FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

 

It was the year of the famine. Umar bin Khattab ( radhiAllahu anhu) took pains to ensure that adequate relief reached all people, and  that there were no persons in the city who went to sleep hungry. 

One night as usual Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu)  went on his round. He was accompanied by his slave Aslam. As he strolled from  street to street all was quiet and the people seemed to be asleep. Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu)  thought to himself, "Thank God,  there is no one in this city whom the famine has afflicted." 

Then as he ( radhiAllahu anhu)  turned a corner he saw a cottage where light was burning, and from where the sound of the  weeping of the children was heard. Umar went to the cottage. He saw that the lady of the house was  cooking something on the hearth, and the children were crying. 

Umar knocked at the gate, and addressing the lady of the house Umar enquired why the children were crying. She said that they were crying because they were hungry. "And what are you cooking", asked  Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu). The lady said that in the kettle there was only water and stones. That was to while away the  children that food was being cooked for them. She hoped that exhausted the children would go to sleep. 

Hearing this tale of woe, Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu) felt guilty. He had thought that because of the arrangements made by him,  no one was afflicted in the city and here was a family which was starving. Umar said to the lady that he  would arrange relief for her family immediately. 

Umar went to the Baitul Mal. There he ( radhiAllahu anhu) put the necessary provisions in a bag and carried the bag to the  cottage. His slave insisted that he would carry the bag, but Umar said that he would carry his burden  himself. Umar handed over the bag of provisions to the lady. Umar sat by the hearth and helped the lady  cook the meals. When the meals were ready the children were awakened and served with the delicious  meals. As the children ate to their fill and were satisfied they smiled the smile of happiness. Seeing the  destitute children smile Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu) also felt happy. 

Umar enquired of the lady whether there was none to support. She said that the father of the children  had died, and there was no body to support. Whatever little was in the house had been gradually used  up and they were starving since the last three days. 

Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu) asked the lady why she had not brought her distress to the notice of the Caliph. The lady said that  in spite of her poverty she had some sense of self-respect and she could not go and beg the Caliph for  any favor. She added that it was incumbent on the Caliph to ascertain that there was no one in his  charge who was starving. 

Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu) said, "You are right. Please excuse me for the remissness in the past. For the future it will be my  responsibility to see that your wants are satisfied." 

And when the lady realized that the man who had come to her relief was the Caliph himself, she felt  satisfied that the Caliph had discharged his onerous responsibilities creditably.

~*~*~*~*~*

Asalaam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. I have chosen to put the above story of Umar( radhiAllahu anhu) in my blog for a few reasons. Lately there have been discussions around the world about food shortages. Indeed, the news have covered stories of food riots etc.

Here in the West, people are having to deal with soaring food prices among other things. It is a different scenario in developing countries and poor countries, to which this is a matter of daily survival, subhanAllah!

 InshAllah as you sit to have your dinner tonight inshAllah, be thankful for what you have in front of you. Some of us still have the opportunity to pick and be choosy about what we eat, for others, they have to eat whatever is in front of them.

Some of us may be in the habit of throwing away large quantities of food daily. This is not my way of ridiculing anyone, but hopefully to encourage those who may yet not be aware of the importance of this issue. 

The story of Umar ( radhiAllahu anhu) and many other Sahaba ( radhiAllahu anhuma) show the example of the character of a believer in that no matter his position, he is concerned with his/her bro/sisters in Islam well-being.

So inshAllah if you have the ability, look into helping the muslims who have little or nothing to feed their families. Like the family in the story, there are indeed needy families who have to stretch whatever food they have in order to have something to eat and this is their reality !

Here are a few things you can do my dear sister or brother in Islam: 

1) InshAllah, make inquiries and find a good reliable Islamic charity organization and send what you can to help.

 2) If this is hard, start within your own community and find those families in need and inshAllah organize and mobilize your friends and family to chip in assisting any needy muslims. 

3) Try not to be wasteful with your food, cook what is only needed and if you have left over food, eat this the next day or give the left overs to someone who may have nothing to eat.  

4) Try not to be extravagant and save money wherever you can each time you shop. When it reaches a substantial amount use it on someone who needs help inshAllah. 

I also recently saw a good idea in the news; you can  buy one extra food item each time you go grocery shopping. Have a box put aside specific for this and  inshAllah when your box is full, take it to the masjid and give it to those who have the need.

You can also my dear brother/sister in Islam, look into giving sadaqah to those projects that will assist the muslim to further themselves in their daily lives. It is better to give a hand up than a hand down. So inshAllah look into sadaqah projects that help muslims in rearing animals, digging wells to irrigate their farms etc that have the potential biithnillah to feed the family/communities for many generations etc.

SubhanAllah this type of sadaqatul jaariyah ( continuous sadaqah) has great rewards as illustrated in the following ayat and ahadith: 

"The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases; Allah cares for all and knows all things" [al-Baqarah 261]. 

"By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give freely of that which you love, and whatever you give, Allah knows it well" [al'Imran 92]. 

Ibn Maajah narrated that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) said: “The good deeds that will reach a believer after his death are: knowledge which he learned and then spread; a righteous son whom he leaves behind; a copy of the Qur’aan that he leaves as a legacy; a mosque that he built; a house that he built for wayfarers; a canal that he dug; or charity that he gave during his lifetime when he was in good health. These deeds will reach him after his death.”

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also said: "He from among you who is able to protect himself from the Fire should give sadaqah, even if but with half a date. If he does not find it, then with a good word."

The Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "Allah, the Majestic and Mighty, shall say on the Day of Judgment: 'O son of man! I was ill and you did not visit me.' He will reply: 'O my Lord! How could I visit You and You are the Lord of the Worlds?' Allah shall say: 'Did you not know that My slave, so-and-so, was ill and you did not visit him? If you had visited him, you would have found Me with him. O son of man! I asked you for food and you did not give it to me.' He will reply: 'O my Lord! How could I give You food--You are the Lord of the Worlds?' Allah shall say: 'Did you not know that My slave, so-and-so, asked you for food and you did not give it to him? Did you not know that if you had given the food, you would have found that with Me? O son of man! I asked you to quench My thirst and you did not.' He will say: 'O my Lord! How could I quench Your thirst--You are the Lord of the Worlds?' Allah shall say: 'My slave, so-and-so, asked you to quench his thirst and you did not. If you had given him to drink, you would have found that with Me. ' " This is related by Muslim.

The Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "A Muslim does not plant or sow anything from which a person, an animal, or anything eats but it is considered as sadaqah from him." This is related by al-Bukhari.

The Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "Every good deed is sadaqah. To meet your brother with a smiling face and to pour out from your bucket into his container are sadaqah."

It is similarly related that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "The sadaqah of the Muslim increases during his lifetime. It also softens the agony of death, and through it, Allah takes away arrogance and vanity."

 Last but not least, I leave you this ayah to ponder on inshAllah:

Al-Baqarah 2:245

Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provisions), and unto Him you shall return.

 May Allah open our hearts to be more grateful of what we have and to give sadaqah to those in need. Ameen!