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However, the Law of Muhammad (peace be upon him) came and removed all of those burdens from earlier times, as Allah states in al-Araaf, verse 157. See ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 25. 3 Siddiqi, vol. 1, p. 148. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi discussed below, charity points to the existence of one's faith in a manner similar to how the rays point to the existence of the sun. It is not a guiding light in the sense of prayer and patience. But it is a light that points to the existence of something else. 1 "Charity is a proof." "Charity" or sadaqa is the giving of one's wealth to others for the sake of Allah. It includes giving to the poor and needy as well as giving to build mosques and so forth. 2 As was just noted, the Prophet (peace be upon him) described charity, sadaqa, as a burhaan. Burhaan, again, are the rays that are emitted by the sun. Part of their significance is that they clearly and unequivocally point to the existence of their source, the sun. That is why a "proof' or "definitive argument" is called a burhaan. It unequivocally points to the truth of what it is being used to prove. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has befittingly called charity a burhaan or demonstrative proof. This has been explained in more than one way. These explanations are not contradictory and they all could have been meant by the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he made this statement. One explanation is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was alluding to the fact that sadaqa is a sign of one's true belief.3 By its nature, wealth is something beloved to a human being.4 Allah says in the Quran, / / l ૳ ஀ JWI Ȟ O '-/ . . ɌഛJ "And you love wealth with much love" (al-Fajr 20). The only way a person would give up part of his wealth is if he believed in something and loved something greater than that wealth. Hence, his overcoming of his desires and his willingness to part with something so beloved to his soul is a sign that he 1 Numerous commentators noted the difference between noor and dhiya and why each was used for prayer and patience, respectively, but none of them noted the significance of using the word burhaan for charity as opposed to noor and dhiya. 2 Ibn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 1, p. 137. 3 Al-Nawawi points out that charity is called sadaqa because it points to the truthfulness (sidq) of one's faith. (Sadaqa and sidq are both derived from the same root.) See al-Nawawi, Sharh Matn, f· 100. In different verses of the Quran, Allah praises the one who "gives of his wealth even though he has love for it." (See, for example, al-Baqara 177.) Some understand these words to mean, "gives of his wealth out of love for Him [Allah]." In other words, there is a difference of opinion concerning the referent of the final masculine pronoun. The basic rule is that the pronoun refers to the closest possible referent unless there is evidence to show otherwise. In this case, it would refer to the wealth itself and not to Allah. See Husain al-Harbi, Qawaaid al-Tarjeeh ind al­ Mufassireen: Diraasat Nadhariyyah Tatbeeqiyyah (Riyadh: Daar al-Qaasim, 1996), vol. 2, pp. 621-629. Hadith #23: "Purification is Half of Faith . . . " has true belief and love for Allah. Therefore, his willingness to sacrifice his wealth is a proof of his faith.1 Giving up part of one's wealth for the sake of Allah is a much greater sign of one's faith than mere lip service. Al-Qaari points out that, in general, hypocrites are not willing to give in charity (unless to be seen) for they are not willing to part with their wealth.2 Al-Sabbaagh further noted, The correct measure-- in most cases-- for the faith of a person is his offering, spending and sacrificing. . . This is because it is very simple for a human to display his satisfaction with sound ideas and thought and to claim that he is a believer in them. But the true proof for his claim of faith is his offering, spending and sacrificing in the path of his beliefs and for what his beliefs require of him.3 A second explanation is that a person's sadaqa will be a proof for him on the Day of Judgment when he is asked about his wealth and how he used it in this life. He will rush to his charity and seek refuge in it in the same way that one rushes to a proof for support and help.4 This is in relation to the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ,,. ,,. o..- ,,. ,,. ""'" .... J · , , 1:;. , · ๫ 0 , , 'Gi w ' ' 0 , Jt...;' 1- ·'WJI '° , ., u- .