have some money piled up in my bank account which I want to dispose off ... Should I give it to my parents, or should I give it to someone else. What is the best method of giving charity and alms?

Allah Ta?ala has blessed you with wealth. First and foremost, you should fulfil your Shar?ee monetary obligations like Zakaat and Hajj.%0D%0A%0D%0A1) The Quran says: ?And woe to those who give not Zakah, and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter.? (Fussilat, 41: 6-7) %0D%0A%0D%0AThis verse points out that it is a trait of the idolaters or those who associate partners with Allah that they do not pay Zakah. May Allah preserve us from withholding Zakah and being miserly in this regard. [A gift for women by Mufti Mohammad Aashiq Elahi Buland Shehri]%0D%0A%0D%0AZakah is like dirt in our wealth which we should get rid of. %0D%0A%0D%0ABy Giving Zakah one achieves purity from sins and bad character%2F etiquette. Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam would make dua for those who give Sadaqa and after our Nabi Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, the Khalifas continued this Sunnah to make dua for those who give Sadaqa, which is a means to peace and satisfaction. By giving Zakah and Sadaqa one is protected by misery and troubles. If Zakah is not given then it is the means of troubles and difficulties such as drought. [Umdat-ul-fiqh, p.17]%0D%0A%0D%0A2) Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam has said about Hajj, ?A person who has the means to travel to the House of Allah yet he does not perform Hajj then it is not surprising that such a person dies professing Judaism or Christianity because Allah, the High, has said: And Pilgrimage to the House is a duty of mankind towards Allah, for him who is able to make his way to it.? (Mishkat, Verse quoted is from al-Imran 3:97)%0D%0A%0D%0AWhen Hajj is obligatory on a person, he must perform it as soon as he can. He must not defer it in the least. The Hadith says: He who intends to perform Hajj must hasten. (Mishkat)%0D%0A%0D%0AIt is such an important part of Islam, that Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, Mercy to the worlds, assimilated those who avoid this duty with the Jews and Christians when they die. (May Allah protect us!) [A gift for women by Mufti Mohammad Aashiq Elahi Buland Shehri]%0D%0A%0D%0A3) Another thing to remember is that gaining money in a halal way is a ni?mat (a divine blessing of Allah) it is a grace from Allah. It is through this wealth that man can gain many rewards. Hajj, Zakah, Sadaqa, etc. with halal riches is a cause to great reward near Allah. %0D%0A%0D%0A4) One should ensure that his parents and relatives are happy as they also have a right. If relatives are in need of money then one should also give them. Hazrat Maymunah bint Harith said that she set free a save girl in the time of Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam. She mentioned this to him and he said, ?if you had given her to your maternal uncle it would have brought you more reward?. (Mishkat, Bukhari)%0D%0A%0D%0AIslam has given neighbours great rights over neighbors. Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam is reported to have said ?Jibril Alayhis salaam emphasized to me again and again the need to live peacefully with neighbours and give their rights; I feared that a neighbour would be named as a beneficiary in the inheritance of dead neighbours.?%0D%0A%0D%0AOne also gets reward spending on his own children. %0D%0A%0D%0AIn a Hadith it has been said that a person asked Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam what does love for maal (wealth) mean, for everyone has love for wealth? Nabi Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam replied when you spend wealth and at that time your heart tells your necessities and a fear is created in your heart about your necessity that I have a life ahead of me, what if I become dependant?%0D%0A%0D%0AIn another Hadith Nabi Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam has said the best Sadaqa is when one spends at such a time that one is healthy and hopes to live for quite long. Let it not happen that one avoids giving Sadaqa and when the time of death is near you start saying give this much to so and so, and so and so a place be given to so and so that now it is theirs, etc. (durr mansoor)?[fazail sadaqat p.9]%0D%0A%0D%0AAllah has mentioned in the Quran: And spend in the Cause of Allah and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers). [surah baqara ayat 195]%0D%0A%0D%0AHazrat Huzaifa Radhiallaahu anhu says that ?do not throw yourselves into destruction? means that due to fear of poverty, one stops spending in the path of Allah.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn the Quran it is also stated: ?And they ask you (O Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) what they ought to spend. Say: that which is beyond your needs? [surah baqara ayat 19]%0D%0A%0D%0AHazrat Abu Hurayrah Radhiallaahu anhu has narrated that Nabi Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam has said Sadaqa does not reduce your wealth?? (Muslim, Mishkat) [fazail sadaqat p.84]%0D%0A%0D%0AThere are many Madaris and Masajid?s and Dar-ul-Uloom?s all around the globe which are in need of money. There may be some people in those Dar-ul-Uloom's who are poor and Zakah may be given to them but it is up to you to make sure that it gets to them. You may do this by asking the head of the place to give it to those that are poor but make sure that they are reliable people. Much reward will come to you if you give it as Sadaqa to Dar-ul-Uloom's and Masajid?s and Madaris because these are places where deen is taught: such as in a Madressa, students will be learning Quran and in a Masjid they come to worship Allah, and in Dar-ul-Uloom?s, students come to seek knowledge. Now the money one would give as Sadaqa may be spent in supplying food to the students etc. and this energy that the students get from the food will help them gain more Islamic knowledge, etc. but overall it could be via the Sadaqa money. So think how much reward one can gain, as long as the intentions are correct (not for show). %0D%0A%0D%0AIntention plays a big part in our actions. We should be very careful with this, because if one gives Sadaqa, etc. with this intention that I will gain respect, and people will think I?m pious, or showing pride, etc. it will demolish our good deeds. As Rasulullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam has mentioned that Allah does not look at your soorat (beauty), nor your wealth, however He looks at your hearts and actions. %0D%0A%0D%0AOne should keep his intentions straight, and before doing anything one should intend that I am doing this for Allah?s pleasure.%0D%0A%0D%0AYou ask that what are the rewards of such acts near Allah? %0D%0A%0D%0AIt has been stated in a Hadith that on the day of qiyamat, the people of hell will be standing in a saf (line) and a Muslim (jannati) will pass by them. From the line a person will say, intercede for me by Allah. Then he will ask who are you? That jahannami (one of the people of hell) will say do you not recognize me? Once in the world you asked me for some water and I gave it to you. Thereafter the man will intercede for him (and it will be accepted). In the same way another would say that in the world you asked for this and I gave it to you, etc. (kanz) [fazail sadaqat p.93] %0D%0A%0D%0AAnother Hadith states that there is no Sadaqa more virtuous than to give food to a hungry.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn another Hadith: from amongst the things that forgiveness becomes waajib is giving food to the hungry. (kanz) [Fazail sadaqat p.95]%0D%0A%0D%0AIt has been mentioned in the Hadith that the most beloved action to Allah is to make a Muslim happy or to remove a depression from him, or to pay his debt, or to give him food in the state of hunger. (kanz)%0D%0A%0D%0AIn a Hadith it has been stated that whosoever fulfills one of his Muslim brothers necessity in the world, then Allah fulfills 72 of his necessities, and the most lightest of them is to forgive his sins. (kanz) [Fazail sadaqat p.95]%0D%0A%0D%0AIt is narrated by Abu Hurayrah Radhiallaahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam said ?when a person dies his deeds cease with him but (he continues to get reward from) three things: Sadaqa jariya (a Sadaqa that is continual), knowledge that goes on benefiting people, and pious children who pray for him.? (Muslim)%0D%0A%0D%0AAn example of Sadaqa Jariya is a person builds a Masjid in which people perform Salaat, and then until Salaat will be read in such a Masjid, he will keep gaining reward. Or if he dug a well and until people will benefit from it, drinking the water, or performing wuzu then he will keep gaining reward even after death. Or donation of books to a place of learning on the subjects of exegesis of the Quran, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and so on. Or doing anything that is beneficial to the people.%0D%0A%0D%0AThis is Allah?s favour and blessing that after death a person continuously gets reward. Allah has created a way for this which shows how much He has bestowed us with his grace.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere are many other virtues so for more information read Fazail Sadaqat by Shiek-ul-Hadith Moulana Muhammad Zakariya Sahib (nawarallahu marqadahu).%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMufti Ebrahim Desai