Feel Sympathy for the Poor

According to my information food is available for 12 billion people in the world, whereas the population of the entire world is said to be 7.5 billion. Despite this fact, more than 2 billion people are those who can not eat their fill and many die of hunger. A large number of them are children. There are many reasons for it. According to a piece of information food of 3 to 4 billion people goes to waste and is thrown away.

An ironic situation

A person was telling the incident that happened to him in a very entertaining way by saying: We were having a barbeque. We did not know how to roast meat, so it burnt to a cinder and no one could eat it. (اَلْاَمَان وَالْحَفِیْظ)

Dear Islamic brothers! Such types of barbeques take place especially after Eid-ul-Adha, at homes and at many other places. In barbeque, some meat is cooked and used, whereas some meat is burnt. Normally it is also the style of eating that we eat some, throw some and waste some without any reason. If the same meat is given to a poor man before it is burnt, wasted and thrown away, the one who gives will get Du’as.

How will it become an ideal society?

When members of one family in the same Mahallah^[1] or building eat and drink their fill and live a luxurious life, whereas the other family members remain hungry, how can our society become an ideal society? Despite knowing their circumstances we do not help them as per our financial ability! Our fridges are full of sacrificial animal meat and other eating and drinking items, but our poor relatives and neighbours are in need of food for even two times. Under these circumstances, how can our society become an ideal society!

Living style of the poor

In our society, a large number of people are living in poverty. There are many reasons behind it. One of them is also low income because of which they live a hard life. How can a person meet his expenses of the whole month like buying milk, vegetables, food, paying electricity and gas bills, travelling expenses and if he is living in a rented house then how can he pay the rent of the house from a low salary?

It has been observed and collected through information that such people run out of money by the 20^th or 22^nd of the month. After this, they borrow money to manage their household expenses. They keep taking things from vegetable seller, milkman and shopkeeper by saying ‘I will pay you on the 1^st when I get my salary’. In this way, these people spend their last days of every month with great difficulty. In their life, there are some such days as well when someone from their family falls ill, but they do not have any money to buy medicines for him. If they have money, they do not buy medicines by thinking about how they will meet other household expenses.

One reason for increasing tension for poor person

Sometimes an employer or an officer takes much time in paying salary, that is, he goes even to 6, 7^th of the month or rather pays beyond this date. During this period, if an employee requests the employer to pay him his salary as soon as possible, he is answered, ‘Why are you in such a hurry!’ Many employees start facing troubles even before the month ends. If we see globally, we can find that there are usually less rich people, middle class and white-collar people are more than the rich and the poor are more than both of them.

Few requests regarding helping the poor

Wealthy and rich people are requested to help people having low income and those who are weak financially. For example, if your salary is 100,000 and your household expenses are 70,000 and you save 30,000 monthly which you keep in the name of saving so that they can be helpful for you in a hard time, so will you save only for the world not for the Hereafter? Do we need only in this world, not in the grave and the Hereafter?

May Allah Almighty bless us with the courage to take out only Rs. 5000 out of these Rs 30,000 and we give this amount to a poor family or to two families monthly or ask a shopkeeper to send rations to such-and-such a family on our behalf or we take the rations ourselves to the home of a poor family.

If possible we should serve food to the poor after cooking it. Instead of giving the food we and our children have left, to the poor, we should give food to the poor after cooking it separately. Otherwise, we should take out for the poor from whatever we have cooked at home.

If we give even used things to a poor person instead of wasting it, it will be great for us. Sometimes when the food we give, reaches the home of a person, it satisfies the hunger of many hungry people and they make Du’a for us. If we continue to carry out this deed and Allah Almighty willing so, our home will receive great blessings.

The children of rich people who get a decent amount of pocket money from their homes are also requested to help the poor and the needy after saving some money instead of spending the whole of it on themselves. They should help them, but avoid mentioning it publically and should not mention it to anyone without any need by saying: I help so-and-so. If we give some rupees to a poor person, it does not mean that by giving some rupees to him we have bought his honour with that money. That’s why we should not keep telling people: I give him money.

Where should we find the poor?

It is not difficult to find them. They are around us, amongst our relatives, and also family. Anyway, if we have the passion for helping the poor, it will guide us itself and after finding deserving and white-collar people we will be able to give them ourselves the meat of the sacrificial animal and succeed in helping them in many other matters.

Excellence of spending and sacrificing in Divine path

The Beloved Rasool صَلَّى اللّٰەُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has said:

1     Allah Almighty has said, ‘O son of Aadam! Hand your treasure [by giving Sadaqah] over to Me; it will neither be burnt nor sink and nor be stolen. [On the Judgement Day] I will return you when you desperately need it. (Attargheeb Wattarheeb, vol. 2, pp. 10, Hadees 30)

2     The person who gives the thing which he needs himself to other person, Allah Almighty will forgive him. (Ithaf-us-Sadaat-il-Muttaqeen, vol. 9, pp. 779)

I request all the devotees of Rasool to make the intention to help the poor not only on Eid-ul-Adha but also throughout your life. By spending in the way of Allah Almighty our wealth will increase, not decrease. We should not have a fear of poverty and destitution; we should overcome stinginess and develop a passion for generosity and sacrifice. If Allah Almighty wills, we will see blessings ourselves.

اٰمِيۡن   بِجَاهِ   النَّبِيِّ  الۡاَمِيۡن صَلَّى  اللّٰهُ  عَلَيۡهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم