Giving Charity: Individual Responsibility vs. Collective Intentions
Question: If we give charity, can we intend it on behalf of the entire Ummah?
Answer: Give charity on your own behalf or on behalf of your close relatives because we ourselves are in need of righteous deeds, and Allah has given us life, so the opportunity to do good deeds is for us at this time. Those who have passed away are not the responsibility of the living; rather, those who are alive have their own responsibility to perform many righteous deeds while they are alive.
We have not been instructed to give charity on behalf of the entire Ummah, nor is this method transmitted from the Salaf (pious predecessors). Allah will ask each person about their own deeds, and no one will bear the burden of another. Allah says:
“And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.” (Fatir: 18)
Therefore, give charity on your own behalf, but you can also give charity on behalf of close relatives or a specific living or deceased person. Additionally, include all Muslims in your prayers, as including the Ummah in your prayers is sufficient and is often supported by evidence.
Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi
(Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy Al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia)
Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi