Sadaqa is arguably the promptest deed at the helm of a death that could prove one’s sincerity (Sidq) if death were to give respite to its desperate victim…
People give their wealth to causes they wholeheartedly cherish. One gives to their convictions, not to their inner doubts and frailties. The encouragement to struggle with one’s wealth and life occurs repeatedly in the Qur’ān as the two are man’s fundamental possessions. In the vast majority of instances, ‘wealth’ is mentioned before ‘life’ maybe to show that sacrificing life is not possible without first sacrificing wealth. Wealth is also the primary facilitator of life. Without wealth, life cannot function, let alone provide for sacrifice.
Wealth is one’s cherished commodity, often demanding life in its pursuit. To sacrifice your wealth for the Creator is to prove that He is even more beloved than one’s most prevalent material pursuit and greater than one’s own self.
Where one puts their wealth reflects where their heart sits. For this, it earns the name ‘Ṣadaqah’ from the root ‘of ‘Sidq‘, meaning ‘sincerity’. As such, giving demonstrates ‘being true’ to oneself and their Creator. Ṣadaqah it is a direct, immediate and tangible validator of one’s claim – to give up what one loves for what one claims to love.
This is ‘to put your money where your mouth is’ as the expression goes, meaning, ‘prove your convictions by putting your money where you claim to hold them‘. Unsurprisingly, in the Qur’ān, of the most consistent and defining characteristic of the hypocrites – those whose outer claims are belied by their inner realities – is their tight-fistedness or more often, their outright aversion to giving their wealth to a cause they internally abhor, such as when Allah informs:
The hypocrites, both men and women, are all alike: they encourage what is evil, forbid what is good, and withhold ˹what is in˺ their hands.[1]
And:
˹There are˺ those who slander ˹some of˺ the believers for donating liberally and mock others for giving only the little they can afford.[2]
And:
They are the ones who say ˹to one another˺, “Do not spend ˹anything˺ on those ˹emigrants˺ with the Messenger of Allah so that they will break away ˹from him˺.”[3]
Among many other verses…
Hypocrisy of ‘Nifāq‘ is linguistically rooted in the tunnels ‘Nāfiqā’‘ left by a gerbil ‘al-yarbou’‘ which digs many tunnels to distract from its main hiding place. Where it appears to be is very different to where it actually is, which resembles the hypocrite’s two-facedness. What he claims is contrary to what he conceals and while at the crunch the gerbil escapes through another tunnel, the hypocrite appears with another face!
In the Qur’ān, the Chapter of the Hypocrites begins by telling of their falsity, where they are heard sanctimoniously declaring that Mohammad sala Allāhu ‘alayhi wasalam is the Messenger of Allāh:
“…Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are certainly liars.”[4]
Notice how it consonantly ends by another insincere ‘performance’, now at death in which the dying person regrets, out of all things, not giving Sadaqa.
“And donate from what We have provided for you before death comes to one of you, and you cry, ‘My Lord! If only You delayed me for a short while, I would give in charity and be one of the righteous.’”[5]
The long life of self-deceit will surface vividly at this moment. For Sadaqa is arguably the promptest deed at the helm of a death that could prove one’s sincerity (Sidq) if death were to give respite to its desperate victim.
References:
[1] Qur’ān 9:67
[2] Qur’ān 9:79
[3] Qur’ān 63:7
[4] Qur’ān 63:1
[5] Qur’ān 63:10
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