Comparative Theology · Common Ground
Give in secret, and do not announce it
In short
- 1.Matthew 6:1-4 warns against charity done to be seen.
- 2.The Qur'an praises giving secretly.
- 3.Both traditions judge the intention, not the display.
The claim being examined
Jesus (PBUH) teaches that charity should be hidden, not performed for an audience.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an gives the same instruction, and sincerity of intention is a foundation of Islamic law.
Analysis
The teaching parallels rabbinic material on the anonymous chamber for alms in the Temple, and is echoed almost word for word in Qur'an 2:271.
From the Qur'an
إِن تُبْدُوا۟ ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتِ فَنِعِمَّا هِىَ ۖ وَإِن تُخْفُوهَا وَتُؤْتُوهَا ٱلْفُقَرَآءَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۚ وَيُكَفِّرُ عَنكُم مِّن سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌۭ
in tub'dū l-ṣadaqāti faniʿimmā hiya wa-in tukh'fūhā watu'tūhā l-fuqarāa fahuwa khayrun lakum wayukaffiru ʿankum min sayyiātikum wal-lahu bimā taʿmalūna khabīrun
If you disclose your charitable gifts, that is fine; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, that is better for you.
From the Bible
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.
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