So this word sadhaka, when and why was this particular meaning given to this word? It is said that when we pay sadhaka, this cannot be used on ordinary people, it’s got to be used for poor people. Sadhaka is a very broad word. In fact, as I spoke on this issue earlier as well, I believe it is derived from the word siddha, which is truth. So everything which is spent in a true cause, with true intentions, that is called sadhaka.
Although it has acquired this technical meaning now, but the root remains the word swad dal kaaf. The letter swad dal kaaf, it means siddha. So it is used in the Holy Quran. Even when it is suggested that before you meet the Holy Prophet for consultation, you present something, although the object of presentation is not mentioned, to whom, it has been inferred by various scholars, particularly by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, that whatever you give to the Holy Prophet, that is also included in that word sadhaka, and that is intended there.
So the sadhaka is a very noble expenditure, the very best that you can think of. With true intentions, on a true cause, in the cause of truth, what better could it be? But also it includes, although that’s also a true cause, to spend in the cause of the poor, for the sake of Allah, to improve their lot. And because in that regard, some people feel that their dignity is hurt when they receive some alms from some other person, some material favours flow from one person to the other, without any other relationship. In relationship of mutual love, what you give is a gift, and that is considered to be at par between the friends.
And in fact, that is also considered to be a sign of favour from the one who accepts the gift, rather than the one who gives the gift. When the love increases, which is a certain standard, then this is what comes to this relationship of offering gifts to others. If you love somebody too much, if he doesn’t accept the gift, then it is you who are hurt. But in the relationship between the one who favours someone, gives something on a charitable basis, the person who receives feels, of course, in a way that his dignity is hurt and injured. And this is not just a feeling.
Exactly also the spirit with the Holy Quran and the tradition of the Holy Prophet accept that this is valid, this feeling is genuine. This is why it is not encouraged to beg of others. This is why the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has clearly mentioned, يَدُ الْأُولِيَةَ خَيْرٌ مِّن يَدِ السُّفْلَةِ The hand which gives in alms something to the others, that is the upper hand, is of course better than the lower receiving hand. This is why he discouraged begging of alms so much, that he said that those who are in the habit of receiving alms, their faces would be drawn thin on the day of judgment.
They would be devoid of flesh. That is, they would not have earned something of their own, they would be living on borrowed money or money doled out to them through charity. That’s no way of life. And he laid so much stress on this point, that there were companions of the Holy Prophet who decided there and then to go to the jungle, to cut the wood, but never to ask for alms from anyone. It resulted into a society where it was difficult to get someone who would accept alms readily.
It resulted into some people’s attitude, as they would not ask anyone, any passer-by, even if they were mounted and they had dropped their, what do you call it? Droppings? You know, lash, whip, to hand over the whip to them. They would say this is also a sort of begging. It is actually reported about one companion, that when he dropped his whip, he went to some place, bound his horse, and then came and took the whip himself. And a passer-by who was watching, he said, why didn’t you tell me, I could hand over the whip to you. He said, no, I have heard Huzoor-e-Akram, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, discouraging, begging of others, that from that moment on, when I heard this particular emphasis on this, I have decided never to ask favours from anyone.
So this is the real stress on this aspect. On the other hand, the Holy Quran categorically declares that those who give alms, they should take every measure, not to hurt the dignity of those who receive. That is the beauty of Islamic teachings. This is perfect because it looks to all angles. On the one hand, it discourages begging. On the other hand, on the part of those who give alms, a very strict code of procedure is laid down. It says, laa tamnum tas taqsir, laa tubtilu saduqatikum bil manne wal aza, and so on and so forth. When they give alms and when they are thanked, they say, laa nuridu minkum jizam wa laa shakoora. We did it for the sake of Allah.
We do not expect even thank you from you. It has nothing to do with you. We did it for the sake of God, so no favor to you. This is the stress as far as the attitude of those who give alms is concerned. And the Holy Quran says, the moment when you declare through signs or words, something which would hurt the feeling of those who receive from you, your act of charity would be totally destroyed. The moment even you show off, by telling others that we showed this favor to this man or to you, the Holy Quran tells us, the act of charity would be annihilated. laa tubtilu saduqatikum bil manne wal aza means exactly this. And again, in our society, in Punjab for instance, all over India as well perhaps, in the villages, people give in the name of alms to the people who they consider inferior to them and this is why they are called kamis.
The ordinary people of trade, various trades. And then they rub it in so much, that many a time they wish they had never accepted this thing from them. And as if that is not enough, then they expect all sorts of menial jobs from them in return for that favor which they call favor which they showed to them. So mann and azab both are present in that sort of alms giving. So that is destroyed. So in this context, you should understand why saduka is not accepted.
Why the one who wants to give saduka, wants to give it so much because he does it for the sake of Allah, he does not want to show any favors to anybody. He just wants to remove some suffering. And this is why people, on the other hand, are hesitant to receiving, hesitant in receiving saduka, because on the other hand the teaching is that uplift your standard of dignity. Be independent. Don’t ask favors of others except God and so on. So this is a perfectly balanced teaching of Islam in this regard. Is this saduka in that particular sense used in the Holy Prophet’s time? Pardon? The word saduka in this… Of course, saduka was a very wide word. It was used in all these connotations which I have described and more. I mean, every cause which is good, which is true, if you spend in that cause, that would be saduka.
Just one more explanation on this, please. I mean, nowadays we say that if somebody is ill, has got problems, then we give saduka so that God may help them come over this problem. Would it not be the same thing if, for instance, a person paid a certain amount in saduka, instead of paying in saduka, he would pay, say, for instance, in Tariq-e-Jadid? No, it won’t be the same thing. Because the Holy Quran clearly lays down various expenditures in the name of God under various heads. The communal requirement is also mentioned. And this personally, looking after the requirements of the needy and the poor, is mentioned at the same time under a different head.
So, one necessity cannot be fulfilled by shifting all the resources to the other necessity. It should be a balanced approach. As Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, said, what belongs to Caesar, give it to Caesar, to Kaiser. What belongs to God, give to God. In principle, this is the general attitude in life, which is promoted by religion.
