Sadaqah

or sadqah (صدقة sʕɑdæqɐ, "charity", "benevolence", plural صدقات) in the modern Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary charity". According to the Quran, the word means voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the "benefactor". 'Sadaqah' literally means 'righteousness' and refers to the voluntary giving of alms or charity. In Islamic terminology, sadaqah has been defined as an act of "giving something...without seeking a substitute in return and with the intention of pleasing Allah." Meanwhile, according to Ar-Rageeb al-Asfahaani “Sadaqa is what the person gives from what he possesses, like Zakat, hoping to get closer to Allah." The term 'sadaqah' stems from the Arabic root word ‘sidq’ (s-d-q) ص د ق, which means sincerity and it is considered as a sign of sincere faith. The three-letter root of this word, S-D-Q, also means, "to speak the truth," "to be sincere," and "to fulfill one's promise." All of these aspects of honorable behavior indicate the links between generosity and a healthy society. Some modern researchers also try to etymologically link the word sadaqa to the Hebrew sedāḳā (almsgiving). Some experts hence conclude that sadaqa is a loanword. Examples of sadaqah include: To administer justice between two people To remove harm from a road/removing thorns, bones and stones from paths A good word Every step taken towards prayer Guiding the blind Supporting the weak with the strength of your arms Smiling at others The word zakah occurs 30 times in the Quran, out of which, 27 times it is linked with prayer. There are three places where it has not been linked ... (Quran 41:7). The zakah mentioned in these thirty places is in reference to the obligatory zakah. However, Sadaqah (non-obligatory charity) and its plural (sadaqat) occur thirteen times in the Qur'an; five times as Sadaqah, eight times as its plural. Sadaqat is very wide term and used in the Quran to cover all kinds of charity. Sadaqat means to give alms and also legal alms for which the word zakat is used in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.