Conscious Giving as Ramadan Draws to an End
By Dr. Abidullah Ghazi
Executive Director
IQRA’ International Educational Foundation
Chicago, IL
We have now arrived, al-Hamdulillah, into the third portion (`asharah) of Ramadan. We have enjoyed the distinctive occurrence of the first ten days of Rahmah (Mercy); the second ten days of Maghfirah (Forgiveness) and now we are in the third and final ‘asharah that is itqun min an-Nar, “Deliverance from the Fire.”
The most extraordinary thing about this sacred month is that we are actively participating in it. It is a God-given opportunity that we must take full advantage of. There are the generations which have come before us and there those generations which will come after us, yet for us time is now. Who knows if we will be here for the next Ramadan? So it is this Ramadan, here and now in front of us, that we must engage in the real commerce (tijarah lan tabur) with the Almighty, a commerce in which there is no loss and in which gain lies in the two worlds.
Ramadan is the month of Almighty Allah, it is the month of the Qur’an, and of ‘Ibadah but first and foremost, it is the month of the pain of suffering humanity; sharing our blessings with others and giving what Almighty Allah has bestowed us with. The profits of giving and sharing are enormous and it is one of the most important themes of the Qur’an, its rewards are great and its neglect is severe punishment.
Ramadan is a month par excellence for giving out charity. The Messenger of Allah (may endless peace and blessings be upon him!) said that charity given out like a rainfall normally should become a tempest during this month. Compared to us what did he have to give? He wouldn’t keep overnight what he received in day!
As the Ummah is called upon by this month to give sadaqah, zakah, fitrah and gifts, it takes care of the needy, the poor, the educators, the charity organizers and the doers of good deeds. In this month the Muslim World becomes a vast table cloth, a dastarkhwan, where mosques, community institutions, and homes compete with each other in provide the best food that they can afford to all fasters, be they friends, relatives or strangers.
The America’s Muslim community has a very particular responsibility in this month. It is one of the youngest communities in the nation which has grown from very modest beginnings at the beginning of the 20th century to become a viable community consisting of some 6 million citizens. American Muslims are, perhaps, the most diverse, most talented, most resourceful and most qualified of Muslims anywhere in the world. The events of 9/11 have put this community on the map, and despite wariness and hostility from a number of directions, it is a community that is emerging self-confident, strong and healthy. It is now making its presence felt in the all areas of the American society. The election of President Barack Obama and his initiatives with the Muslim world have given many Muslim Americans a new confidence of a future free from anxiety and suspicion. It is time that we, as Muslim Americans, shed our reservations and claim our position in the American public square by donating our time and resources to the larger community.
Charity begins at home. We as a community have been privileged to build mosques, schools, research centers, and political forums, and in this month of Ramadan, it is time to strengthen our long-standing organizations and establish new institutions to safeguard our identity and values and yet, be part of the American society and serve it with all our resources. In doing this we can learn from well-established Christian and Jewish institutions as we interact with them.
I have a very special suggestion for these last few days and I want you to read my words carefully, share them with others, pass them on to your friends and relatives and make announcements regarding them from the pulpit. Let this Ramadan become the beginning of the new era by supporting our institutions. I am encouraged because of the massive amounts of mail from Islamic centers, schools, charities and social welfare organizations that seek donations. This sort of mail at times overwhelms me, but I regard it as a blessing that we have so many organizations striving for the good of the community and human society. We are also privileged that, in spite of present environment in which we live, we can afford to help each one with at least a certain minimum. I suggest that we support all charities with minimum of ten dollars each, or even less if we cannot afford even that. There is no limit to a maximum amount if we are convinced and can afford it. A minimum payment from each person receiving the appeal would make that institution self-sufficient, or at least partially financially viable. However let us also see the consequences of our ignoring these appeals. Each appeal costs on average $2 to $5 to prepare, write, print and mail. If we don’t respond to the call of an organization that sends fifty thousand peaces of mail out it could lose from $150,000 to $250,000! We at IQRA’ International Educational Foundation have faced this situation and, as a consequence, have stopped mailing out appeals, forcing us to cut down our services, staff and important projects.
Now let us see if each of us responds with a minimum of $10.00. If 5,000 people respond to one organization, then it receives $500,000 or even more. Most organizations will be able to continue with their operations and further build their potential in the services they provide. In my opinion, our priority must be first to our community centers/masajid which include Islamic schools; second, our favorite service organization and for the immigrants, their own community back home. Then we must support each organization, unless we are apprehensive or not convinced of its work. Remember this is also the month we do capital investment in our future and support organizations that are working for our cause right here. We have masajid to support, schools to build, community centers to establish, educational and social research work to sustain, political actions to plan and an economic base to establish - in short the work of community development in America has just begun. As compared to our Christian and Jewish counterparts we are far behind in organizational structures, educational research and production and social action.
Let us strengthen and allow our dedicated social volunteers to continue working for our interests. There are brothers and sisters who are engaged in collecting charity to be distributed worldwide and others who want to invest the charity in the future of the Muslim community here in the United States and Canada. There are educational institutions teaching the Qur’an, Islam, and academic subjects to produce an enlightened Ummah to take charge of the future. There are institutions that are engaged in research and educational planning. All of them may not be genuine but most of them are and we know for certain they are. They need help and only we can provide that.
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