A tree, it provides shade to the traveler. For as long as the leaf is attached to the tree, it is alive and providing shade. When the leaf exists apart from the tree then death is inevitable and it can no longer be a part of that reaching out to provide shade to others.
Giving is something that makes us visible in the eyes of the society, responsible & kind towards the creation of Allah. Ramadan teaches us giving in the form of self-sacrifice.
We sacrifice our comfort, self interest, desire, and convenience and this makes us understand the pain of less-privileged. And this understanding of someone else’s pain leads us to give away our earning and do whatever we can to ease the pain and alleviate the suffering of others.
Just like the tree if we don not give we do not survive. If we do not spread / spend the wealth according to Allah’s will then we are not watering the garden. John Powell, a Jesuit scholar said “In the garden of humanity, whatever is not growing is busy dying”.
“Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow in purity………” (Sura At Tauba :103)
And Ramadan is the month where we return to our harbor and repair ourselves and prepare for the next lap of our Jihad with Nafs to reach closer to our Lord and to reach closer to other human beings.
Fasting not only teaches us to control our unruly bodies it teaches us to give thanks to Allah for all the blessings we have that we so often take for granted. When the Azhan calls each day for the Magrib Salah, telling us all that the day's fast is over, there are many in the world whose fast will not end. In fact, many thousands will starve to death because they have no food.
So not only giving our time to Allah, but also giving our time, talents, and material goods to others is a way of Ramadan. It really costs us very little to give out of our plenty to those who have nothing. By doing so in Ramadan, we learn to thank Allah for all the good things we have. For example we can join with our friends, and help the needy. We can easily get a decent iftar boxes in very minimum cost and can distribute to the poor.
Giving is something that makes us visible in the eyes of the society, responsible & kind towards the creation of Allah. Ramadan teaches us giving in the form of self-sacrifice.
We sacrifice our comfort, self interest, desire, and convenience and this makes us understand the pain of less-privileged. And this understanding of someone else’s pain leads us to give away our earning and do whatever we can to ease the pain and alleviate the suffering of others.
Just like the tree if we don not give we do not survive. If we do not spread / spend the wealth according to Allah’s will then we are not watering the garden. John Powell, a Jesuit scholar said “In the garden of humanity, whatever is not growing is busy dying”.
“Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow in purity………” (Sura At Tauba :103)
And Ramadan is the month where we return to our harbor and repair ourselves and prepare for the next lap of our Jihad with Nafs to reach closer to our Lord and to reach closer to other human beings.
Fasting not only teaches us to control our unruly bodies it teaches us to give thanks to Allah for all the blessings we have that we so often take for granted. When the Azhan calls each day for the Magrib Salah, telling us all that the day's fast is over, there are many in the world whose fast will not end. In fact, many thousands will starve to death because they have no food.
So not only giving our time to Allah, but also giving our time, talents, and material goods to others is a way of Ramadan. It really costs us very little to give out of our plenty to those who have nothing. By doing so in Ramadan, we learn to thank Allah for all the good things we have. For example we can join with our friends, and help the needy. We can easily get a decent iftar boxes in very minimum cost and can distribute to the poor.
It’s a great way of showing the world how much Muslims care for their world. And it is also a great way of clearing the misconceptions and myths that people have about Islam.
Giving, is central to what Ramadan is about. We give time to Allah and to others. And by this we not only bring blessings on ourselves, but we also tell the world about Islam and we bring light and hope into the lives of many people who have none. Today media is portraying Islam as a violent religion and Muslims as terrorist. They have even invented words like “Muslim” or “Islamic” terrorists and similarly the word “Islamic Extremism”. Those who commits crimes in the name of Islam are terrorist but not “Muslim” or “Islamic” terrorists. They are outcast of any religion.
The way we celebrate our holy month, we can show a world thirsting for Allah that Muslims are not what they are portrayed as, but as people who have submitted their lives to Allah. By our giving for Allah's sake, we can teach the world how beautiful Islam really is. Maybe our giving will also, in sha' Allah, help us to be better Muslims all the year.
The way we celebrate our holy month, we can show a world thirsting for Allah that Muslims are not what they are portrayed as, but as people who have submitted their lives to Allah. By our giving for Allah's sake, we can teach the world how beautiful Islam really is. Maybe our giving will also, in sha' Allah, help us to be better Muslims all the year.
