Assalam oalaikum,
Generally speaking, the word donation refers to a gift, contribution, grant or fund. Donation can be given either to assist a noble cause or for a charitable reason.
I had mentioned about the Quranic verse 9:103 in
http://lawsinislam.blogspot.in/2013/01/islamic-zakat-law-verses-9103-262-63.html which describes charity as a means of purifying one’s wealth.
Spending in the Way of Allah (swt) has been emphasized in the Holy Quran through its various verses and also in the ahadith.
Islam has laid stress on charity and offering donation in the Way of Allah (swt) because Islam aims to establish socio-economic justice in the society. There are several malpractices in the present society, such as the system of charging interest on loans, gambling etc which may seem to be quite lucrative at first glance, but they create a negative impact on the society in the long run. The viewpoint of Islam is broad and it views things in a bigger perspective. It views the society as a whole and has framed laws which provide holistic solutions to problems in the society. Islam does not encourage the accumulation of wealth by a few. On the contrary it supports the circulation of wealth in the society and in order to create this circulation of wealth it has devised several methods so that the wealth does not circulate in between the hands of some people.
One of the most effective solutions that Islam offers for narrowing the rich-poor divide are the rulings on charity in the Quran and ahadith. Allah (swt) has Commanded the people in numerous verses of the Holy Quran to offer charity and donation to earn His Goodwill in this life and the Hereafter. I shall discuss those specific verses in my next blog, Inshallah.
The concept of offering donation is intrinsic to Islamic philosophy and it provides the society with several benefits such as reducing the friction between the haves and the have-nots. It also does away with the negative traits of selfishness, greed, materialism and replaces them with positive qualities of selflessness, brotherhood, humanity and compassion.
No comments:
Post a Comment