A facet of remembrance

Bismillah Ir Rahman Ir Raheem and Ramadan Muabarik to all!

It is with sadness in my heart, and Du'a on my tongue, that I relate what I witnessed in 2004 when I traveled to Pakistan for a goodwill tour. It was a trip that I will remember, and cherish for the rest of my life, and am very fortunate to have gone. But this note has little to do with the purpose and length of the trip, it has much to do with what I saw. One day when we were driving around to shop for some cultural things to bring back to the states, we ran into a slew of children who looked very ill and un-kempt. It wasn't that they were homeless, nor that they had no family, it was something very peculiar about them and their story. I was told by a native woman of the country, "the people are so poor here that some parents have resorted to shooting/blowing up/and or amputating limbs from their children's bodies, so they can appear as desperate as possible and become beggers; in hopes that those who are more fortunate will feel sorry for them."

The children would stand in lines on the street, or outside of stores all over the place waiting for rich natives, or wealthy foreignors to come by, so they could rush them with their pleas. I remember it looked so real, that it was surreal. One of my companions, when first confronted by the sight of this, laughed, thinking it was a hoax of some sort, that they were in costume. That is when our trip lead told us the true story, and just how real it was. I can close my eyes right now, and picture the blood dripping to the ground from their arms, and legs, as they knocked on our car doors and windows. In their eyes I saw no emotion, but I could feel the energy of pleaing hearts while in their presence. The picture in my mind becomes no less vivid now, than those days, weeks, and months during my trip.

I think that is when I realized just how blessed I was, and no matter how unfortunate I was in my past, there was no comparison. It is at this time I began to understand the spirit of Sadaqa, and take it seriously.

1345. It is related that Haritha ibn Wahb was heard to say, "I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Give sadaqa. For a time will come when a man will go about with his sadaqa and not find anyone to accept it. People will say, 'If you had brought it yesterday, I would have accepted it. Today I have no need of it.'" (Bukhari)

I can't confess that since then, I rush to give Sadaqa as soon as I find out that someone is in need. Nor can I admit that after having read this very Hadith 6 years ago, I have done enough to compensate for my awareness either. But what I can say, is that my heart never forgets, and I am only human. I want to do more, and I want to never be the person who waits until it is too late. If giving is important at all, it is most important, and exceedingly beneficial, during this blessed month. The reward is tenfold, and Sadaqa is "a facet of remembrance" because it is He who tells us:

" Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." (2:274)

Personal Du'a: Ya Allah! Let this be as much a reminder to me, as it is to anyone else. Ya Allah! guide us all to, or on, the straight path. Ya Allah! Allow this Ummah to become more like those righteous men and women before us, and grant us patience with Your Mercy. Ya Allah! I beg that You grant us forgiveness our sins, and entry to Your blessed garden, underneath which rivers flow. Ameen!

BeeTrue