Most of us think of charity as something for people with spare money. Islam turns that idea upside down. Sadaqah is any voluntary good done for Allah's sake, and while it certainly includes money, the Prophet ﷺ taught that a smile, a kind word, a hand with a heavy bag and moving a stone out of the road are charity too. Allah sets the bar for the money we give, though, in a verse every believer should know:
What does sadaqah mean, and what are its virtues?
The word sadaqah comes from the same root as sidq, truthfulness. Scholars explain the link this way: giving away what you love proves the truth of your faith. Anyone can say they love Allah; the one who parts with wealth for Him shows it.
The rewards promised for it are remarkable, and they come in authentic hadith:
- It does not decrease wealth. The Prophet ﷺ said that charity does not decrease wealth (Sahih Muslim, hadith 2588). Allah replaces it with blessing, and often with more.
- It shades the giver on the Day of Judgement. Among the seven whom Allah shades on the day when there is no shade but His is a person who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, hadith 1031). It is also reported in Musnad Ahmad that the believer will be in the shade of his charity on that day.
- It protects from the Fire. "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even with half a date" (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 1417).
- It wipes away sins. In Jami' at-Tirmidhi (hadith 2616) it is reported that charity puts out sin as water puts out fire.
What is the difference between sadaqah, zakat and sadaqat al-fitr?
All three are charity, but they are not the same:
- Zakat is obligatory once a year on a Muslim who owns the nisab for a lunar year. The rate and the recipients are fixed by Allah, and it may only go to the eight groups in At-Tawbah 9:60. See our guide on who can receive zakat.
- Sadaqat al-fitr (fitrana) is wajib in the Hanafi school on every Muslim who owns the nisab beyond basic needs at dawn on Eid al-Fitr, for themselves and their minor children, and is best paid before the Eid prayer. Work it out with our fitrana calculator.
- Sadaqah (nafl) is voluntary, any amount, any time, to anyone in need, Muslim or not. It may also go to a masjid, a madrasa, a well or any good cause, which zakat cannot.
Voluntary sadaqah never replaces zakat. Pay what is due first, then give freely beyond it.
How can sadaqah be given without money?
When some poor Companions felt the rich were getting ahead through charity, the Prophet ﷺ told them that every Subhanallah, every Alhamdulillah and every La ilaha illallah is charity, as is enjoining good and forbidding evil (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1006). In another narration he said simply: "Every good deed is charity" (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1005). And in Jami' at-Tirmidhi he listed everyday acts:
That hadith goes on to count guiding someone who is lost, helping a person with poor eyesight, removing a stone or thorn from the road and pouring water from your bucket into your brother's. So nobody is too poor to give. The forty ideas below are grouped into money, time and hands, words, and lasting charity.
What are the best ways to give sadaqah with money?
- A daily coin jar. Drop something in every day, even a little, and give it away at the end of the month. Small and regular beats large and rare.
- Feed a fasting person at iftar. Whoever feeds a fasting person gets a reward like theirs, without reducing theirs (Jami' at-Tirmidhi, hadith 807).
- Pay a poor student's madrasa fees or books. Every letter they learn adds to your scale.
- Pay off a small debt for someone who is struggling, or forgive a debt owed to you. Allah praises giving time to a debtor in hardship and says remitting it as charity is better (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:280).
- Buy a mushaf for a masjid, a madrasa or a new Muslim.
- Give water. A water cooler at a masjid, bottles for workers in the heat, or water for animals. Scholars count water among the best charities.
- Help a widow or orphan with the weekly shopping or a school bag.
- Start with needy relatives. Charity to a relative is both charity and keeping family ties.
- Give secretly, so your left hand does not know what your right gives. Allah says giving secretly to the poor is better for you (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:271).
- Give on Fridays and in the last ten nights of Ramadan, when one night's giving may fall on Laylat al-Qadr.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked which charity is greatest. He said: to give while you are healthy and hold on to wealth, fearing poverty and hoping for riches, and not to delay until death is near (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 1419). He also taught that the upper hand is better than the lower, and to begin with those you support (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 1427). So give from what you love, while you still feel its value, and look first at those closest to you.
How can you give sadaqah with your time and hands?
- Visit the sick, in hospital or at home, and keep the visit short and cheerful.
- Help an elderly neighbour with shopping, a repair or a lift to the masjid.
- Remove harm from the road: broken glass, a stone, a nail. The Prophet ﷺ counted it as charity (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1009).
- Help someone lift a load or get onto their transport, also named as charity in the same hadith.
- Teach someone Al-Fatihah correctly. Every salah they pray with it brings you reward. Our guide to Surah Al-Fatihah helps.
- Clean the masjid or the wudu area without being asked.
- Give blood or volunteer at a hospital, following your doctor's advice.
- Guide someone who is lost, whether on the street or in a new job or city.
- Read to someone with weak eyesight, a letter, a bill or a page of a book.
- Plant a tree. Whatever a person, bird or animal eats from it is charity for the planter (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 2320).
The hadith of Sahih Muslim 1009 explains why these count: every joint in the body owes a charity every day the sun rises, and acts like these pay it. Your body is a trust, and using it to serve others is its thanks. Time is often harder to give than money, which is why it means so much to the person who receives it.
How can your words become sadaqah?
- Smile at your brother or sister.
- Give salam to those you know and those you do not.
- Say a good word. "A good word is charity" (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1009).
- Give sincere advice gently, in private, in a way that helps rather than shames.
- Make peace between two people who have fallen out. Doing justice between two people is charity.
- Thank and praise those who help you; it encourages good.
- Make dua for others in their absence. An angel says, "And for you the same" (Sahih Muslim, hadith 2732).
- Say Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah and La ilaha illallah; each one is charity.
- Hold back your tongue from harm. Not hurting people is itself a charity you give yourself.
- Forgive someone who wronged you, and let it go.
Words cost nothing, and that is the point. On the Day of Judgement, a person may find a mountain of reward from a sentence they barely remember saying. Equally, the tongue can wipe out good deeds, so guarding it is part of giving.
What is sadaqah jariyah, and how can you give it?
The Prophet ﷺ said that when a person dies, their deeds end except for three: an ongoing charity, knowledge that benefits, and a righteous child who prays for them (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1631). These are the ideas that keep earning after you are gone.
- Help build or repair a masjid or wudu area.
- Fund a well or a water tap where people need clean water.
- Sponsor a child to learn the Qur'an. Every recitation of theirs, and of everyone they teach, carries on. Our Maktab programme teaches children online.
- Donate Islamic books to a masjid or school library.
- Teach a skill that lets someone earn halal income.
- Share beneficial knowledge, a class, a note or a sound article, and whoever acts on it adds to your scale.
- Raise children who pray for you. Their duas are part of your sadaqah jariyah.
- Give on behalf of parents who have passed away. See below.
- Leave up to a third of your estate in your will for good causes or relatives who do not inherit. Read our guide on the Islamic will.
- Start a good habit others copy. Whoever begins a good practice in Islam gets its reward and the reward of all who follow it (Sahih Muslim, hadith 1017).
Giving on behalf of the deceased
A man told the Prophet ﷺ that his mother had died suddenly and that he thought she would have given charity had she been able to speak, and asked whether she would be rewarded if he gave on her behalf. He said yes (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 1388). In the Hanafi school, the reward of any good deed, whether charity, Qur'an recitation, nafl prayer or Hajj, can be gifted to the deceased and reaches them, by Allah's mercy. Pair your giving with a dua; our dua for the deceased page has authentic wording.
How do you keep sadaqah sincere and avoid showing off?
Sadaqah is accepted by its intention. Give for Allah, not for thanks, photos or a name on a plaque. Allah warns: "Do not cancel your charities with reminders and hurt, like the one who spends his wealth to be seen by people" (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:264). The same verse compares such giving to soil on a smooth rock that the rain washes away, leaving nothing behind.
Some practical guards:
- Give secretly by default. Open giving is allowed and can encourage others, but secret giving protects your heart.
- Never remind the recipient. Do not mention it to them, or to others in a way that lowers them.
- Protect their dignity. Hand it over privately, with a smile, and thank them for accepting.
- Give halal wealth. Allah is pure and accepts only what is pure.
The best times and the best recipients
Sadaqah is good at any time, but some times multiply it. Ibn 'Abbas described the Prophet ﷺ as the most generous of people, and most generous of all in Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 6). The last ten nights, when Laylat al-Qadr may fall, are the peak of the year. The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are also among the best days for good deeds; in 1448 they are expected to begin on Friday 7 May 2027 (Saudi) or Saturday 8 May (India), depending on the moon sighting, so follow your local masjid. Fridays, times of hardship for others, and moments when you yourself feel tight with money are also times when giving weighs heavily.
As for the best recipients: your own dependants first, then needy relatives, then neighbours, then the wider community. Sadaqah may be given to non-Muslims in need too, and to animals, since kindness to any living creature is rewarded.
How can you make a sadaqah plan?
Good intentions fade without a routine. Build a simple plan that mixes all four groups:
- Daily. A coin in the jar, a smile, salam to everyone you meet, and your morning dhikr.
- Weekly. One act with your hands, such as visiting someone or helping a neighbour, and a small gift on Friday.
- Monthly. Empty the jar to a needy family or a madrasa student, and set up a small standing gift to a trusted cause.
- Yearly. Pay zakat on time, plan extra giving for the last ten nights of Ramadan, and review your will.
- Once in a lifetime. Choose one sadaqah jariyah project, a well, a mushaf fund or a child's Qur'an, and see it through.
Involve your children. Let them drop the coins, carry the food parcel and choose the cause. A child who grows up giving will carry on giving after you, and that, too, is part of your reward. For a free printable to plan your Qur'an alongside your charity, visit our Library.
Sources
- The Qur'an, Surah Al 'Imran (3), verse 92.
- The Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2), verses 264 and 271.
- Sahih Muslim, hadith 2588: charity does not decrease wealth.
- Sahih Muslim, hadith 1631: deeds end except three, including ongoing charity.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 660: the seven shaded, including one who gives charity secretly.
- Jami' at-Tirmidhi, hadith 1956: your smile in your brother's face is charity.