Saman khalil
As soon as Ramadan comes, everyone wants to please Allah Almighty and earn good deeds. During this month, where people worship, on the other hand, they try their best to fulfill the rest of Allah’s commands.
During Ramadan, everyone helps the poor by giving Zakat alms as per their status and at the same time hurts the deserving people by posting pictures and videos on social media.
What is Zakat?
Zakat is one of the five main pillars of Islam, the literal meaning of which is to purify or nurture. Its main purpose is to help the poor, to contribute to the welfare of the people and to provide the means of life to the deserving people.
What is the ruling on Zakat in the Holy Quran? There is a verse in the Qur’an which has the following meaning: O beloved Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) Collect charity from their income, cleanse them for it, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is the source of peace of their hearts, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
To whom is it allowable to give Zakat and charity?
It is permissible to give zakat and alms to the deserving, orphans, the poor, widows and white-clad people.
Why do people take pictures and videos while giving zakat and charity?
The Holy Qur’an explains how to treat those who receive alms while providing alms, the meaning of which is that when you call the poor and needy to give alms, it is with a word of honor and in secret. This is better than that charity which is followed by hurting the sentiments of people.
They should be kept hidden from the eyes of the people, and pictures should not be taken in front of them, because it is further stated in a verse of the Holy Qur’an which means that if you do not give charity to the poor and needy in such a way(means giving in secret), it will instead become a torment for them. That will end up getting them hurt. In addition to that their self-esteem will also hurt. So if they suffer then your charity is of no use.
Now tell me that the well-wishers and the rest of the people take pictures with the poor and needy in public, does that not hurt the self-esteem of the white-clad people?
Of course, it does. That is why today there are many charities and alms but not blessings because they are not given according to the essence of the Qur’an. That’s why it is not permissible to take pictures of welfare for the people in any case as this act is also against human dignity.
In the present situation, people belonging to all walks of life are giving generously in charity. May Allah Almighty accept this good deed of all of them in His court. It should be kept in mind that one’s self-esteem should not be harmed while giving charity. When we give Zakat, we make pictures and videos as if we are doing good to the recipient.
It is a great misfortune for us that even when people give something to someone, they take a picture of it and post it on social media. Sometimes many people are busy taking pictures of giving things. Nowadays, it has become a trend for people to do the same thing while giving alms, because of which deserving people do not come forward to take charity.
If we do not take pictures and videos with the thought that this act of ours is free from hypocrisy and Zakat and charity are for the sake of gaining the pleasure of pure Allah, then at the same time white-clad people will be helped without making them feel embarrassing. And there will be no fear of losing our good deeds while this work of ours will also become a good deed in the court of the Lord.
