To be honest,
Sincerity,
Strength,
Excellence,
To say the truth,
To give good advice,
Proficiency,
Trustworthy,
To give as a present,
To give alms.
Spend all day very consciously practicing Sadaqah.
Practice charity with every sunrise,
Every new day.
To settle a quarrel between two people is charity.
To help someone carry a burden is charity.
To give hope is charity.
A kind word is charity.
Every step you take to pray is charity.
And every danger you remove from the path is charity.
It goes without saying that Sadaqah is also voluntary almsgiving.
May you have a beautiful,
Blessed day full of many joys of Sadaqah.
