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, Nauzubillall (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. Wizen you give it to the poor and the
destitute of your community; from where can these wretches recompense you for
it? I 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 favor.
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 fulfill 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 I 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 favor to Me. I will return even,
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 you."
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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