Charity

In the Qur'an we find many repeating leitmotifs,

linking words, and along with them ideas,

like the familiar pairs of Beautiful Names,

and a consistently repeated linkage between the Sala and the Zaka.

This link between the two appears five times in Sura Baqara alone,

along with a couple of dozen more times in the remaining Suras.

This link can also be compared to that of belief and the doing of good works,

a pairing that appears almost the same number of times

Clearly true belief can only be accompanied with good works,

as a need to do good accompanies a recognition of God's ultimate judgement of our behaviour.

Believing may make us feel better about our place in eternity,

but God's justice requires that we also do our best

to make other people feel better as well.

And so it is with the Sala.

Sala is not for the benefit of God.

God cannot be increased or decreased in any way.

The benefits of Sala are for the one who prays,

and those benefits are felt in many ways,

but the Qur'an makes it clear that it is not enough

just to take care of our own well-being in this way.

We have to share what we have with others,

and this is formalised in the Zaka.

In fact, both pairs can regularly be found together, as in Sura 2.277,

and the Qur'an is replete with discussion of the need for charity

in both the generalised form of good doing that is Sadaqa,

and the limited nature of Zaka,

and copious legal writings are devoted to

attempts to distinguish and define the two,

as well as to the manner of the giving,

the good and the bad,

based on the guidance of the Qur'an.

One such passage of guidance

is in the Sura of The Cow, ayats 261-274.

This begins with a description of how charity works,

spreading its good in society

like a grain of corn

that can grow to be the source of hundreds more.

But such charity is nullified if the giver demands gratitude,

or accompanies the giving with disparagement

or demeaning words towards the recipient.

Nor is it appropriate to give charity

making great display,

showing off and wanting praise for the giving.

Again this is a case of wanting something for the giving,

in which case it is not a gift but a transaction,

a purchase of praise or thanks.

And if we are giving goods, we should not just give what we would not want for ourselves.

Charity should be seen as a sharing, not a convenient receptacle for rubbish.

These things make sense if we use our minds.

Equally with regard to the idea that it is of course good to give charity openly,

which has the added virtue

of setting a good example to others,

still it is better to give to the poor secretly,

with no concern for the effect your giving has on other people's perception of you,

simply wanting to see God's Face

and give God's Mercy to the world.

And whatever you give, God knows it,

and says in the Qur'an that those who give will feel no fear

and know no sorrow.

It should also be noted that during the time of the Messenger,

a fifth part of the goods that were captured in victorious battles or skirmishes

was directly allocated to the Messenger to distribute at his discretion.

This was enumerated by God in the Qur'an in Sura 8.41.

Now even though the concept of gaining booty through battle has largely vanished,

lost in the shade of the extraordinary scale

and destructive nature of modern warfare,

many Shi'a preserve this tradition

through what is known as the Khums,

collected by Mujtahids from their followers

on behalf of the Hidden Imam.