Chapter V: Secrets of Zakat and Charities
(1) It protects the secrecy of the receiver of charity. In open charity, his manliness is curbed and his want is exposed. The secret charity gives no encouragement to begging. (2) The receiver remains safe from the tongues of the people. Many a time, the receiver is hated by the people in case of open acceptance of charity. The sage Abu Ayub said: I gave up putting on new cloth for fear of creating hatred in the mind of my neighbour. (3-) Secret charity helps the giver to conceal his charity, as the excellence of secret charity is greater than that of open charity. To help the perfection of a good deed is also a good deed. One man gave charity to a Sufi in presence of the Prophet.
He did not accept it. (4) There is no disgrace in accepting secret charity. It is not the duty of a believer to humiliate anybody. A certain learned man refused to accept charity openly as he said that it disgraces learning. (5) Secret charity removes the doubts of a cosharer. The Prophet said: If a man is given present in presence of some men, then all become cosharers in the present. The Prophet said: The best charity to a brother is his giving food or money.
BENEFITS OF OPEN CHARITY: (1) If it is given with sincerity and honesty, one can be safe from change of condition and show. (2) Honour is removed and humility is exposed. (3)
One can remain safe from Shirk in case of open charity. It is narrated that a spiritual guide was inclined to one of his disciples more than to anybody else. This gave trouble to his other disciples. The spiritual guide intended to expose the supremacy of his favoured one and therefore he gave to each of his disciples one cock with a knife saying: You will sacrifice it so that nobody sees it. Each of them went to a distant place and sacrified his cock except the disciple whom he loved. The atter returned the cock and the knife to him without sacrifing it. The spiritual guide said to him: They have brought the cocks according to my instruction but why did you not bring it accordingly? He said: I have found no place where nobody could see me as God sees me in every place. The guide then said to his other disciples: For this reason, I am inclined more to this disciple as his look, is always towards
Vol-I ZAKAT 179