Sadaqa (voluntary charity)

Sadaqa is what is given seeking nearness to God rather than human favour — covering both zakat and voluntary alms; juristically, a gratuitous transfer in life made for the sake of God. Jurists mostly reserve the word for voluntary alms, and it was said to be named for the sincerity (sidq) of the giver's intention. ^{1 2}

The word covers zakat — "sadaqat are only for the poor…" — voluntary alms, the endowment, as in Umar's sadaqa of his land "not to be sold, given or inherited, but its yield spent", and every act of kindness — "every good deed is a sadaqa". ^{1 2}

Gift, present and donation are all gratuitous transfers: for the afterlife's reward it is sadaqa; for affection and fellowship, hiba; for honouring, hadiyya — 'atiyya covering them all. A loan ('ariyya) permits or transfers a usufruct: sadaqa transfers the thing itself and admits no taking back, while the loaned object must return to its owner. ²

Sadaqa aids the weak, relieves the distressed, gives thanks for God's blessings, and evidences the giver's faith — among the merits transmitted, the seven shaded by God include "a man who gave a sadaqa and hid it so that his left hand did not know what his right hand spent". ^{2 3}

The Sheikh mentions that a soul sends ahead some deeds and leaves behind others, that what it sends ahead is good deeds, and that some people leave behind bad ones, such as one who writes an indecent book ⁴. He says ongoing charity has a counterpart in ongoing sin, so that one who makes an indecent film earns a burden each time people watch it, and he holds that the Messenger urges ongoing charity ⁵.