All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Islam has urged Muslims to give Sadaqa (Voluntary charity), make donations, and do different acts of charity. This is attested to in the following verse: " The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of God is that of a grain of corn: it groweth seven ears, and each ear Hath a hundred grains. God giveth manifold increase to whom He pleaseth: And God careth for all and He knoweth all things." {Al-Baqarah, 261}. Moreover, Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said, "He who gives in charity the value of a date which he legally earned, and Allah accepts only that which is pure, Allah accepts it with His Right Hand and Fosters it for him, as one of you fosters his mare, until it becomes like a mountain." [Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Continuous charity (Sadaqah Jariyah) is the religious endowment. It is intended in the following Hadith: Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said, "When a man dies, his deeds come to an end, except for three: A continuous charity, knowledge by which people derive benefit, pious son who prays for him."[Muslim]. Commenting on this Hadith, An-Nawawi said: "Continuous charity is the religious endowment." {Shareh An-Nawawi Ala Muslim, V.11:85}.
In principle, charities must be spent in accordance with the intention and condition of the giver because, here, the giver is the endower. Therefore, the funds must be spent as he/she wants. This is as stated Al-Juwaini (May Allah have mercy on him) in his book {Nehayat Al-Matlab, V.8:362}.
In conclusion, it is permissible to receive charities from givers provided that they are told that the funds will be spent in different fields, such as providing in-kind assistance to the poor, empowering the poor economically through providing them with training, and sustaining the work of the charitable organization in charge of collecting the funds. The giver is rewarded for all of this, however, continuous charity (appliances, equipment, furniture and the like) differs from ordinary charity in the sense that its benefit lasts for longer time. We pray that educating and training the poor as well as providing them with the various skills to get jobs is a form of continuous charity that is of permanent benefit to the Muslim nation. Resolution No.(142) of the Iftaa` Board states: "Social solidarity is reflected in both types of charities(Continuous and non-continuous), however, if the giver refuses to spend on these aspects then the charitable organization must adhere to the aspect for which he had given the charity in the first place. This is because the condition of the giver is considerable in Sharia." And Allah the Almighty knows best.
