SOCIAL WELFARE IN ISLAM

ten dirhams worth.” They replied. “But I can get a better price.” Said Usman. “Then we’ll give you fourteen.” Usman again said that he could get a better price, whereupon they put their price up to fifteen dirhams. But Usman stood firm. Bewildered by his attitude, they asked him who could give him a better price, considering that all the merchants of Medina were already assembled there. “I can get ten dirhams for every dirham worth,” he told them, then asked if any one of them could give a better price than that. No one spoke up. Then, Usman recited the verse of the Quran which says that those who do good will be rewarded ten-fold (THE QURAN 6: 60). He explained to them that he intended to give away all the wheat and other foodstuffs to the needy people of Medina. The constant giving of little is said to please God more than the occasional giving of much. According to the teachings of Islam, the giving of Sadaqa serves a number of functions. Sadaqa, first and foremost, acts as expiation for sins. Believers are asked to give Sadaqa immediately following any transgression. Voluntary almsgiving can also compensate for any shortcoming in the past payment of Zakat. Sadaqa also gives protection against all kinds of evils, wards off affliction in this world, questioning in the grave, and punishment on Judgement Day. It is, therefore, recommended to give Sadaqa, by night and by day, in secret and in public to seek God’s pleasure (THE QURAN 2: 274). The constant giving of little is said to please God more than the occasional giving of much. Sadaqa is also a means of moral edification. It purifies the soul of the evil of avarice, and is a reflection of the generosity of God, the All-giving. We conclude with a Hadith, which sums up the essence of charity: “Every good act is charity. Your smiling to your brother is charity; an exhortation of your fellowmen to virtuous deeds is equal to almsgiving; your putting a wanderer on the right road is charity; your assisting the blind is charity; your removing stones, and thorns, and other obstructions from the road is charity; your giving water to the thirsty is charity. A man’s true wealth as regards the Hereafter is the good he does in this world to his fellowmen. When he dies, people will ask, “What property has he left behind him?” But the angels will ask, “What good deeds has he sent before him?”