Spending in Islam: Nurturing and Education

Islam urges its followers to spend on their parents, offspring, and lineage. This paper addresses spending in the way of Islam for its protection (preserving its authenticity), advocacy (Da’wah), and to support its adherents against those who manifest enmity towards it. Thus, spending aims to instill in Muslims the practice of giving for the sake of their faith and to educate them about the principles of this type of spending. Da’wah to Islam has been associated with calls to spend in the way of Allah to seek His satisfaction and pleasure. Even before the establishment of an Islamic state, or in cases where this state becomes weak and unable to perform its duties of protecting its followers and their beliefs, Muslims (as entities and individuals) are urged to spend in the cause of Allah to protect their Muslim brothers and their beliefs, and to propagate the message of Islam. The study concludes that spending in Islam seeks to achieve two goals: The first is to educate Muslims religiously, emphasizing that spending in Islam is for the sake of Allah and seeking His pleasure. The second is to teach Muslims about their material obligations and the need to fulfill them.