Alms

Alms (/ɑːmz/, /ɑːlmz/) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty.^[1][2] Providing alms is often considered an act of charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.

Etymology

The word alms comes from the Old English ælmesse, ælmes, which comes from Late Latin eleemosyna, from Greek ἐλεημοσύνη eleēmosynē ("pity, alms"), from ἐλεήμων, eleēmōn ("merciful"), from ἔλεος, eleos, meaning "pity or mercy".^[3]

Buddhism

Dāna in Buddhism

In

Total willingness to give is the wish-granting gem for fulfilling the hopes of wandering beings.
It is the sharpest weapon to sever the knot of stinginess.
It leads to bodhisattva conduct that enhances self-confidence and courage,
And is the basis for universal proclamation of your fame and repute.
Realizing this, the wise rely, in a healthy manner, on the outstanding path
Of (being ever-willing) to offer completely their bodies, possessions, and positive potentials.
The ever-vigilant lama has practiced like that.
If you too would seek liberation,
Please cultivate yourself in the same way.^[7]

The giving of alms is the beginning of one's journey to

According to the

Of all gifts [alms], the gift of

Dhamma is the highest.

— Dhp. chapter 24, verse 354)^[a]

Householders & the homeless or charity [monastics]
in mutual dependence
both reach the true Dhamma....

— Itivuttaka 4.7^[9][c]

In

In countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism, the practice of Takuhatsu has mostly died out. In China, Korea, and Japan, local cultures resisted the idea of giving food to 'begging' clerics, and there was no tradition of gaining 'merit' by donating to practitioners. After periods of persecution, monasteries were situated in remote mountain areas; the distance between the monastery and the nearest towns made this practice impossible. In Japan, the practice of a weekly or monthly Takuhatsu replaced the daily round. In the Himalayan countries, the large number of bhikkhus would have made an alms round a heavy burden on families. Competition with other religions for support also made daily practice difficult and even dangerous; the first Buddhist monks in the Silla dynasty of Korea were said to be beaten due to their minority at the time.^{[citation needed]}

Christianity

In Christianity, the giving of alms is viewed as an act of

In nearly all Christian denominations, money is donated to support the church's financial needs and its ministry to the less fortunate. In some churches, the alms are placed near to the altar to symbolize that the offering belongs to God and to represent the unity of the congregation.^[e]

In Western Christianity

The

Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

— Matthew 6:1

Jesus places the primary focus on the motives behind the outward and inward giving of alms, which should be love:

Rather, give as alms what is inside, and then everything will be clean for you!

— Luke 11:41

Jesus contrasts the giving of the rich and the poor:

He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.'

— Luke 21:1–4

Giving should be out of love and not out of duty:

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

— Matthew 25:45

Sharing possessions was practised in the church:

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.

— Acts 4:32

..there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means "son of encouragement"), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

— Acts 4:34-37

Hinduism

Dāna in Hinduism

In Hinduism, dāna (

After the taxes, there are different opinions on how to spend their income. Some destine one-ninth of it for alms.[22] Others divide this income (after taxes) into four portions. One fourth is destined for common expenses, the second for liberal works of a noble mind, the third for alms, and the fourth for being kept in reserve.

— Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, Tarikh Al-Hind, 11th century AD^[21]

Almsgiving in Hinduism is considered a noble deed to be done without expectation of any return from those who receive the charity.^[17] Some texts reason, referring to the nature of social life, that charity is a form of good karma that affects one's future circumstances and environment, and that good charitable deeds leads to good future life because of the reciprocity principle.^[17] Other Hindu texts, such as Vyasa Samhita, state that reciprocity may be innate in human nature and social functions but dāna is a virtue in itself, as doing good lifts the nature of one who gives.^[23] The texts do not recommend charity to unworthy recipients or where charity may harm or encourage injury to or by the recipient. Dāna is thus a dharmic act, requires an idealistic-normative approach, and has spiritual and philosophical context.^[17] Some medieval era authors state that dāna is best done with śraddhā (faith), which is defined as being in good will, cheerful, welcoming the recipient of the charity and giving without anasuya (finding faults in the recipient).^[24] Kohler states that these scholars of Hinduism suggest that charity is most effective when it is done with delight, a sense of "unquestioning hospitality", where the dāna ignores the short term weaknesses as well as the circumstances of the recipient and takes a long-term view.^[24]

Institutional dāna

Satrams, also called Dharamsala or Chathrams in parts of India, have been one means of almsgiving in Hinduism. Satrams are shelters (rest houses) for travelers and the poor, with many serving water and free food. These were usually established along the roads connecting major Hindu temple sites in south Asia, as well as near major temples.^[25][26][27] Hindu temples have also served as institutions for almsgiving.^[28][29] The dāna the temples received from Hindus were used to feed people in distress as well as fund public projects such as irrigation and land reclamation.^[29][30]

Forms of dāna

Forms of almsgiving in Hinduism include:

1. go dāna, the donation of a cow^[31]
2. bhu dāna (भू दान), the donation of land
3. vidya dāna or jñāna dāna (विद्या दान, ज्ञान दान), the giving of knowledge and skills
4. aushadhā dāna, the giving of care for the sick and diseased
5. abhay dāna, the giving of freedom from fear (such as asylum or protection for someone facing imminent injury)
6. anna dāna (अन्ना दान), the giving of food to the poor, needy, and all visitors^[32]

Between giving food and giving knowledge, Hindu texts suggest the gift of knowledge is superior.^[33][34]

In the Vedas

The Rigveda has the earliest discussion of dāna in the Vedas and offers reasons for the virtue of almsgiving.^[35]

The Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death: even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape,
The riches of the liberal never waste away, while he who will not give finds none to comfort him,
The man with food in store who, when the needy comes in miserable case begging for bread to eat,
Hardens his heart against him, when of old finds not one to comfort him.

Bounteous is he who gives unto the beggar who comes to him in want of food, and the feeble,
Success attends him in the shout of battle. He makes a friend of him in future troubles,
No friend is he who to his friend and comrade who comes imploring food, will offer nothing.

Let the rich satisfy the poor implorer, and bend his eye upon a longer pathway,
Riches come now to one, now to another, and like the wheels of cars are ever rolling,
The foolish man wins food with fruitless labour: that food – I speak the truth – shall be his ruin,
He feeds no trusty friend, no man to love him. All guilt is he who eats with no partaker.

— Rigveda, 10.117^[36]

In the Upanishads

The early

Bhagavad Gita describes the right and wrong forms of dāna in verses 17.20 through 17.22.^[43] The Adi Parva of the Hindu Epic Mahabharata states in Chapter 91 that a person must first acquire wealth by honest means, then embark on charity; be hospitable to those who come to him; never inflict pain on any living being; and share a portion with others whatever he consumes.^[44] In the Vana Parva, Chapter 194, the Mahabharata recommends that one must "conquer the mean by charity, the untruthful by truth, the wicked by forgiveness, and dishonesty by honesty".^[45]

The Bhagavata Purana discusses when dāna is proper and when it is improper. In Book 8, Chapter 19, verse 36, it states that charity is inappropriate if it endangers and cripples modest livelihood of one's biological dependents or of one's own. Charity from surplus income above that required for modest living is recommended in the Puranas.^[46]

Islam

In Islam, the concept of Muhsi or Muhsin alms-giver or charitable giving is generally divided into voluntary giving, ṣadaqah (صدقة), and an obligatory practice, the zakāh (الزكاة). Zakāh is governed by a specific set of rules within Islamic jurisprudence and is intended to fulfill a well-defined set of theological and social requirements. Ṣadaqah is possibly a better translation of Christian influenced formulations of the notion of "alms" for that reason, though zakāh plays a much larger role within Islamic charity.

Zakat

Zakāh is the third of the

This category of people is defined in At-Tawbah:

"The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is knower, Wise."

— Qur'an 9:60

The obligatory nature of zakat is firmly established in the Qur'an, the sunnah (or hadith), and the consensus of the companions and the Muslim scholars. Allah states in At-Tawbah:

"O ye who believe! there are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in Falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah. announce unto them a most grievous penalty – On the Day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs.- "This is the (treasure) which ye buried for yourselves: taste ye, then, the (treasures) ye buried!"

— Qur'an 9:34–35

Muslims of each era have agreed upon the obligatory nature of paying zakat from their gold and silver, and from other kinds of currency.^[49]

Nisab

Zakat is obligatory when a certain amount of money, called the nisab (or minimum amount), is reached or exceeded. Zakat is not obligatory if the amount owned is less than this nisab. The nisab of gold and golden currency is 20 mithqal, or approximately 85 grams of pure gold. One mithqal is approximately 4.25 grams. The nisab of silver and silver currency is 200 dirhams, which is approximately 595 grams of pure silver. The nisab of other kinds of money and currency is to be scaled to that of gold; the nisab of money is equivalent to the price of 85 grams of 999-type (pure) gold on the day in which zakat is paid.^[50]

Zakat is obligatory after the money has been in the control of its owner for the span of one lunar year; a lunar year is approximately 355 days. The owner then needs to pay 2.5% (or 1/40) of the money as zakat. The owner should deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others, check if the rest reaches the necessary nisab, then pay zakat for it.^[51]

If the owner had enough money to satisfy the nisab at the beginning of the year, but his wealth in any form increased, the owner needs to add the increase to the nisab amount owned at the beginning of the year and then pay zakat, 2.5%, of the total at the end of the lunar year. There are minor differences between fiqh schools on how this is to be calculated. Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually. For most purposes, this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one's capital.^{[citation needed]}

Sadaqah

A pious person may also give alms as much as he or she pleases as ṣadaqah, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as 'voluntary charity', it has a wider meaning, as illustrated in the hadiths:

The

Jamiʽ at-Tirmidhi 27.76, hadith compiled by Al-Tirmidhi^[52]