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“Mummy, will we eat anything this week?” By Hasan Abdullah While some of us spend the day squandering hundreds of pounds on expensive designer gear, over 30,000 children will die that day from poverty. While
in some parts of the world people dispose their half-eaten kebabs, others,
only a few hundred miles away would rejoice if only they could find a few
dusty grains to eat. While some spend a fortune on luxurious fur coats, others cannot afford a piece of cloth to wrap their dead. While some footballers earn over £14,000 a day, nearly half of the world population lives on less than £1.40 a day. This is not some fictitious tale but an undisputable and sad reality. We live in a bizarre world where selfishness and greed are rampant; a world where your intellect can be questioned if you give precedence to aiding the needy over purchasing the latest smash hits album. Unfortunately many Muslims today have become accustomed to fulfilling their material desires and showing a total disregard for the needy. Allah says in the Quran: Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? He it is who drives away the orphan and does not encourage the feeding of the poor. [Quran 107:1-3] Give to the near of kin his due, and also to the needy and the wayfarers. Do not squander your wealth wastefully; for those who squander wastefully are Satan's brothers, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord. [Quran 17:26-27] Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour remains hungry by his side.” How could we who have been blessed with Islam act in such a despicable manner? Will we only stand up when there is a death in our family? A single life is precious and we must make a stand now. If anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind. [Quran 5:32] By the time you finish reading this; approximately 20 children around the world would have died from poverty. The author is the Director of Public Relations at IACN and is a Software Engineering student at the Nottingham Trent University. Click here to comment on this article. |
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