Giving for naught save the love of Allah....

Today there was a saudara baru (muallaf) at Kajang mosque who laid out a mat and some pieces of paper, including his IC, a letter from Pusat Zakat, a sheet of paper with some words written in a variety of languages, basically asking for help. The chap looked chinese/vietnamese but could speak Bahasa Melayu. After Zuhr prayer, I sat down to speak with him for a while to ask what was the problem, which unfortunately was not of much help because I could not understand what was it that he actually wanted. I understood his Malay, but he was unclear as to what he wanted us to do. It was something about pusat zakat not giving aid to saudara baru etc. So I just left some money for him and went on my way. Others did the same too but some of them took a look at his IC first before giving. I don't know what their intention was in looking at the IC ,but I hope it was not to verify if he was really a Muslim before deciding to give anything. The chap actually kept saying "saya tak tipu, betul punya," as he was afriad people would not help him. Are we that calculative when it comes to giving sadaqah that people have to convince us so hard that they are Muslim so we don't have second thoughts about giving??

There is a hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the prophet SAW said that Allah created Adam in His image. There is actually a very similar verse in the bible, but our interpretation of the hadith is completely different to what the Christians understand from the verse. Our understanding of this hadith is that Allah has imbued within us His noble attributes so that we may act like He does towards the rest of creation.  And the most frequent name of God used in the Quran after Allah, is Ar-Rahman i.e. the Most Merciful. Rahman is the intensive form for the word rahima, and that's why some scholars say his name Raheem encompasses the believers, but the name Rahman encompasses all of creation. And since Allah is Most Merciful to the whole of creation, so should we be with everything and everyone around us. True, our brothers in faith have a greater right than others upon us, but not to the exclusion of showing kindness to our brothers in humanity. We should give sadaqah unconditionally, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and nothing else. Sometimes we give non-muslims sadaqah because we want them to become Muslim. Although this is a noble intention, it should not be the primary goal. The primary intention should be because we love Allah, and He expects such kindness of us. If we can do this, then the other benefits, like people liking Islam, will come automatically given the pure and noble intention with which the sadaqah was done.

I quote a section of an article written by my esteemed teacher Shaykh Sohaib Saeed on this matter which he very beautifully discusses through the tafseer of two verses in surah al-Insaan:


And they feed, for the love (of God), the indigent, the orphan, and the captive.

We feed you for the sake of God alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks. (Quran 76:8-9)

"I would like to believe that nobody would find it unusual or questionable for Muslims to be helping other people regardless of faith; but if anyone should question, then they can find an answer in these verses and many others which exhort the believers to help the needy without any restriction.

Indeed, the verse above makes an explicit mention of the “captive”, which may have referred in the first instance to Muslims who were imprisoned or enslaved by others, but was applied later to captives who had been engaged in warfare against the Muslims. This provides an insight into Islamic ethics of war.
Full of sincerity, these righteous men and women say (in their hearts, or even aloud to reassure the recipients):

We feed you for the sake of God alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks. (Quran 76:9)

Knowing that the real Provider is the Almighty, Who means to test us through what He has given some over others, they give without any ulterior motive. They do not feed anyone to provoke them to enter Islam, yet they carry the banner of Islam and its message of peace in their very actions and lifestyle.

But are they doing it for God’s pleasure, or for His reward (i.e. Paradise)? The verse mentions both, alongside other indications of their fear of punishment, thus demonstrating that there is no conflict between these motivations for good deeds.

Yet the expressions of doing good “for God’s sake” (or for His “Face” as in this verse’s wording) have been taken by various scholars as corresponding to the highest aspirations and humblest servitude to the divine. At the same time, they are the Islamic version of what people call “good for good’s sake”. " Full article can be read here.

May Allah make us of those who give unconditionally, seeking His Face, so we may truly live the attribute of rahman (mercy) that He has imbued within us. Ameen.