THE SOCIAL VALUE OF
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

In the race of life, it often happens that some move ahead while others are left behind; some receive more wealth than necessary, while others get less. In such situations, Islam teaches that people should financially help one another. In accordance with human needs, they should be supportive of each other.

Several references in the Quran address this. For example, it says, “let the man of means spend in accordance with his means” (65:7), and “The righteous and virtuous are those who allocate a portion of their wealth for the petitioner and the deprived” (51:19).

This shows that the person favoured by God is one who, when granted financial abundance, spends from his wealth for the benefit of others. He does not consider his earnings to be only for those who ask out of necessity, but also acknowledges the right of those who are deprived for any reason—those who do not ask or are unable to ask. He takes it upon himself to identify such individuals and personally reaches out to support them.

There are numerous narrations in the books of Hadith encouraging the act of spending from one’s wealth for those in need. For example, the Prophet of Islam  mentioned that among those promised Paradise is the one who, when given wealth by God, spends it to help others (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 16966).

Spending one’s earnings to meet the needs of others is among the highest human virtues, and Islam places strong emphasis on this value. Any wealth a person acquires is, in reality, a gift from God. Without the necessary means provided by Him, no one would be able to earn anything. Therefore, when someone is blessed with wealth, it becomes their responsibility to show gratitude to God by setting aside a portion of it and using it to support their fellow human beings.