Philanthropy as practiced in Islam

GÜL DEMİR & NIKI GAMMISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Charity in Islam takes many forms. It can even be the meat and skin of an animal sacrificed during the Feast of the Sacrifice holiday

Giving to the poor and less fortunate is nothing new. It may be as old as mankind. Even institutionalizing it isn’t new and forms of it such as trusts and endowments are known as far back as the time of Zoroaster (11th or 10th century B.C.) in present-day Iran.

The rise of Islam presented a challenge in the need to find tools for society based on the Quran. There are a few lines in the Muslim holy book that refer to giving.

“And be steadfast in your prayer and pay charity; whatever good you send forth for your future, you shall find it with God, for God is well aware of what you do” (Quran 2:110). “Those who bestow their wealth in the way of God are like the grain of corn that sprouts seven ears, a hundred grains in every ear. So God multiplies for those whom he will” (Quran 2:263).

“Whatever good you do surely God has knowledge of it. Those who expend their wealth night and day, openly or secretly, their reward awaits them with their Lord” (Quran 2:275). “You will not attain true piety until you voluntarily give of that which you love and whatever you give, God knows of it” (Quran 3:86).

Following on what is said in the Quran, charity can only be given in the form of money if that money has been lawfully earned. As one scholar has pointed out, there’s no concept of robbing the rich to pay the poor as one sees in the western concept of Robin Hood.

The concept of ownership of wealth in Islam is that all wealth, after necessary personal and family expenses, belongs to God. It is up to the individual to decide how much of this excess wealth he should give back to the cause of God; if he or she does not give some of it, then it is claimed by Satan. Similarly all land belonged to the political ruler who could give it and reclaim it as he saw fit. One could argue that the Ottoman sultan as the caliph or highest religious figure in the empire had the right to claim it for his own.

Philanthropy thus was for God alone and mankind had the duty to carry it out but not for the sake of how he would look in God’s eyes. That would be tantamount to trying to bribe God through good works into granting the donor eternal life.

Over the centuries, two types of Islamic charity have arisen. One is zakah or zakat and is one of the five main elements of Islam enjoined on Muslims everywhere. It refers to an obligatory donation to charity and is something like 2.5 percent of a person’s net worth and has to be donated every year on the first day of Ramadan or one of the ensuing days of that holiday. However, according to Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, this need not be at any specific date or time of the year. The only stipulation is that a whole lunar year passes since the money was acquired. The other form of Islamic charity is sadaqah, or voluntary charity, which depends on need and the amount of excess wealth.

Turks today don’t give zakat as they believe that they are giving it in the form of taxes. Times really have changed. For the really religious person however, he may still donate part of his earnings but perhaps to a charitable foundation of his choice instead.

The development of the Muslim trust or vakıf (trust foundation) served to advance education and scholarship at the same time that it offered health care and food for the needy. It also represented patronage and a way of helping rulers who quite frequently were military conquerors find favor with the masses they ruled. For instance after the tenth century virtually all of the rulers were of Turkish origin in Persian, Arab and Byzantine countries. They needed the loyalty of organized groups who might be willing to make common cause with them and this became the academics and the mystic orders for the most part and especially among the Ottoman Turks.

In Istanbul, the greatest trusts were those set up by the sultans and centered around the imperial mosques. Government officials were also involved in such building projects although on a lesser scale. These started with the mosque built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed which was surrounded by one and two story buildings that housed schools starting with the primary grades through the equivalent of university. There also were hospitals and hospices, a soup kitchen, pharmacy, library and other types of services. Evliya Çelebi, the 17th century travel writer, speaks of the complex services for the poor, the sick, the homeless, the wayfarer and the mentally ill. [For a much more complete view of the Fatih complex and other such complexes, see Istanbul Şifahaneleri, the Sifahnes of Istanbul that has just been published by the Istanbul Culture Corp.]

This year, as usual, the Turkish Aviation Association, or THK, is appealing to everyone to remember that the skins of any slaughtered animal have to be donated by law to it. Since the skins can be sold, the THK has had difficulties in the past in combating people who drive around in trucks illegally collecting skins. The THK website as well this year states that it will not participate in the ritual slaughter of animals outside of Turkey by proxy. The money that it earns from providing such a service in Turkey is distributed as follows: 50 percent to the Social Assistance and Support Foundation Ministries, four percent to the Turkish Red Crescent, three percent to the Social Services and Children’s Protection Association, three percent to the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation and 40 percent to the THK. The organization for example has over the years been able to distribute nearly half a million pieces of meat to needy families.

The Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate in contrast has suggested that rather than purchase an animal here, people wanting to perform a charitable act ought to send money to specially designated bank accounts. From there it would be transferred to Pakistan where it would be used to help the victims of this year’s disastrous flooding purchase animals for sacrifice.

Given the uncertainties caused by the global economic crisis, it will be interesting to see how charitable people in Turkey are this year. One hopes for the best.