Ṣadaqa
Definition
Sadaqa refers to voluntary charitable giving beyond the obligatory zakat — any gift of wealth, time, or service given sincerely for the sake of Allah. Al-Ghazali argues that sadaqa is one of the most powerful medicines for the disease of love of wealth, because it actively trains the heart to release what it naturally wants to hold. He cites the prophetic promise that sadaqa does not decrease wealth but increases it — a promise he takes seriously not only in the spiritual sense (the reward of the Hereafter) but in the worldly sense of the barakah that flows to the generous giver.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Ṣadaqa.
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""Three of them are for God, and six for what was in my breast against him." Al-Tabarani said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Sadaqa al-Baghdadi and Ishaq ibn Dawud al-Sawwaf al-Tustari told us, saying: Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Khidash told us: Muslim ibn Qutayba told us: Mubarak told us, from al-Hasan. He said: The swordsman of Uthman told me that a man of the Helpers went in to Uthman, and he said: "Go back, son of my brother, for you are not my killer." He said: "How do you know that?""
— Ibn Kathir, Uthman ibn Affan
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"Almighty, than a drop of a Muslim man’s blood in the path of Allah or a drop of tear in the darkness of the night. The hadith includes Muhammad bin Sadaqa, the astronomer whose narration is weak. We ask Allah, from His great kindness and generosity, for His gracious concealment in this world and the Hereafter. Manifestation of the virtue of blessing over trial: Is it permissible to ask Allah for trials?"
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 32: Patience and Gratitude
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"This hadith was extracted by Abu Bakr bin Lall in "Makarem Al-Akhlaq" from the hadith of Ali bin Abi Talib without mentioning the two gulps. It includes Muhammad bin Sadaqa, the astronomer whose hadith is considered weak. Ibn Majah narrated from the hadith of Ibn Umar with a good chain: "No gulp is greater before Allah than a gulp of anger suppressed by a servant seeking Allah's Countenance."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 32: Patience and Gratitude
Appears in
1 book in the library
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