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Fatwa CenterWorking more than needed to make money for charity
Question
What do you think is better:1: just working enough for food and drink and no sadaqah2: working some extra to give away sadaqah. But please think about the life in the west. I can't go to the mosque when working and there are a lot of women everywhere
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The best thing is that which is more likely to be good for your heart. There is no doubt that giving charity is a great and rewardable deed, but if this extra work entails mixing with non-Mahram women and exposing your heart to Fitnah (temptations), then there is no doubt that it is better to settle for working only to meet your needs rather than engaging in extra work to earn more money and offer charity. Giving charity is recommended and not obligatory so it should not be given precedence to observing the basic obligation, which is to avoid mixing with non-Mahram women in the forbidden manner which is costumary in our time, especially in non-Muslim countries.
If a choice must be made between doing a recommended act and committing a prohibited act on one hand, and giving up the recommended act and avoiding a prohibited one on the other, the latter option is given precedence, as Al-ʻIzz ibn ʻAbd As-Salaam 
said: “Giving up what is forbidden is more correct than doing what is recommended and avoiding what is disliked.” [Al-‘Ilmaam]
You can also compensate for the charity you miss by preoccupying yourself with other acts of worship after finishing your work in proportion to your needs.
Allaah Knows best.
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