The Classical Islamic View of Sadaqah: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise and brief introduction to the classical Islamic view on Sadaqah (Charity).This study is based on the Fiqh literature of the four main Sunni schools of law. The beginning of this paper defines the meaning of Sadaqah and the differences between Hibah, Sadaqah, ^cAriyyah and, Hadiyyah. This paper further explores the practice of Sadaqah in Rasulullah’s time and discusses the sources of Sadaqah and whether it can be obtained from illegal property or not. In addition, this paper also studies the possibility of Sadaqah property being invested by an institution or not. The conclusion of this paper highlights the similarities in meaning between Sadaqah, Hibah, ^cAriyyah and, Hadiyyah in general terms, but in the literal sense there are differences in terms of their purposes. This study finds that the Sadaqah property in Rasulullah’s time was movable and immovable. It was also discovered that illegal property can be donated and that Sadaqah property can be invested by an entrusted institution according to the concept of zakat which is managed by a zakat institution.