Harmful Charity

Harmful Charity

قَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَا أَذًى ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَنِيٌّ حَلِيمٌ
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ كَالَّذِي يُنفِقُ مَالَهُ رِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ

“Kind words and forgiving of faults are better than charity
followed by hurt, and Allah is Free from all wants, Most Tolerant.
Oh you who believe! Do not nullify your charity with reminders of
your generosity and hurtful words like the one who spends his
wealth to be seen by men, while he does not believe in Allah or the
Last Day…”

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:263-264)

Explanation:

A believer gives charity solely for the pleasure of Allah. He/she does not care if the recipient is grateful to him or remembers his charity. He gives to others to please Allah and out of concern for Allah’s creatures.

As a result, a believer will give charity, forget about it and await his reward in the Afterlife.

However, many people give charity with ulterior motives. They use their charity and their generosity to cause psychological harm to the recipients by reminding them with words like, “If it wasn’t for me, you would be a beggar,” and similar statements.

Not only are such words evil and unislamic, but they render the entire charity void of goodness.

The good that comes from charity includes softening of hearts towards each other, instilling hope in people and increasing our empathy for others, yet all of these disappear once the charity is turned into a mind game and control tool.

Allah compares such people to disbelievers who give charity for fame and clearly states that there is no reward for such charity as the harm caused is far more than what was given. It is better to excuse oneself kindly without giving any wealth than to give wealth and make life difficult for the recipient because of it.