💰 Family finances · #14
Is it better to give charity to outsiders or to one's own family?
The hadith sets the order.
The Prophet ﷺ said: the best charity is that given by one who has means to spare, and begin with those you are responsible for. When Zainab, the wife of Ibn Mas‘ud, wanted to give her jewellery in charity, and Ibn Mas‘ud said that he and their children were more deserving, he ﷺ confirmed: your husband and your children are more deserving than anyone. Al-Baqarah 2:177 also lists relatives as the first recipients in its list of charitable spending. So donating to a charity while leaving one's own family in hardship is not the priority that was taught.
The Prophet ﷺ said: the best charity is that given by one who has means to spare, and begin with those you are responsible for. When Zainab, the wife of Ibn Mas‘ud, wanted to give her jewellery in charity, and Ibn Mas‘ud said that he and their children were more deserving, he ﷺ confirmed: your husband and your children are more deserving than anyone. Al-Baqarah 2:177 also lists relatives as the first recipients in its list of charitable spending. So donating to a charity while leaving one's own family in hardship is not the priority that was taught.
Sources
Sahih al-Bukhari 1426Sahih al-Bukhari 1462Surah al-Baqarah 2:177