Ḥadīth Lesson: Virtues of Sadaqah

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al-Ḥaqqānī. Madad.

1Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The best charity is what a man with little property can afford to give;” It is charity given by a poor person who hardly has any resources. “And begin with those for whom you are responsible.” So a person is poor, he should give sadaqah; sadaqah is given first to one’s own family. Whatever he spends on them is considered charity for him. This is the most virtuous charity, our Prophet ﷺ says.

2Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The best kind of charity is that which is given when you are rich, and the upper hand is better than the lower hand, and start with those for whom you are responsible.” What’s to be given as charity is what remains after fulfilling one's needs. If there is a need, that need is met first, and what remains after that becomes charity. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam said, “The giving hand is superior to the receiving hand.”

3Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The most virtuous charity is the one given to a relative who thinks evil of you.” May Allah ﷻ correct them, there are many people today who do evil to their relatives instead of doing good. Despite this, it is a great virtue to ignore that evil and still give sadaqah to them. You break your ego, and even though he hurts you and does evil to you, you still help him just because he is poor. This is one of the most acceptable and virtuous sadaqah in the sight of Allah ﷻ.

4Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ says, “The most virtuous charity is the one you give to a slave who works for a bad head of state.” Now, of course, there is no slavery left, but there are poor people working for others. The charity given to people who work for high-ranking people and have difficulty receiving the return of their labor are among the most virtuous alms. Because such employers generally spend their money on unnecessary things and do not give their rights to the poor working for them. The charity given to those who work for such people are among the most virtuous alms.

5Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ says, “The most virtuous charity is the one given secretly to the poor and given by a low-income person by straining his means.” It is more virtuous to give alms secretly so that the recipient will not be offended. “The most virtuous of charity is the charity given by people with limited means.”

6Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Money obtained through four means is not acceptable when spent in four different ways.” Acts of worship performed with money earned through these four unacceptable means are invalid. “First: through betrayal;” meaning you have gained unjustly through betrayal. “Second: through theft;” meaning you have stolen money. “Third: through spoils of war, embezzlement from public property;” now there is no spoils of war, but it refers to money unjustly seized from the state or public property. “Fourth: through consuming the property of an orphan;” meaning money obtained by usurping the rights of an orphan. Acts of charity performed with money obtained through these four means are not accepted. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam listed the most important of these as follows:

Hajj: You have stolen, consumed the rights of an orphan, committed injustice, and you are going to perform Hajj with that money; that Hajj is not accepted, don’t go in vain.

Umrah: You cannot perform Umrah with such money.

Jihad: In the past, buying weapons for jihad required money. That no longer exists, anyways.

Charity: You cannot give charity from stolen wealth.

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam said that none of these will be accepted. Therefore, do not expect reward by spending this money on worship; what you should do is return the money to its rightful owners so that you can at least be absolved of sin.

7Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “I am astonished at those who buy slaves with their own money and then free them.” Of course, there was slavery in the past; A person bought and freed slaves with his own money. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wasallam says, “I am surprised by these.” “How is it that they do not bind themselves to free people by doing good to them, even though their reward is much greater?” So freeing slaves is good, but if you do good to free people, they serve you because of

your kindness. They understand so much of goodness that they become as slaves to you when you treat them with goodness. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam said that for the future. Now there is no slavery, but there are poor people to whom we can do good; If you help them, they will be grateful to you.

8Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “A Muslim person earns reward for everything he spends on himself, his family, his friends and his animals.” He gains reward from all of these. “However, he does not earn rewards for the money he spends on building a house.” Since it is his own personal home and his place to live, this is not considered as charity and he does not gain any reward from it. “He will only be rewarded for the money he spends on the construction of a mosque, seeking the consent of Allāh ﷻ.” A person does not earn reward from the house he builds for himself, but if he supports the construction of a mosque, he gains a greater reward from that.

Sadaqa RasuluLlah fi ma qal, aw kama qal. The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ says the truth in what he ﷺ said or as he ﷺ said.

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Ihda’ – Dedication:

Ziyadatan ila sharafi’ ‘n-Nabi, sallaLlahu `alayhi wa sallam wa Alihi wa Asahabihi l-kiram, wa ila arwahi jamee’i al Anbiya’i wa l-Mursalin wa Khudama’i sharai’ihim wa ila arwahi al ‘Aimmati al arba’a, wa ila arwahi Mashayyikhina fi t-Tariqati nNaqshbandiyyati l-Aliyyah, khassatan Imamu t-Tariqah wa Ghawthu l-Khaliqah Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi l-Bukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, wa sai’ri Sadatina wa s-Siddiqiyun, wa man nahnu fi hadratihim wa jiwarihim. To the souls of all our ancestors. For goodness to come and evil to be warded off. For people to come to their senses. Li-Llahi Ta’ala, Al-Fatiha.

[(Translation) To the honor of the Prophet, Prayers and Peace be upon Him, and his family, and his companions, and the souls of all the prophets as well as of His messengers and of those who served their Sharia, and to the souls of the four Imams. And to the souls of our Mashayikh of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Tariqa, in particular to the soul of the Imam of the Tariqa Ghawth al-Khaliqa (the Help of Creation), Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi l-Bukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, and the rest of our masters and Siddiqiyun, and to whom we are in their presence and near them. To the souls of all our ancestors. For goodness to come and evil to be warded off. To Allah Almighty. Al Fatiha.]

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 08 September 2026/ 26 Rabih Al-Awwal 1448 Beylerbeyi Dergah, Istanbul