Date : 02-04-2015

Question :

Are the donations given in favor of establishing a family society considered a continuous charity?


The Answer :

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



This donation is a sort of helping one another in righteousness and piety, which is a recommended act amongst people, for Allah, The Almighty, Says in this regard {What means}: “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah. for Allah is strict in punishment. “ {Al-Mai`dah/2}. We pray that Allah accepts it as a continuous charity since its establishment and donation were intended for helping the poor and needy. This is in addition to the continuous reward bestowed by Allah for this good deed. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous decendant who prays for him (for the deceased)” {Muslim}.



Al-Khateeb Ash-shirbini, a Shafite scholar, said: “ Waqf ( religious endowment) is keeping a property and giving its benefit in charity, and continuous charity is interpreted by some scholars to mean endowment as Ar-Raafi said, “It doesn`t mean bequest of giving the yields of things in charity because it is rare. “{Moghni Al-Mohtajj}.



In order to receive the reward for this endowment from Allah, it should be solely intended for His sakes, it should be used for helping others in what is allowable, and the donations shouldn`t be given as Zakat money.