Date : 02-08-2010

Question :

Which charity is best: providing cold water through water coolers, distributing copies of the Noble Quran, being guardian of an orphan, or something else?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



In fact, there is no absolute rule for preferring one charity to another.



Rather, it is something relative that varies according to many considerations. Some of these are:



1- The financial situation of the giver: Charity given by the poor is better than that given by the rich and that given by the healthyis better than that given by the fatally sick.



2- The financial situation of the recipient: Charity given to a relative is better than that given to a non-relative and that given to the needy is better than that given to the well-off.



3- The given item: Many Hadiths have clarified the best of charity that a Muslim could offer. For example, it was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (What means) said: "The best of charity is when a Muslim man gains knowledge, and then he teaches it to his Muslim brother." {Ibn Majah, pp.243}. It was also narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "The best charity is to satisfy any hungry creature." {Related by Al-Baihaqi in "Sho`ab Al-Eman, vol.5/pp.60"}. In addition, Sa’id reported Sa’d came to the Prophet (PBUH) and asked him Which sadaqah do you like most? He replied Water. {Related by Abu Dawud, 1681}.



In The Sight of Allah, the best charity is the one given purely for His Sake, not for reputation and show. Allah, the Almighty, Said (What means): "For those who give in  Charity, men and women, and loan to God a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward." {Al-Hadid, 18}. And Allah Knows Best.