Up to a Third

In the year of Hajjatul-Wada, Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) paid a Sahabah a visit while he was suffering from an ailment that had brought him to the verge of death. He said, “O Allah's Apostle! My sickness has reduced me to the (bad) state that you see, and I am a rich man, but have no heirs except one daughter. Shall I give 2/3 of my property in charity?” The Prophet replied, “No.” The Sahabah said, “Then 1/2 of it?” The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Even 1/3 is too much, for, to leave your inheritors wealthy is better than to leave them in poverty, begging from people. And (know that) whatever you spend in Allah's Cause, you will get reward for it, even for the morsel of food which you put in your wife's mouth.” [Bukhari]

From this hadith we learn that we may will away a maximum of a third of our wealth. The other two thirds must be distributed according to the rules of inheritance laid down by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Another thing we learn from this hadith is that taking care of one’s family is also a source of reward with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). We must not neglect our family and relatives when practising charity.

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