Giving is a duty

Alms-giving and charity are one of the main obligatory acts of

worship in Islam. This act of sharing and providing [for] others who

are less fortunate is not only mandated upon Muslims, it is also

considered one of the noblest acts that can bring a person closer to

God. Giving charity (according to the Koran) benefits the donor and

the society. It purifies the soul from stinginess and meanness. The

Koran states, “Take alms from their wealth in order to purify and

sanctify them.” (9:103).

IMAM MOSTAFA AL-QAZWINI

Islamic Educational

Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Jesus teaches, “Love your neighbor.” This mandate permeates the

Bible and Christian thought and prayer. St. Paul says that those of

us without “charity”/ “love”/”agape”/”caritas” are “a noisy gong ...

a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1), that is, dead ... and

deadly. My dictionary defines “charity” as “Christian love” before

giving a second definition as “kindness or help for the needy or

suffering” and a third as “lenient judgment of others.” Clearly,

“charity” is a Christian responsibility, a “duty.”

In “The Four Loves,” the great Anglican theologian C.S. Lewis

reminds us that “charity” or “gift-love” is an act of the will.

Jesus’ mandate requires our willingness to work for our neighbor’s

well-being even it means sacrificing our own well-being ... even if

sometimes it means just leaving them alone.

THE VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

One of the most moving notes I ever received accompanied a

donation in response to a charitable effort: “Thank you, Rabbi, for

helping me to distribute God’s money.”

This awareness revealed a person who was grateful for the gifts

God had bestowed upon him. Implicit in his note was the understanding

that the Hebrew language does not offer a way to say “I have.”

The closest approximation is “There is to me now.” Judaism

recognizes that we have nothing, that all is on loan to us as a

sacred trust. Everything was here before our arrival, and everything

will survive our departure. We are temporary beneficiaries of God’s

largess, and he reclaims all loans. Since the Bible teaches “The

earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” we understand who is

the true owner, and we are commanded to distribute his treasure. The

sages of the Talmud considered that “charity is equal to all other

commandments put together.”

Judaism summons its adherents to be more than simply people who

give, but to aspire to become giving people.

RABBI MARK MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach