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Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a young couple. They were newly married and were trying to become better Muslims by studying more about Islām. They were very happy and in love, but everything was not perfect. He would often stare longingly at motorcycles around town, having sold his in order to pay for their apartment. At the grocery store, she passed by the cherries and thought about how she hadn’t had any since getting married. This week, she had finally saved up enough, but the baby had fallen ill and the doctor prescribed goat milk, which was making a dent in their budget. Cherries would have to wait.
Looking at her watch, she realized that she was about to run late for the Tajweed class at the Masjid. One of the first things she and her husband had learned when they started studying the religion was that the Qurʾān must be read with Tajweed – proper pronunciation and rhythm. However, because of his class schedule at the university and the part-time job he had started, they both couldn’t attend the classes at the same time. Instead, they would take turns attending the class and babysitting their son, and the one who attended the class would come back and teach the other so neither would miss out or fall behind.
Even though there was no actual registration fee for the class, one day, the Masjid asked the Tajweed class students for donations to help continue and further develop their Tajweed program. Many of the students were quite well off and donated hundreds of dollars to add to the Masjid’s budget. The young couple wanted to contribute something too, as they had benefitted from the classes that were offered. However, due to their tight budget, they didn’t have much to spare. Nonetheless, they managed to scrape together $20 to give as Sadaqah.
People then began talking and gossiping about the couple. $20?! How could that possibly make any difference in the budget of the Masjid? What good does $20 do? The whispers followed them everywhere they went:
“Look at her: she can afford all these fashionable clothes, but when it comes to the Masjid, all she has to spare is $20?”
“He’s attending one of the best universities in town, and yet only gives $20 in Sadaqah?”
The young couple was mortified. How could they possibly explain to everybody that they had eaten less than usual for several weeks because $20 they gave came out of their food budget? That the fashionable clothes she wore were given to her by her older sister and parents? That the only reason he could afford to go to a good university was because he had worked very hard and earned a full scholarship? In order to escape the gossip, they stopped going to the Masjid, and stopped attending the Tajweed classes.
Allāh (ﷻ) mentions a group of people in the Qurʾān who belittle and make fun of the volunteers among the Muslims – the ones who go out of their way to do something for the sake of Allāh in the form of Sadaqah, and the Muslims who don’t have anything to contribute except their own efforts and hard work.
Allāh (ﷻ) says that He Himself (ﷻ) will make fun of these people, and they will have a very painful punishment on the Day of Judgement. (Al-Tawbah 9:79).
This āyah was revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ) when one of his Companions, Abu ‘Aqeel Al-Ansari, worked all night pulling water out of a well to earn a small handful of dates, which he then donated to the Muslim army. A group of Munafiqeen (hypocrites) laughed at the small contribution he made saying, does he really think that that will make any difference?!
Allāh (ﷻ) Himself knows best what someone is able to give, and their intentions behind giving it. Nobody has the right to judge or make fun of what someone is giving, no matter how small it may appear to be. Perhaps the $20 this couple donated was greater in the sight of Allāh (ﷻ) than the hundreds that the others gave.
When giving Sadaqah, for whichever cause it may be, don’t think about the amount that you are giving. Give as much as you can, however little, and make it purely for the sake of Allāh (ﷻ).
May Allāh (ﷻ) accept all our good deeds in this month of Ramadān and allow us to live to see many more.
– Contributed by Marjaan Ali
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