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Eight Questions Answered - Material Sacrifice in Jama`at Khanah
Material Sacrifice in Jama`at Khanah
Why is money collected in jama`at-khanah under the name of different assemblies (majalis) and on different occasions? For since jama`at-khanah is the house of God, surely only prayers should be performed there.
- It is true that business pertaining to worldly matters cannot be conducted either in the jama`at-khanah or in the mosque. On the other hand, zakat (religious tax) sadaqah (alms), and every other type of material sacrifice, and in addition, many other good deeds, are such that they are more rewarding if they are performed in the house of God. As God says:
"(O Prophet! Remind the people that) when We made the house (of God) a place of reward for mankind and a sanctuary." (2:125)
It is quite obvious that the house of God is a place for all kinds of reward. The house of God is foremost the Ka`bah, and then the mosque and the jama`at-khanah. Thus since the centre of reward is the house of God then why should most of the deeds not be performed therein? Since these good deeds are performed for the sake of God, they should be done in the house of God; and since these deeds, these material sacrifices and good deeds are included in religious services (`ibadat) then why should they not be performed in the house of God?
In this way the doers of the good deeds will benefit from the prayers of all and at the same time this is a kind of practical teaching, for in observing these deeds, the members of the jama`at are able to create within themselves the spirit of offering material sacrifices and performing such good deeds. This is the reason why even in the time of the Prophet, most material sacrifices were received in the mosque.
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