The human soul is in need of detoxification every now and then. As we detoxify our bodies from all the toxins accumulated from unhealthy food and drinks, so also does our mind, and most importantly our deen need detoxification from whatever harmful beliefs that we may have internalized along the way.
Spiritual detoxification is a bit like dietary detoxification. You use something good to get rid of all the harmful things in your body. While many people easily find a diet regimen or the other to detoxify their bodies, sometimes, we may not readily pay attention to those things that can help us detoxify our souls.
One of such detoxifying things for the soul is sadaqah. Giving to others, no matter what we give and no matter the quantity has a way of reviving us spiritually if we pay attention to it.
If you feel like your soul is in need of detoxification, let’s see how sadaqah can help.
Sadaqah Brings Humility
For both the giver and the receiver, sadaqah can be humbling. For the receiver, it is a reminder that sometimes we need to lean on other no matter how little. It is also a reminder that the dunya is not perfect, and we will be tested in various ways.
For the giver, even though you may feel like you have something that the other person does not have right now, giving sadaqah is a reminder that we cannot have everything that we need in life. Even if you are the richest, most comfortable person on earth, there is bound to be something that is missing. It could be a smile from someone that will be sadaqah to you.
Every time we give, even if it is a smile, a dollar, or a piece of bread, it should be a reminder to our soul that no one is without a need, and this should cause us to always remember that we are humans and Allah (ta’ala) is the only one free from all needs.
Sadaqah Brings Gratitude
When you walk past a homeless person and you give them some loose change from your wallet, it should remind you to be grateful for the rizq that Allah (ta’ala) has bestowed upon you. Every time we donate to relief causes in war-torn countries and to starving people, it should be a reminder to show gratitude for our privilege.
Anyone can be in a position of need like the people that depend on others to survive.
Sadaqah Reminds You of Allah (ta’ala)
A heart that gives is a heart that remembers its Lord. As Muslims, we know that Islam teaches us about the importance of sadaqah, and we know the rewards. A Muslim who gives is a Muslim who lives by the commands of Allah (ta’ala).
Sadaqah Erases Sins
Remember the story of the prostitute who gave water to a dog and got her sins forgiven by Allah (ta’ala)? It is a reminder that when we give, it is a means to have our sins erased.
This does not mean that we should persist in committing sins with the intention to find some charity organization to donate money to in a bid to lessen the guilt. Rather, this should remind us that we have something that we can use to redeem ourselves in the sight of Allah (ta’ala) whenever we feel like we have strayed.
These four things; humility, gratitude, remembrance of Allah, and forgiveness of sins, are very important ways through which giving sadaqah can spiritually detoxify our souls. A Muslim who is aware of all four becomes conscious of their Lord such that they strive to live in obedience to Him, with the hope of a reward in the hereafter.
When we are conscious of our Lord, our soul is spiritually reenergized and we have the eeman boost that inspires us to worship Allah (ta’ala), fulfil our religious obligations, stay away of sins, and strive to be better Muslims.
A spiritually detoxified soul is a soul that holds less of the affairs of this world, and more of the affairs that will be of benefit to us in the hereafter.
Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said :
“Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you. Your pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is charity for you.” (Tirmidhi)
“Surely those men who give Sadaqah (alms) and those women who give Sadaqah and have advanced a good loan” (Qur’an 57:18)
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