A man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): Messenger of Allah, which sadaqah (charity) is the best ? He replied: (The best sadaqah is) that you give something as sadaqah (charity) when you are healthy, greedy, expect survival and fear poverty, and not that you postpone it until your death. and then you say: For so-and-so is such-and-such, and for so-and-so is such-and-such, while it was already for so-and-so.
Hadith Commentary: Excellence of Timely Charity
This noble hadith from Sunan Abi Dawud 2865, found in the Book of Wills (Kitab Al-Wasaya), addresses the spiritual merit of charitable giving during one's lifetime. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) emphasizes that the most virtuous charity is that given while one is healthy, attached to wealth, and apprehensive about future needs.
Conditions for Superior Charity
The hadith outlines four conditions that elevate charitable giving: good health (when one enjoys wealth), greed (when the soul inclines toward hoarding), hope of survival (expecting to live long), and fear of poverty (apprehension about future financial state). Charity given under these circumstances carries greater reward because it requires overcoming natural human attachments.
Critique of Delayed Giving
The Prophet (ﷺ) explicitly discourages postponing charity until death approaches, when one merely allocates portions of wealth through wills. Such delayed giving lacks the spiritual struggle against worldly attachments that characterizes charity during vigorous life. The phrase "while it was already for so-and-so" indicates that wealth designated after death was essentially destined for heirs anyway, diminishing the sacrifice's merit.
Scholarly Interpretation
Classical scholars explain that this hadith doesn't invalidate bequests (wasaya) but rather establishes a hierarchy of charitable excellence. Imam Al-Nawawi notes that charity during health and life demonstrates sincere devotion, while deathbed giving may stem from necessity. The hadith encourages Muslims to purify wealth through ongoing charity rather than waiting until compelled by impending death.
Practical Application
This teaching encourages regular charitable expenditure throughout life, transforming wealth from a potential spiritual liability into a means of drawing closer to Allah. The optimal approach combines both: continuous charity during life supplemented by bequests for ongoing reward (sadaqah jariyah). This balanced method maximizes both worldly purification and posthumous benefit.