Sadaqah: The Concept of Voluntary Charity

Islam is a complete code of life. For some, this is just another cliché statement that has been repeatedly said over many centuries. But for those who have analyzed the Islamic obligations, values, and ethics under a microscope, this statement always opens up new avenues of thinking. One always finds something new to learn every single time an effort is made to learn about these matters. Take the concept of charity in Islam as an example. Most of us are familiar with zakat which happens to be one of the fundamental pillars of Islam. Zakat is an obligatory charity that every Muslim who has a particular amount of money (called Nisab) must pay. But Islamic charity is not limited to the obligatory charity of zakat. The concept of sadaqah refers to the voluntary charity that any Muslim can make any time during the Islamic calendar, to help those who need help. The blessings and benefits promised with sadaqah are exactly what compel Muslims to donate billions every year in the name of sadaqah. In today’s discussion, we highlight the significance of sadaqah as charity.

Sadaqah: The Support System for Underprivileged Muslims 

In the upcoming sections of this discussion, we will talk more about how and where you can pay a sadaqah if you want to. But for now, let us keep our focus on the way sadaqah helps millions of Muslims when they have no other hope left. Because sadaqah is a voluntary charity that is paid at once as compared to zakat which is normally paid in instalments, the size of this Islamic charity is bigger than zakat in most cases. Of course, this is particularly specific for financial charity, there are certainly other types of Sadaqah as well. But you get the idea, right? This voluntary charity has the potential of changing lives in a matter of minutes. To back up our claim, let us share with you, a recent event where sadaqah played an extremely crucial role in helping things revert to normalcy.

Sadaqah & the COVID-19 Pandemic

The havoc that the COVID-19 pandemic wrecked was not only limited to human life loss. Of course, there is no substitute for a single life lost to the virus. But one has to be practical and not underestimate the financial impact of the COVID-19. As the economies collapsed all around the world, millions were left at the mercy of darkness and hopelessness. It was during these testing times that Islamic financial charities like zakat and sadaqah came to the rescue of these depressed folks. The bond of sympathy and empathy that binds humans compelled Muslims to share their resources with those who needed them. This outpouring of compassion that is still going on is an event that will be etched on our memory lines forever! 

How to Pay Sadaqah? 

Now then, what are some of how you can pay sadaqah? Of course, there is the concept of financial sadaqah. But as we said earlier, that’s not all that sadaqah is about. Rather, there are many other ways in which you can pay sadaqah as well. Here are some of how you can pay sadaqah:

• Donating to the construction of a mosque
• Contributing to the construction of a welfare center for orphans and destitute.
• Bearing the expenses of a family that cannot afford basic amenities of life by themselves.
• Teaching someone how to recite the Holy Quran. Every time they recite the holy book, you will get a reward for their noble act.
• Distributing copies of the Holy Quran. You can donate such nature to any nearby mosque. Every time someone recites the Quran from your gift, you will get the reward.
• Planting trees, especially the ones with shade is also an admirable way of making a Sadqah Jariya.
• Explore your interests and desires to come up with a unique form of Sadqah Jariya. Explore your heart and find out what is a single cause that you will like to contribute to? If you are someone who wants to contribute to funding healthcare expenses of the underprivileged folks, one trust organization that you can trust is Transparent Hands.

Transparent Hands 

Transparent Hands is Pakistan’s biggest crowdfunding platform. It offers a complete range of free healthcare services including medical and surgical treatments, medical camps, and telehealth facilities to the underprivileged community of Pakistan. The platform provides visibility to underprivileged patients and builds a personal and trusted bond between patients and donors while ensuring complete transparency. It also sets up free medical camps in the rural areas of Pakistan in which, free medical consultation, free medicines, and free diagnostic tests are provided to deserving patients.

How do Transparent Hands manage your zakat? Donors from all over the world can use the Transparent Hands crowdfunding web portal and donate through 100% secure payment modes. They could select any patient, fund the treatment and receive regular feedback and updates until the patient has recovered completely. So, if you donate your donation to this trustworthy platform, you will be helping someone cover their medical expenses. Think about it, so many people who lost their jobs during the pandemic can’t afford their health expenses right now. Transparent Hands manages your donations to help these distressed souls!

Final Thoughts 

That would be all from this discussion. The benefits and blessings of performing the act of voluntary charity i.e. sadaqah are too many to be encompassed in this discussion. We wish we could have gone on and talked about all the aspects and types of sadaqah in detail, it is quite a diverse niche of Islamic charity. Unfortunately, we have run out of the time and space we had for this particular article. Nevertheless, we are optimistic that you have learned something if not everything new from this discussion about the impact and importance of sadaqah. It is on this optimistic note that we bid you farewell from this space, but remember, there is always more to learn! So keep visiting this space for clarifying your concepts about zakat, sadaqah, and other ways in which you can help those in need of a miracle!

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