Ramadan Selections 1447H- Lesson 29: Zakat is a Purification from Stinginess and Greed
- Ramadan Lectures
- /
- 26.Ramadan Selections
Additional link to watch the video
Click
×
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Zakat is a purification from stinginess and greed:
Regarding Zakat, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them. Verily! Your invocations are a source of security for them, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. ﴿
Allah the Almighty says that Zakat purifies and sanctifies you, but what does it purify? It purifies the wealthy person from greed, which is a malignant disease—indeed, a deadly one.
I am not exaggerating when I say that greed is a destructive disease that afflicts a person until he becomes foolish: he lives like a poor man only to die a rich one.
A father of a young man left him enormous wealth after his death, but he had neither raised him properly nor introduced him to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, practically. A few days after his father's death, someone asked him, "Where are you going?" He replied—and I must quote his words literally, "I am going to get drunk for the soul of my father."
His father did not teach him Islamic knowledge, nor did he guide him to Allah the Almighty. He left him wealth, but he did not leave him Islamic knowledge.
Concerning this point, Imam Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said to Kumail bin Ziyad, "O Kumail knowledge is better than wealth; for knowledge guards you, while you have to guard wealth. Wealth diminishes when spent, while knowledge grows and increases when sharded and put in use. O Kumail the hoarders of wealth have died although they are still alive, whereas the learned men exist for ever; their bodies have disappeared, but their teachings and wisdom are ingrained in the hearts."
Once, a brother I visited, who was over one hundred years old and had spent his entire life teaching the Quran, said to me, "I have thirty-eight grandchildren, most of whom have memorized the Book of Allah."
The believer is a source of blessing for himself, his family, his sons and daughters, his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and his grandchildren. The elderly husband and wife, their children with their spouses, their daughters with their husbands; thirty-eight grandchildren, most of them are memorizers of the Quran.
Dear noble brothers, I repeat this part of the Ayah:
﴾ Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it… ﴿
Zakat cleanses the wealthy from stinginess, the poor from bitterness, and the wealth from being burdened with the rights of others.
﴾ …And sanctify them with it… ﴿
It nurtures the self of the wealthy person as he sees the smile in on the faces of those he helped, consoles them, uplifts their spirits, and softens their hearts.
It purifies the self of the poor person: he feels that the community cares for him and stands by him.
It purifies wealth from being burdened by with the rights of others, causing it to grow.
It nurtures the selves of the poor and the rich. This is the purpose of Zakat.
﴾ Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them. Verily! Your invocations are a source of security for them… ﴿
