Lillah and charity

Khairaat and Sadaqa

Q:

1) I would like to know the difference between khairaat and sadaqa and to whom and when we can give these?

2) I have my pay around 440 USD, in which I send amount to my family. Do I have to give zakat on this?

3) For job purpose, I am living in another city of Pakistan. How can I serve my parents, as Islam says that we have to make "KHIDMAT" for our parents?

Assisting beggars

Q: I give money to charity monthly to Muslim aid. However I never give money to beggars. I just feel they should beg from Allah not men. I also think they may buy alcohol. Another time a chubby person begged money from me, clearly that person didn't need money. I still feel guilty for not giving them money. Should I give them money or is that encouraging them to beg from people rather than the most richest, Allah.

Giving sadaqah to poor people

Q: I have put a box in my cupboard in which I put the sadaqa amount and when a considerable amount gets together, I give them in charity. I have told my friends about it and they also sometimes contribute in it. The method I adopt regarding charity is that I visit a near by area where mostly poor people live. Then I search for those who are apparently religious as well as needy. The standard of needy that I look at is that one who is apparently really suffering to make both ends meet though he has a fruit stall or an animal like donkey for picking loads for people and carrying them elsewhere. I know that there must be much more needy ones but with this methodology, is my sadqa discharged properly because I think that giving to charity organization may be better but doing so one does not get the real feeling of the poor which one gets by searching them. So I prefer this method.

Feeding the poor

Q: I have recently adopted a practice of distributing food among people after jumma prayers out side mosque. My question is that I am not sure whether the people who take the food are really poor people or not? So in this stance please advise whether my this practice is beneficial for me or not?