"You shall give the due alms to the relatives, the needy, the poor, and the travelling alien, but do not be excessive, extravagant.The extravagant are brethren of the devils, and the devil is unappreciative of his Lord. Even if you have to turn away from them, as you pursue the mercy of your Lord, you shall treat them in the nicest manner. You shall not keep your hand stingily tied to your neck, nor shall you foolishly open it up, lest you end up blamed and sorry." (Sura Isra: 26-29)
As the Holy month comes to an end, I together with a few from my youth group distributed Fitra packs today. We collected money from personal contacts and decided what we should include as its contents; most of it were dry rations essential for daily needs. Alhamdulillah, we collected money enough to make 15 packs. Although, we raised more money and made more packs this year, it to me, still feels not enough. What if we had started collecting money at the start of Ramadhan? Did we tap all the people we know? So many questions, but hardly any answers.
I've been elected numero-uno of a youth group -despite my reluctance, but optimism of others- with a non-existent membership, empty coffers, serious commitment issues....and the list goes on. I'm not saying that I'm the one whose going to save this youth group from a slow and timely decline, rather my task is to revive it. And we're dealing with Malay youth here....a bunch of people with no idea what they want as a community!! Hey, the truth is never sweet.
While on our distribution route I was taken to a Malay colony in the middle of a Sinhala-Buddhist settlement in Gothatuwa. There must have been around 20-30 houses mostly belonging to the low-income group. Their standard of living was very visible by the structures in which they lived: walls of cement blocks (bricks is more expensive), rickety roofs, unpainted walls etc. More surprisingly than anything else, these people had built their own Surau, and was told by the Moulavi who took us of their Iman & Ibadah. He also said the women-folk lacked knowledge on Islam to a great extent pointing out most would fast during their menses. The women unknowingly fast since its a part of Ibadah, thus they are not at fault because they don't know. Moulavi proposed that his wife is willing to teach them Islam, while he has books printed on various subjects in Sinhala and Tamil. Without a second thought I voiced my support for this project. Indeed, it would be a honour and a privilege to educate our women for which Allah will bless us. If we educate the women, then they will in turn educate their children also- a repetitive cycle.
I'm thankful for being exposed to such incidents though they may be random in nature. I realise even with the little that I think I have, how another might consider it to be more. Alhamdulillah, let me not whine and moan my shortcomings for surely there are those with more acute and severe shortages than me. Insha Allah, for Hajj I plan to do more for these people, which will require more resources. But I'm up for the challenge!!
I've been elected numero-uno of a youth group -despite my reluctance, but optimism of others- with a non-existent membership, empty coffers, serious commitment issues....and the list goes on. I'm not saying that I'm the one whose going to save this youth group from a slow and timely decline, rather my task is to revive it. And we're dealing with Malay youth here....a bunch of people with no idea what they want as a community!! Hey, the truth is never sweet.
While on our distribution route I was taken to a Malay colony in the middle of a Sinhala-Buddhist settlement in Gothatuwa. There must have been around 20-30 houses mostly belonging to the low-income group. Their standard of living was very visible by the structures in which they lived: walls of cement blocks (bricks is more expensive), rickety roofs, unpainted walls etc. More surprisingly than anything else, these people had built their own Surau, and was told by the Moulavi who took us of their Iman & Ibadah. He also said the women-folk lacked knowledge on Islam to a great extent pointing out most would fast during their menses. The women unknowingly fast since its a part of Ibadah, thus they are not at fault because they don't know. Moulavi proposed that his wife is willing to teach them Islam, while he has books printed on various subjects in Sinhala and Tamil. Without a second thought I voiced my support for this project. Indeed, it would be a honour and a privilege to educate our women for which Allah will bless us. If we educate the women, then they will in turn educate their children also- a repetitive cycle.
I'm thankful for being exposed to such incidents though they may be random in nature. I realise even with the little that I think I have, how another might consider it to be more. Alhamdulillah, let me not whine and moan my shortcomings for surely there are those with more acute and severe shortages than me. Insha Allah, for Hajj I plan to do more for these people, which will require more resources. But I'm up for the challenge!!
1 comment:
Congtats on the success!! And wish you strong leadership and all the best for future endeavors :)
H
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