Ramdan Series- Spending in the way of Allah

                                                  Spending in the way of Allah 

SURAH BAQARAH AYAH 261

مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِى كُلِّ سُنۢبُلَةٍۢ مِّا۟ئَةُ حَبَّةٍۢ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ٢٦١

The example of those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah is that of a grain that sprouts into seven ears, each bearing one hundred grains. And Allah multiplies ˹the reward even more˺ to whoever He wills. For Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.

This ayah mentions the person who spends his wealth in the way of Allah. Wealth is one of the most beloved things of human beings and so Allah has mentioned amazing rewards for spending this wealth in His way.

Allah mentions the love of wealth a human being has in these ayahs:

Surah aadiyat ayah 8:

وَإِنَّهُۥ لِحُبِّ ٱلْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ ٨

and they are truly extreme in their love of ˹worldly˺ gains.

We see in Surah fajr ayah 20 :وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلْمَالَ حُبًّۭا جَمًّۭا ٢٠

and they love wealth fervently.-

If there was no love for wealth then the rewards wouldn’t have been that high.

Wealth is very important for humans to fulfill their needs. So in other words a person let goes of some of his pleasures when he spends that wealth on others, the degree of sacrifice he makes raises his degree of rewards. 

In this Ayah Allah uses an example to explain the rewards of a person who spends his wealth for the sake of Allah : 1. For jihad 2. For good cause.. their example is like a seed that sprouts one Stem from which sprouts seven branches and from each branch 100 seeds, here it shows that one seed got multiplied into 700 seeds, and not only that if the person spends with full conviction and hoping Allahs rewards then Allah says He increases it more ( وَٱللَّهُ يُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۗ ). Every such deed will get 700 rewards but the more the sincerity in the heart the more the reward. 

On the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), from what he has related from his Lord:

Verily Allah Taa’la  has written down the good deeds and the evil deeds, and then explained it [by saying]: “Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and then did perform it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended it [i.e., the evil deed] and then performed it, then Allah writes it down as one evil deed.” Al Bukhari

Wealth is everything that is in ones possession. There are just two conditions while spending in the way of Allah,

 1- the intention should purely be for the sake of Allah and 

2. That it abides by the sharia and does not go against the laws of Allah.

 A person who spends in the way of Allah with purity in his heart and not for the people to see, not to prove that he is a better muslim nor with any expectations of return from the receiver then Allah takes this wealth as a beautiful loan. 

Allah says in an ayah in Surah al Hadid ayah 11 :

مَّن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يُقْرِضُ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًۭا فَيُضَـٰعِفَهُۥ لَهُۥ وَلَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌۭ كَرِيمٌۭ

Who is it that will lend to Allah a good loan which Allah will multiply ˹many times over˺ for them, and they will have an honourable reward?

Allah loves such charity, and takes it as a loan because a loan has to be returned. Allah takes this as a trade with him in return of Jannah ..as mentioned in Surah Tawba ayah 111: 

۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلْجَنَّةَ ۚ

Allah has indeed purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise. 

Never think that by spending in the way of Allah we are reducing our wealth, all these ayahs from Quran shows us that it only multiplies our wealth.. 

Look around us all these things, Allahs creations are givers: the sun that gives us light , the clouds that give us rain, the sea that gives us fish, the trees that give us fruits and so on, this shows that giving is the quality of someone who is close to Allah . Allah loves the givers. 

This is as if we are saving for the aakhira. In the bank that will be opened on the day when we need our hasanaath the most, and to our surprise it will be multiplied by the mercy of Allah. InshaAllah