Giving from what is loved. It turns inward, refining intentions and purifying hearts. Threaded through this Juz is sincerity to Allah and his Messenger (SAW) in intention with timely deed of giving.
Have they not come to know that Allah is He who accepts tauba (repentance) from His slaves and accepts sadaqah (charity), and that Allah is Most-Relenting, Most-Merciful. (9:104)
Allah accepts sadaqah.
What an astonishing concept. What good news for the givers.
Allah reveals something remarkable: seeking repentance and giving charity are not merely outward acts — they are means of purification and divine reception.
They accomplish three realities:
- They remove sins.
- They allow the giver to receive the dua’ of the Prophet ﷺ.
- Allah Himself accepts the sadaqa (charity) — through His Names At-Tawwāb (The One who constantly accepts repentance) and Ar-Raḥīm (The Especially Merciful).
Giving is among the most difficult things for the nafs(ego). Even when giving to the needy, it wants to attach conditions — judging worthiness, measuring deservedness, calculating loss. Yet no one knows who benefits more, the giver or the recipient, other than Allah.
And so, in some cases, Allah redirects the act of giving away from being about the recipient — whom diseased hearts may deem unworthy — and makes it about the purification of the giver.
For some, a motive to give may be reward from Allah. It is a good intention. Yet both(giving to help the needy and to gain a reward from Allah) can remain deficient if the giver imagines: “I am giving from what I earned, what is mine, what I own.” Rather than: “Allah entrusted this with me to give to His servant”.
In reality, nothing belongs to us.
It is from Allah that it comes.
With Allah (in mind) it is given.
Through Allah it is received.
And to Allah it returns.
“Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” – Surah al-An‘am (6:162)
The truth is, it was always Allah’s to begin with. The needy would always receive their provision. But out of His mercy, Allah allows us to participate — to become a medium of that illuminous circle of light that permeates all creation.
منك إليك إحاطة النور المطلسم
From You to You — an all-encompassing divine cryptic light. (a line from a salawat – The Perfect Jewel)
The one who hoards wealth does not prevent provision from reaching others. He excludes himself from mercy, repentance, and removes himself from the circle of divine generosity.
The narration of Aishah رضي الله عنها illustrates this beautifully. After distributing most of a lamb in charity, the Prophet ﷺ asked her what remains. She replied, “Nothing remains except the shoulder.” He corrected her: “Rather, all of it remains except the shoulder.”
There is even a worldly proverb that echoes this truth:
You cannot truly keep something unless you give it away.
Allah declares:
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise.” (9:111)
Some will cling to their lives and their wealth — and lose Paradise. Others will release both — and gain Paradise. Alhamdulillah!
May Allah purify our intentions, free our hearts from attachment to wealth, and accept our giving this Ramadan.
Ishaq Majeed (Is-Hock Ma-jeed) is a second-generation Muslim born and raised in Atlanta’s West End Muslim and East Atlanta’s Masjid of Al-Islam communities. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Morehouse College and in 2022, he received a Master of Arts in Islamic Studies from Bayan Islamic Graduate School and Chicago Theological Seminary, where he was honored to be a Muhammad Ali Scholar. In December 2022, Ishaq was asked to serve on the board of a non-profit (501c3) organization, Al-fityanu, which builds hospitals for small communities in Senegal West Africa. Ishaq is also a business owner and an Information Technology (IT) security Professional with over 20 years of experience. In 2015, Ishaq started Kubra Cybersecurity to expand IT and cybersecurity opportunities for minorities. To this date, Kubra Cybersecurity has performed successfully on several contracts and is increasing its capacity to serve on more contracts and provide more opportunities.
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