Types of charity:
Allah The Almighty Orders, Urges and Encourages giving charity. Charity is divided into different types. The obligatory charity, namely the enjoined Zakah, is one of the pillars of Islam and is obligatory upon whoever possesses the minimum amount eligible for Zakah and meets its conditions. Whoever refrains from paying it has violated this great pillar and is in serious danger. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, indeed many of the scholars and the monks devour the wealth of people unjustly and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment. The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."} [Quran 9:34-35]. A Saheeh Hadeeth stated that whoever had camels or sheep and did not pay their Zakah, those animals will be brought on the Day of Resurrection far bigger and fatter than before and they will butt him with their horns and tread him under their hooves. Thus, every Muslim should fulfill the right of Allah The Almighty in his wealth by paying the obligatory Zakah and draw closer to Allah The Exalted through the recommended charity. This is the second type of charity. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you….} [Quran 2:254] and Says (what means): {O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth. And do not aim toward the defective therefrom, spending [from that]….} [Quran 2:267] Furthermore, Allah The Almighty Describes His slaves who spend by night and by day, in secret and in public, and Promises them a great reward and that there will be no fear for them nor will they grieve. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {Those who spend their wealth [in Allah 's way] by night and by day, secretly and publicly - they will have their reward with their Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.} [Quran 2:274] And Says (what means): {….But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it.} [Quran 34:39] Verily Allah The Almighty Compensates wealth. Furthermore, the Prophet said: "Charity never decreases wealth. Rather, it increases it, it increases it, it increases it." Hence, Allah The Almighty Decreed that the reward of those who give charity in the Hereafter is that He rewards them with the greatest and most perfect reward. Also, their reward in the life of this world is that Allah The Almighty Blesses their wealth and Multiplies it so it becomes a blessed wealth. Our Prophet explained the praiseworthy impacts and great gains acquired by he who spends in charity on the needy if he reforms his intention and makes his deed sincere for the Countenance of Allah The Almighty. Our Prophet said: "No one gives charity out of his lawful earning, and Allah Accepts only lawfully earned wealth, but Allah Accepts it with His right Hand, even if it was a date, and then Fosters it till it becomes like a mountain as one of you fosters a colt or young she-camel." As I previously mentioned, charity does not decrease wealth. Rather, it is a reason for its increase and blessing and the increase of the charity itself. Charity never reduces one's fortune. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {….And whatever you spend of good - it will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.} [Quran 2:272] Charity becomes virtuous when it coincides with a virtuous time and a virtuous place. People are encouraged to pay charity in the month of Ramadan. Charities vary between offering Iftaar (i.e. meal with which to break a fast) to fasting people, offering clothes or fulfilling the needs of the needy. The Prophet was asked: "Which is the best charity?" He replied: "Charity in Ramadan." This signifies the virtue of giving charity in Ramadan. There are many fields of righteousness and good deeds that are available in Ramadan including helping fasting people, helping those observing Iʻtikaaf (i.e. religious seclusion in the mosque), offering them Iftaar and providing them with means of comfort in their worship like providing means of comfort in the Masaajid (i.e. mosques) and the like. The Prophet said in a Saheeh Hadeeth that whoever gives Iftaar to a fasting person will attain an equivalent reward as the latter. This indicates the greatness of this blessed month. Every believer should make use of its time and compete in obeying Allah The Almighty and draw closer to Him through different kinds of acts of worship like praying, fasting, preserving his fasting from idle and obscene talk and drawing nearer to Him by paying charity in this great month. Whoever did this has invested his day and made the most of it. Let him rejoice at the great reward from The Generous and Most Merciful Lord. Every Muslim man and woman should seize the opportunity of this month by increasing their righteous deeds and virtuous charities to find them doubled on the Day of Resurrection at a time when they need them the most. May Allah The Almighty Guide us to goodness and righteousness. He alone is worthy of this plead and Is able to Bring this to pass.
A noble status:
Charity has an ample reward and a great virtue. It is among the good that Allah The Almighty Urges putting forward. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {….and whatever good you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with Allah…..} [Quran 2:110]
It is also included in the good doing enjoined in the verse in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {…And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good….} [Quran 2:195]
Due to the honor of charity and the greatness of its reward, Allah The Almighty Specifies for those who give it a gate to Paradise from which no one enters except the people who give charity according to many Saheeh Ahadeeth including: "Whoever was among the people of charity would be called from the gate of charity." [Al-Bukhari and others]
The Prophet urged charity in many Ahadeeth. This includes urging women to give charity as he said: "Give charity even if from your jewelry."
The Prophet said in a Saheeh Hadeeth: "Shield yourselves from Hellfire even by giving half a date in charity."
It was also narrated in a Hadeeth that the believer stands in the shade of his charity on the Day of Resurrection.
The above-mentioned texts along with others are clear proofs of the virtue of charity and the noble status that Allah The Almighty Prepared for those who give it.
In these days, we are heading towards a great season in which people hasten to do good deeds, especially charity. It is the month of Ramadan that Allah The Almighty Privileged with the honor of time. The notable enthusiasm in this month is attributed to many motives and perhaps the most prominent are the following:
First: following the example of the Prophet as he, according to a reported citation, was more generous than a wind that delivers (rain) and he was even more so in Ramadan.
Second: seizing the virtue of this month as the reward for righteous deeds is doubled therein.
Third: seeking the night of Qadr (i.e. Decree) as deeds therein are better than those of a thousand months.
Fourth: the softness that surrounds the heart of the believer as his feelings become softer and he realizes the needs of his fellow Muslims which lead him to be kind to them.