Infaq; Giving Away Part of What One Dearly Loves

TEHRAN (IQNA) – According to a Quranic verse, one should donate or spend a part of what he/she loves in order to reach the position of the righteous.

Infaq means almsgiving or bestowing a part of one’s assets to those in need.

 “Berr” is a Quranic word that refers to righteousness. It is also a great position that has been promised to those who conduct good deeds. According to some narrations, the position is sometimes described as that of the most deserving humans before God; Ahl al-Bayt (SA) are in this group.

The question is who is deserved to enjoy this position? “You can never have extended virtue and righteousness unless you spend part of what you dearly love for the cause of God. God knows very well whatever you spend for His cause.”  (Surah Al Imran, verse 92)

According to this verse, one of the conditions for obtaining the position of the righteous is to give and bestow part of the property that one loves.

Allameh Tabatabai, a contemporary commentator of the Holy Quran, believed that man loves to accumulate wealth as if this is part of his/her life; this love is to an extent that if he/she loses part of the wealth they feel that part of their life has been ruined. This signifies the importance of infaq from what one truly loves which leads to arriving at the position of “Berr”. 

Meanwhile, Quran interpreter Mohsen Qara’ati refers to 13 points about this verse:

1. The only path to reach the position of the righteous is to offer pure infaq from one’s loved property
2. The aim of infaq in Islam is not just the elimination of poverty but also the growth of individuals
3. Surrendering one’s heart to the world will bar individuals from reaching the position of Berr
4. The redemption of individuals lies in their generosity and social view
5. Humans love their life more than anything else so martyrs who sacrifice their lives on the path of God will reach the highest position of Berr
6. Give what you love, not what the poor love because the poor may be content with less valuable things because of living in poverty for many years
7. Quality is more important than quantity in infaq
8. Islam pays more attention to humans than to material things
9. One should refrain from extremes when carrying out infaq as the Quran says “part” of what one loves should be given away
10. One of the characteristics of humans is loving properties but what is important is the extent of this love, and this can be controlled by infaq.
11. What is important here is infaq no matter how much its value is.
12. God is watching our infaq, so we should not neglect this act.

By Hossein Allahverdi