Sadaqah
Sadaqah means charity given to please Allah. It covers far more than money: a kind word, helping someone, even a smile can count. The word also covers Zakat, so sadaqah is the umbrella term rather than the opposite of Zakat. There is no minimum and no fixed time.
HAF accepts Sadaqah all year round through its Sadaqah appeal.
What the Word Means
Sadaqah comes from the same root as sidq, which means truthfulness.
Scholars have long explained the link. Anyone can say they believe. Parting with something you own, for nothing in return, shows that the words were true. Charity is treated as evidence of what a person actually holds to.
That is why the word is not simply "donation". It carries the idea of sincerity built into it.
Sadaqah Is Bigger Than Most People Think
Here is the part that surprises people, and it is worth getting right before anything else.
You will often read that Zakat is compulsory and Sadaqah is voluntary, as though they were two separate things. That is not quite how the word works. The Qur'an uses sadaqat to mean Zakat itself when it lists the eight groups who may receive it (Qur'an 9:60).
So Sadaqah is the wide word. Scholars divide it in two.
Charity that is owed. Zakat sits here, along with Zakat al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, Fidya for fasts that cannot be made up, Kaffarah for a fast broken on purpose, and anything a person has vowed to give. These have rules: who pays, how much, and when
Charity that is chosen. Everything else. Any amount, any time, to anyone.Lillah is this kind of giving described by its purpose. Sadaqah Jariyah is this kind of giving aimed at something lasting. A Waqf is the most formal version of it.
When people say "Sadaqah" in everyday speech, they almost always mean the second kind. That is fine. Just know that the word itself reaches wider, which is why you will sometimes see Zakat described as a form of Sadaqah and wonder whether someone has made a mistake.
It Does Not Have to Be Money
This is where Sadaqah stops looking like a donation and starts looking like a way of living.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that every joint in the body owes a charity each day the sun rises, then listed what counts: settling a dispute fairly between two people, helping someone lift their load, a good word, and moving something harmful out of the road (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
None of those costs anything.
He also taught that when a Muslim spends on his own family and hopes for reward from Allah in doing so, that counts as Sadaqah too (Sahih Muslim). Feeding your children is not a lesser act than writing a cheque.
For anyone who has no money at all, this matters enormously. Nobody is shut out of charity.
Who Can Receive It
Almost anyone, and this is the clearest difference from Zakat.
Zakat is tied to eight named groups and, in most views, must go to a Muslim who qualifies. Sadaqah has none of those limits. It can go to a person of any faith or none. It can go to your own relatives. It can go to a mosque, a school, a hospital or a water project rather than an individual. It can go to an animal.
There is no minimum. There is no fixed season, though many people give more in Ramadan because good deeds are more heavily rewarded then.
One thing does apply. Sadaqah should not be given out of wealth taken unlawfully, and it should not be used to shame or control the person receiving it.
What Is Promised for It
The Qur'an compares giving in the path of Allah to a single seed that grows seven ears, each carrying a hundred grains, and says Allah multiplies further still for whom He wills (Qur'an 2:261).
It also describes men and women who give Sadaqah, and who lend to Allah a goodly loan, as people whose reward will be increased (Qur'an 57:18).
The Prophet ﷺ said that wealth does not decrease because of charity (Sahih Muslim). People have understood that in different ways: that Allah replaces what is given, that the giving is blessed, that what remains goes further. What is agreed is that the giver does not end up poorer for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ramadan is the month most people choose, and the Prophet ﷺ was described as being at his most generous then. Beyond that, the sound narrations encourage giving while you are healthy and still hoping to hold on to your money, rather than waiting until the end of life when it is easy to let go.
The Prophet ﷺ compared charity to water putting out a fire, in the sense of what it does to a person's wrongdoing. That said, charity is not a payment that settles an account. Scholars connect it with turning back to Allah and putting right anything owed to another person. It helps; it does not stand in place of the rest.
A saying along those lines is quoted very widely, usually credited to al-Tirmidhi. Hadith specialists have pointed out that it is not found in Tirmidhi, nor in any of the six main collections. It appears elsewhere, has been graded weak, and one early scholar listed it among reports he considered fabricated. The sound narrations say a great deal about charity already, so nothing is lost by leaving this one aside.
No. Zakat is worked out from your wealth on your Zakat date, and generous giving during the year does not lower that figure. The intention also has to be present when you give, so money handed over as general charity cannot be counted as Zakat afterwards. Treat them as two separate things.
Yes. A charity acts on your behalf, which is why almost all giving in Britain works this way. It is worth asking what an organisation does with money marked as Sadaqah, since some ring-fence it for particular projects and others treat it as general funding. Neither is wrong, but you may have a preference.
Who Can Receive It
Almost anyone, and this is the clearest difference from Zakat.
Zakat is tied to eight named groups and, in most views, must go to a Muslim who qualifies. Sadaqah has none of those limits. It can go to a person of any faith or none. It can go to your own relatives. It can go to a mosque, a school, a hospital or a water project rather than an individual. It can go to an animal.
There is no minimum. There is no fixed season, though many people give more in Ramadan because good deeds are more heavily rewarded then.
One thing does apply. Sadaqah should not be given out of wealth taken unlawfully, and it should not be used to shame or control the person receiving it.
The Qur'an compares giving in the path of Allah to a single seed that grows seven ears, each carrying a hundred grains, and says Allah multiplies further still for whom He wills (Qur'an 2:261).
It also describes men and women who give Sadaqah, and who lend to Allah a goodly loan, as people whose reward will be increased (Qur'an 57:18).
The Prophet ﷺ said that wealth does not decrease because of charity (Sahih Muslim). People have understood that in different ways: that Allah replaces what is given, that the giving is blessed, that what remains goes further. What is agreed is that the giver does not end up poorer for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ramadan is the month most people choose, and the Prophet ﷺ was described as being at his most generous then. Beyond that, the sound narrations encourage giving while you are healthy and still hoping to hold on to your money, rather than waiting until the end of life when it is easy to let go.
The Prophet ﷺ compared charity to water putting out a fire, in the sense of what it does to a person's wrongdoing. That said, charity is not a payment that settles an account. Scholars connect it with turning back to Allah and putting right anything owed to another person. It helps; it does not stand in place of the rest.
A saying along those lines is quoted very widely, usually credited to al-Tirmidhi. Hadith specialists have pointed out that it is not found in Tirmidhi, nor in any of the six main collections. It appears elsewhere, has been graded weak, and one early scholar listed it among reports he considered fabricated. The sound narrations say a great deal about charity already, so nothing is lost by leaving this one aside.
No. Zakat is worked out from your wealth on your Zakat date, and generous giving during the year does not lower that figure. The intention also has to be present when you give, so money handed over as general charity cannot be counted as Zakat afterwards. Treat them as two separate things.
Yes. A charity acts on your behalf, which is why almost all giving in Britain works this way. It is worth asking what an organisation does with money marked as Sadaqah, since some ring-fence it for particular projects and others treat it as general funding. Neither is wrong, but you may have a preference.