Brethren-in-Islam!
In my two
previous discourses I have explained to you the real position of Zakat. Now I
shall throw light on another aspect of it.
Allah's attribute of beneficence
At several
places in the Holy Qur'an the phrase Infaq fi sabilillah has been used for
Zakat and Sadaqaat. It means "spending in the cause of Allah". At
some places it has been said that whatever you spend in the cause of Allah is a
nice loan repayable by Him. This implies that you have advanced a loan to Allah
and He has become your Debtor. At numerous places in the Qur'an it has also
been stated that whatever you spend for the cause of Allah, its reward is
incumbent on Him and that He will not only repay in equal measure but to a much
greater degree. Please think over this point. Is the Lord of the earth and
heaven, Nauzubillah (may God forgive) your dependant? Is that Supreme Being in
need of loan from you? (May God forgive) How can it be? It is on His largess
alone that your life is being sustained. It is the food given by Him that you
eat. Whatever the rich and the poor among you possess, all is a gift from Him
only. From a destitute to a millionaire and a multimillionaire, everybody among
you is His dependant but He is not a dependant of anybody. What need can He
have to ask for loan from you and stretch out His hand before you? The fact of
the matter is that this is all due to spend for your benefit, for your own good
and for your own work, yet He says:
"This expenditure is made in My cause, it is a
debt to Me, I owe you its reward and I accept it as an obligation to Me. When
you give it to the poor and the destitute of your community, from where can
these wretches recompense you for it? 1 will do it on their behalf You render
help to your poor relatives. Its obligation is not on them but on Me. I will
recompense you for this favour. Whatever you give to the orphans, widows,
disabled folk, wayfarers among you and to your brethren in distress, enter it in
My account. Your claim for repayments is not against them but against Me, and I
will fulfil it. You should give loan to your distressed brethren but should not
demand interest from them. Do not worry them. If they are unable to pay back,
do not have them sent to civil jail. Do not have their clothes and utensils
sold out. Do not make their wives and children homeless by depriving them of
their dwelling. Your debt is not owed by them but by Me. If they return the
capital 1 will pay interest on it, if they cannot give back even the capital, I
will pay you both capital and interest. Similarly, whatever you spend for the
work of your collective welfare, for the good and betterment of your
fellow-beings, though it will benefit you also, yet it will be a favour to Me.
1 will return every single pie of it to you along with the profit".
This is the attribute of the most Beneficent, the Monarch of monarchs. All that
you possess is a gift from Him only. You do not get it from anywhere else. You
receive it from His treasures only. And then whatever you give, you do not give
it to Him but to your own relatives, your own folk, members of your own
community, or you spend it on your collective well-being whose benefit reaches
you ultimately. But look at that Supreme Beneficent Being that in regard to the
wealth you take from Him and give it to your own people, He says :
"You have given it to Me. I will give its
reward to vou."
Allah-o-Akbar!
To the Lord of the world alone befits this attribute of beneficence. It
behooves that Independent Monarch only to manifest the highest possible
excellence of generosity and beneficence. No human being can even conceive of
such a lofty attitude.
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