Question:

What do the expert scholars of shari’ah say: Recently I am seeing a trend with big Muslim charities where children are working with charities to raise funds to build Masjids as sadaqa jaria for their living or dead parents. Is it permissible to raise funds for your parents from third parties as sadaqa jaria even when you yourself are pretty well off?

Answer:

There is no limitation of age, gender, or wealth for including people in acts of goodness. When giving sadaqa, the original person who donated will be rewarded and one can intend a sadaqa jariya for as many people as he likes, be this directly or indirectly. Sayyiduna Anas has narrated that a man came to the Messenger ﷺ asking for aid. The Prophet ﷺ did not have anything with him at the time to give. The Prophet ﷺ asked a companion who was present at the time to fulfil the needs of the person asking for help.  The companion returned and informed the Prophet ﷺ that he had completed the task. Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Guiding a person to good, is equivalent to performing the action itself.” (Sunan Al-Tirmazi)

This beautiful hadith clearly shows that including others in an act of goodness will not only allow us to have reward, but also all the people who are included. We should always encourage others to participate in acts of reward and pray that this is a means of improving society and increasing love between people.

And Allah ﷻ knows the best.

This Fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari