Title: Charity (practice) - Wikipedia
Headings: Charity (practice)
Charity (practice)
Contents
Etymology
Practice
Criticism
Needs-Based Versus Rights-Based Debate
Philosophies
Charity in Christianity
Tzedakah in Judaism
Zakat and Sadaqah in Islam
Dāna in Indian religions
Effective altruism
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Content: Alms
A Hindu Woman Giving Alms, painting by Raja Ravi Varma
Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as almsgiving or alms. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity; giving the recipients of it the means they need to survive. The impoverished, particularly those widowed or orphaned, and the ailing or injured, are generally regarded as the proper recipients of charity. The people who cannot support themselves and lack outside means of support sometimes become " beggars ", directly soliciting aid from strangers encountered in public. Some groups regard charity as being distributed towards other members from within their particular group. Although giving to those nearly connected to oneself is sometimes called charity—as in the saying "Charity begins at home"—normally charity denotes giving to those not related, with filial piety and like terms for supporting one's family and friends. Indeed, treating those related to the giver as if they were strangers in need of charity has led to the figure of speech "as cold as charity"—providing for one's relatives as if they were strangers, without affection. Most forms of charity are concerned with providing basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, healthcare and shelter, but other actions may be performed as charity: