Live becomes happier with charity

MOSAIC-INDONESIA, JAKARTA — Charity (sedekah) is a commandment that often appears in the Quran and Hadith. Charity become a value of Islamic teachings that will bring reward and happiness to its practitioners. In the Quran, Ustaz Muhammad Assad revealed that a person who gives a blessing will receive a reward of one seed that grows into seven stalks.

Each stalk will sprout a hundred grains. “This means that every charity is given, its reward is multiplied. As in Surah Al An'am 110, it will be rewarded 10 times to the maximum infinity,” Ustaz Assad said during Ramadan Festival: Islamic Philanthropy for Climate Action on March 21, 2025, a mini festival of MOSAIC collaboration with the Department of Politics and Government of Gadjah Mada University (DPP UGM) and Pares that seeks to combine Islamic values with real action for the environment such as Sedekah Energi and Waqf Forest.

The Notes from Qatar author said that the reward of charity would increase seven hundred fold to infinity if done during Ramadan. Charity is also one of the practices that will be connected when he dies. Not only that, alms give a person happiness because it will trigger the release of the hormone oxytoxin. “When those who receive a smile pray for us, we are happy,” he said.

Charity can indeed be done through wealth, knowledge, energy, even with a smile. Nevertheless, Ustaz Assad revealed that the most noble charity is charity with treasure, considering that treasure is something that people love very much.

As beings endowed with lust, man enjoys collecting treasures. Humans are vying to invest in deposits, bonds, stocks, gold and other forms for the sake of their future. In fact, the definite future of man is death. “The best investment that can be made in the world for the afterlife is alms,” he said. 

By appropriating wealth, man's love for the world can also be eroded. Thus, the orientation of man's ultimate goal, the afterlife, will grow. Although in practice it is not easy, Ustaz Assad said, it has to be trained from a small point of view. Especially, bestow with the best treasures. “We give a little but feel it is sincere, although the sincerity  if we sacrifice doing it,” Ustaz Assad said.

MOSAIC is a collaborative organization involving Muslim leaders, organizations, and movements to initiate solutions to the challenges of climate change. Abdul Gaffar, MOSAIC Steering Committee and Representative of Pares UGM said, "The discussion session at the Ramadhan Festival Islamic Philanthropy for Climate Action is one of our efforts to combine Islamic values ​​with real actions to benefit society and the environment." 

Abdul Ghaffar said, MOSAIC collaborates with elements of the community from various backgrounds such as Islamic mass organizations, Gadjah Mada University, Republika, to NGOs such as Active Asia, Enter Indonesia and Purpose.

According to him, MOSAIC began with the Congress of Muslims for Sustainable Indonesia which was held at the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, in 2022. The congress, which was attended by the vice president at that time, KH Ma'ruf Amien, formulated seven treatises. The manifestation of the Seven Treatises is various programs initiated by MOSAIC such as Forest Waqf, where the campaign movement is to donate in order to have forests.

The Forest Waqf Campaign, which was initially carried out for the Bogor Waqf Forest located in Cibunian Village, Bogor Regency, West Java, will now be adapted by the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag). At least, there are four waqf cities that are committed to building waqf forests such as in Wajo, Gunungkidul, and Tasikmalaya. Meanwhile, Sedekah Energi is a solar panel assistance program for several mosques in Indonesia, such as in Sembalun (West Nusa Tenggara), Bantul (DIY), and Garut (West Java). "With this program, we hope that Islamic Philanthropy can develop," he said.