Which is better, giving a gift or giving charity?
Question Is it better to give money in charity to the poor and needy, or to give a gift to one of my relatives or friends?. Praise be to Allah. The difference between charity and gifts is as follows: Charity is given to the poor and needy to meet their needs, and is done with…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
The difference between charity and gifts is as follows:
Charity is given to the poor and needy to meet their needs,
and is done with the intention of seeking the Face of Allaah. There is no
intention of giving it to a specific person, rather it is given to any poor
or needy person.
A gift is not necessarily given to a poor person, rather it
may be given to rich or poor; the intention is to show friendship and to
honour the recipient.
Both of them – charity
and gift-giving – are righteous deeds for which a person will be rewarded,
but which is better?
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa:
Sadaqah (charity) is that which is given for the sake of
Allaah as an act of worship, without intending to give it to a specific
person and without seeking anything in return, rather it is given to
charitable causes, such as to the needy. A gift is given with the intention
of honouring a specific person, either because you love him and he is your
friend, or because you want something. Hence the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to accept gifts and reward people for
them, so that no one could remind him of their favours, but he did not
accept the “refuse” of people that they gave to purify themselves of sins,
namely charity. He did not accept charity for this and other reasons. Once
this is understood, then charity is better, but there is a sense in which a
gift is better than charity, such as giving a gift to the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) during his lifetime
out of love for him, or the gifts which a person gives to a relative in
order to uphold the ties of kinship, or to a brother in Islam. These gifts
may be better than charity.
End quote.
Based on this, if you give a gift to one of your relatives,
that may be better than giving charity, because it is more befitting to
uphold the ties of kinship. The same may apply if you give a gift to a
friend of yours, because that will strengthen the bonds of love between you.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Exchange
gifts, you will love one another.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab
al-Mufrad. Ibn Hajar said: its isnaad is hasan. It was also classed as
hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Adab al-Mufrad, 463.
What the hadeeth means is that giving gifts may generate and
increase love.
And Allaah knows best.
