Mufti Menk – Don’t Forget This When You Give Charity

Mufti Menk
AI: Summary © The speaker discusses the cost of donating to charities in Africa, including a 100-dollar donation and additional fees for transportation. They emphasize the importance of donating to strengthen the foundation of Islam and encourage people to consider themselves lucky to have reached a point where they can afford to pay for their missed opportunities.
AI: Transcript ©
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You see, when you have a poor person

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identified by a charity,

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charitable organization

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somewhere in Africa.

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And they say

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there is an issue, for example, in Sudan

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or in Somalia or wherever it may be.

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We want you to donate

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and you give zakat.

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You give a 100 ringgit or

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maybe $50 of zakat.

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What did you do? You click send. You

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put your card details and the money is

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gone. Agreed?

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I want to remind you of something.

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My way of doing things.

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Someone is going to carry that amount and

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take it

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to that place and meet the poor people

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and give them the item. Agreed?

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On behalf of whom?

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You. Agreed?

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So if it is on behalf of yourselves,

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surely there was a cost to take it

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from here to there, which is divided among

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so many people because the charity is not

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only going to take yours and give it,

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but they're going to take that of a

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few 1,000 people and then give it.

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If you were to add a few more

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dollars or ringgates

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on that in order to facilitate

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that, it is better than just giving the

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amount

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and no more than that.

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Why should someone else incur the cost

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of your pillar of Islam being fulfilled for

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you

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and they're incurring a cost,

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give them something.

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I remember

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one organization

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inviting the poor people to a central place

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and telling them

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that

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please come on this day to this place

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and we will give you some food hampers.

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And I told them, when they are coming,

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they incur a cost of transport from their

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village to where you called them. Who is

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paying for that?

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Oh, we don't know.

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What do you mean you don't know? Why

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should a poor person pay for your zak

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zakat to be fulfilled?

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You pay.

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Give them the taxi fare or the transport

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money. 5 more ringgates. One more dollar. Give

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it to them.

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So people said we didn't ever think of

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it. I said, well, it's a thought, isn't

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it? It's something great.

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My pillar of Islam.

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My zakat.

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A poor man is paying

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to facilitate it for me,

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yet Islam teaches you, consider yourself fortunate that

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there are poor people that you have recognized

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and given to

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because that

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is the favor of Allah. A day will

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come when you won't be able to do

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that.

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