Helping Others: A Reminder

In a hadith related by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the grieves on the Day of Judgement. Whosoever alleviates (the) lot of a destitute person, Allah will alleviate his lot in this world and the next. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the next. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother.”

The other day, a good friend reminded me something we don't usually forget but sometimes fail to practice fully - the importance of feeding people during Ramadan. That is, feeding not just our friends and family, but people who cannot afford 3 full meals a day.

A suggestion from a dear aunty: "A great idea mashaAllah. tell Sanjana it is very good initiative to encourage people NOT TO buy surplus, even for food some of the things we can live without and still we keep buying extras [see our earlier discussion about this here]. I visited a seniors nursing home today and I think we need to have more people visiting these places Muslims or nonMuslims they need some attention. These places dont mind if we take some food for the seniors and they can enjoy these few moments of extra care and attention."

So as part of the Compact or just on your own, I'd like to remind myself and others to serve others this Ramadan. Take some time to feed the poor, help the homeless, or visit the sick and elderly.

For those of you in the DC-area, Islamic Relief is organizing a humanitarian day this Saturday September 29th. For more information visit the IR website or email marimokh (at) hotmail (dot) com. College students can also participate in their campus Ramadan Fast-a-thon - a nationwide initiative, started at the University of Tennessse in 2001, to bring awareness to the issue of hunger and homelessness in our communities, as well as highlight the tradition of fasting during Ramadan.