Foreword & Preface

With the highest praise to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and with Darood and Salaam to Rasulullah ﷺ, these few pages are being presented to our readers to bring out the virtues of Sadaqaat (spending for the cause of Allah). As mentioned in the preface to my booklet on Virtues of Hajj, my late uncle Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Rahmatullahi alayhi was deeply interested in the publication of a book on this subject and, in the last days of his life, he repeatedly urged me to write one. So much so that, once while standing for Asr Salaat when Takbeer was being called, he leaned forward from the row and said to this humble author, “Do not forget that book”. In those days of his illness, Maulana did not lead Salaat; he joined the Jama'at.

Despite all that urgency and insistence from him, the delay on my part continued, resulting in repeated postponements. Fortunately, in Shawwal 1366 A.H. my stay in Nizamuddin was prolonged, as mentioned in the preface to Virtues of Hajj; and there seemed no likelihood of my return to Saharanpur even after the completion of that book. So, at long last, a start on this book was made on Saturday, the 24th of Shawwal, 1366 A.H. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala help me to accomplish this work, by showering His bounties and blessings upon me, which have always been bestowed upon me both in worldly and religious matters, in growing profusion, despite my own incapability! May Allah bring it to a completion acceptable to Him!

“And I seek aid from none except Allah; in Him I trust and to Him alone, I turn for help.”

I intend to divide this book into seven Chapters, viz:- 1. Virtues and rewards of spending for the cause of Allah. 2. Condemnation of miserliness. 3. Being particular about obligations towards one’s relations. 4. Zakaat as an obligation. 5. Punishments for failure to pay Zakaat. 6. Virtues of asceticism, contentment and avoidance of begging. 7. Stories of pious personages who spent generously for the cause of Allah Ta'ala. — Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi

Some important points regarding the format of this translation may be noted. In the first place, the phrases, “Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam”, “Radhiyallahu anhu”, “Rahmatullahi alayhi”, etc., have been included repeatedly, partly to earn reward for the readers and partly to educate them in their proper use.

Secondly, with regard to the translations of the Quranic Ayat and the Ahadith, it is the beauty and Barakah of the Qur'an that its Arabic is accessible to readers in their own language. The Holy Qur'an has been translated into many languages, but it is not always easy to convey the precise spirit of the original. In this book, the translation adopted is the classical one of Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall, with very occasional modification.

The translations of the particular leading Quranic Ayat and Ahadith, forming the main theme of an individual article or sub-section of the book, are given beneath the original Arabic text, which serves to clear any ambiguity that may remain in the reader's mind after reading the translation.

Certain Arabic words will be found transliterated into the English text, in order to introduce certain basic Islamic terms and concepts into the English language, which does not really possess exact equivalents for these. In many cases, the approximate English translation is also given alongside.