 In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you. Welcome to the seventh episode of the Treaties of Rights. I'm your host, Ali Jassim. Let's start today's episode with the right of charity. Regarding charity, Imam Zayn al-Abdina al-Sajjad al-Assalam has said, and the right of charity is that you should know that it is a storing away with your Lord and a deposit for which you will have no need for witnesses. Then once you know this, you will be more confident of it if you donate it in secret than if you donate it in public. It is more appropriate for you to do privately what you now do in public and keep the affairs between you and him secret under all circumstances. And you should also not take your hearing and sight as witnesses for the donations that you make in charity as if you have the most trust in yourself. It should not be as if you are not sure that your donations will be returned to you. Finally, you should not remind others of your favors since you have done so for yourself. If you remind them of your favors, you will not be immune from being similarly reminded of others' favors to you. Moreover, this will prove that your intentions were not pure. If you had pure intentions, you would not remind anyone of it. And there is no power but in God. Imam Zajjad Zayn al-Abdina peace and blessings be upon him. Here stresses on a topic so worldwide and diverse that every religion and every nation believes in it, which is charity. Imam Zajjad peace and blessings be upon him has stressed three important points here. One, charity is a form of savings, therefore it will not get lost. It might seem to us that we lose what we give away in charity while it is not so. Rather, the Holy Quran encourages us to benefit from the wealth of this world as we see in the following verse, Nor forget thy portion in this world, the Holy Quran Chapter Al-Qasas Chapter 28 verse 77. Here, the Imam is elaborating on the fact that giving is gaining rather than losing anything. Giving charity has never made anyone poor, but rather it adds a sense of happiness and satisfaction in life like no other. Even recent studies have shed a major light on how giving charity affects our mental status and overall well-being. The US Health website states, numerous studies have attempted to capture the benefits of giving and they've consistently shown that giving makes people feel good. Whether it's volunteering or donating cash, selfless action can help lessen the risk and symptoms of depression and day-to-day stress. Charitable donations trigger the Meso-Olympic system in much the same way. Even thinking about giving money to a meaningful cause engages this evolutionary reward system. According to research led by Jorge Moll of the Dior Institute in Research and Education in Brazil, when giving selflessly, people say their friendships are deeper, they're sleeping better, and they're able to handle life's obstacles better, post says. On a scale of 1 to 10, and 10 is a really powerful drug like insulin in the treatment of diabetes, this stuff is probably up there around a 7 or an 8. And the amazing thing is, you don't need to go to a drugstore for it. The second point that Imam emphasizes on is that giving charity in private is better than in public. That may be because there is a possibility of hypocrisy and showing off an ax of charity done in public. In addition to this, the one who is receiving charity will also be belittled when charity is given in public. And lastly, the third point is that charity should not be mixed with mentioning gifts since that will diminish its effect. What is donated in charity will reach God first. Even more important is the fact that when charity is given in private, it helps in the development of the understanding that God is the real donator in the mind of the one who is donating something. He realizes that he is only an intermediate agent in this affair and understands the real meaning of being a servant to God. When giving money to the poor in public or in front of others, this will most likely negatively impact the less fortunate individual and make them feel humiliated or undermined, which is something that Imam wants us to avoid. In the Holy Qur'an it says, those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah and then do not follow up what they have spent with reminders of it or other injury will have their reward with their Lord and there will be no fear concerning them nor will they grieve. Allah SWT then says, kind speech and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury. And Allah is free of need and forbearing. It also says in the Holy Qur'an, O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders of or injury as does one who spends his wealth only to be seen by the people and does not believe in Allah and the last day. His example is like that of a large smooth stone upon which is dust and is hit by a downpour that leaves it bare. They are unable to keep anything of what they have earned and Allah does not guide the disbelieving people. Let's go for a quick break. We will be right back. Welcome back, my dear viewers. Consider a rock covered by a thin layer of dirt. If seeds are plenty of good weather and sunshine and then there's a heavy rainfall, the seeds will be washed off along with the dirt. The rock is so hard that the seed cannot grow on it and the bare and hard appearance of the rock will appear again. This does not happen because the sunshine, the climate or the rains have had a bad effect. Rather it is because the place was not suitable for growth. It has had a good appearance, but it has been solid hardness beneath. There has only been a small layer of dirt on the surface while a deep layer of soft soil is needed for the roots to be able to grow and extract nutrients to ensure proper health. The Qur'an draws a similitude between hypocritical acts of charity that are at times even accompanied by hurting and mentioning, and a shallow layer of dirt on a bare and hard rock. This cannot bear any fruits. It will only result in the efforts being wasted. That is why Mama Sajjad, the last peace and blessings be upon him, said, finally you should not remind others of your favors since you have done so for yourself. In Islam, every Muslim is obliged to give to charity in whatever form to boost his piety and spread wealth and goodwill among his whole community. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an, by no means shall you attain to righteousness until you have spent generously out of what you have loved. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an, by no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend generously out of what you love and whatever thing you spend Allah surely knows it. What Mama Sajjad, peace and blessings be upon him, expressed about charity is supported by many verses of the Holy Qur'an, some of which we will discuss here. We should make it clear that charity implies what one donates from his own property in order to get closer to Allah. It is a general term and covers both the mandatory alms tax and the recommendable forms of giving donations. God the Almighty said, The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of God is that of a grain of corn, it groweth seven ears and each ear had a hundred grains. And God careth for all, and he knoweth all things. The Holy Qur'an al-Baqara chapter 2 verse 261. This parable of how a grain of corn grows and yields a manifold increase shows how once charity is returned to God. The Qur'an says that each person's actions are a reflection of his personality. It is not true that our actions are manifestations of our physical powers. In this parable, the one who gives charity is said to be similar to one who plants corn. The result of his act is a manifold increase. Things done in the way of God imply acts done for pleasing God alone. Over the course of decades, the major gap between various social classes have caused many numerous major issues. Regardless of all the technological advances in our society today, this matter still seems to be worsening rather than improving. There are some people who are extremely rich and many others who are extremely poor today. It is clear that a society in which most of the people are hungry and poor and some are very healthy cannot last very long. Undoubtedly, there will be stress, animosities, or even fights in such a society. A careful examination of the verses of the Qur'an clearly indicates that Islam aims to eliminate unjust social differences between the rich and the poor. It aims to establish certain means by which the standard of living of the poor people can be elevated to a point at which they can at least benefit from minimum living necessities. To achieve this goal, Islam has absolutely forbidden usury. It has also established certain mandatory taxes such as the alms, tax, and the one-fifth levy. It has also encouraged many voluntary forms of charity to help achieve this goal. Regarding charity, Imam Al-Qadim says, By giving charity, seek the dissension of your daily bread. Imam Radha, peace and blessings be upon him, quoted on the authority of his father on the authority of the noble prophet, Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his holy family. The best of a person's wealth and savings is what he gives in charity. There's a very beautiful saying to Imam Ali, that says, Generosity is to help a deserving person without his request. And if you help him after his request, then it is either out of self-respect or to avoid rebuke. There is such a beautiful way to look at things. It is a beautiful and comprehensive explanation of charity that it is not when someone asks you, but you should help them before they even ask. There are many deserving people who do not ask for charity because of various reasons, but most commonly out of self-respect, which is why Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, has said that we should help them before they even have to ask. Many people don't give charity or don't donate because they believe it's too little or unimportant. But in reality, even the smallest form of charity has a tremendous impact on the receiver as well as the giver. Regarding this matter, Imam Ali Amir al-Mumni, the commander of the Faithful, peace and blessings be upon him, says, Do not feel ashamed if the amount of charity is small because to refuse the needy is an act of greater shame. Through this saying, he has explained to us that we should not refuse anyone only because we have a little to give. In such a situation, we may refuse to help the needy because of shame that we have so little to offer, but he has told us that refusing because of the reason is even greater shame. With this, we conclude today's episode. My dear respected viewers, join us for another episode on the treaties of rights of Imam al-Sajjad, peace be upon him. Let us always remember the duaat, say, it's in the appearance of our beloved Imam al-Mahdi, Aja Allah ta'ala, Fajr al-Sharif, wa as-salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuhu