IslamNewcastle

When it comes to giving money…

by Roszeen Afsar

Excuse the soul that cops to keep, robs to reap while knowing

That his rich-man’s card is gone and he’s gotta pay the taxes on

On the cars he keeps. Destroyed in greed. Exposed and been,

Eyes red-rimmed, holding bags of white dust, he’s become the fiend.

Fall through the hole in his heart and soar through for eternity.

Satan takes him apart, yet he lies in denial of what he sees.

Twelve-year-old Faiza is sitting in her grandparent’s living room among family. It’s a comfortable family occasion. Her uncle has just recently got back from his holiday in Dubai with his wife and kids. They have all come to visit today, bringing gifts – to her delight – for her and her siblings.

Faiza is the oldest; she has two younger brothers and a baby sister. In fact she is the oldest child in the room as her cousins are also around the same age as her brothers. This sets her apart among the children as she feels her place is among the adults. She sits and listens to their conversations while the younger children chase each other around the house.  Faiza can barely hear the adults talking as the kids rush past. She gets up and hushes them, they run off upstairs. She then sits back on the sofa beside her mother and listens again.

Her uncle is laughing while talking about the people in Dubai, and her aunty is nodding with a smile too. Faiza hears him talk about five-star hotels, beautiful high-rise buildings and shopping malls filled with gold. It all sounds amazing – somewhere that she would like to visit too. She will ask her father when they get home.

‘We bought a few of those lamps from there, it was at this antique shop, they’re beautiful. Beautiful piece of Islamic art. Got some gold sets for the mrs-‘

‘You bought nothing for me Nasir.’ Her aunty cut in on her uncle’s talk, looking at him sharply, then towards Faiza’s mum, ‘This one, stingy with his money as ever. It was me who picked out the lamps and other decorations. I got some ja-namaz’s to decorate the guest room, and found some nice shops for clothes and jewellery. I got these lovely gold bracelets from one of the jewellers.’ She put her hand out to show Faiza’s mum. ‘But really if it had been up to Nasir we would’ve spent the whole holiday stuck at the hotel while he sun-bathed by the pool.’

Faiza’s uncle waved his wife’s accusations away, ‘You got a holiday just like you wanted woman. That’s what people do on holidays. And that hotel was superb, nothing to complain about.’

Faiza saw the look that passed between her parents.

Meanwhile, her grandfather turned the news up to listen to yet another story of bombings in Pakistan, in the area of Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi. Schools, hospitals, masjids. After the headlines there was a break.

She could hear her father and uncle now talking about business, and she saw her aunty showing her mother and grandmother some other jewellery sets and photos from her digital camera.

An advert came on television that caught Faiza’s attention. It wasn’t just any advert; it was an appeal for donations; appealing for people to give their zakaat to the Muslim Foundation. The images of the poor children in the slums of the third world made her frown.

She’d been reading about zakaat after learning about it in Religious Education at school. She wanted to ask the grown-ups about it to show them she’d learnt something about Islam from school.

‘Aboo, do you know about zakaat?’ her father nodded to her, still distracted in talking to her uncle. So she decided a different approach.

She said louder, ‘Uncle, do you give zakaat?’

Faiza immediately noticed a hush in the room. Her uncle looked at her and for once he seemed muted, with no great stories to tell, no laughs or extravagant talk.

In fact, at the age of 12, Faiza noticed – even if she did not fully understand – that…

When it comes to giving money, everyone always grows silent…

***

If I told you that the first working democracy was the Islamic one, how many of you would believe it? This perfectly established democracy which none today can match was implemented by the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alaiyhi wasallam) by following the laws of Allah and the way of life that is Islam. And it benefited not only the believers, but every single person under its protection. Those in need were looked after because the economically able in society had a religious obligation to give money to those who have nothing, hence why many of the first followers of Islam were the poor –recognising the justice and love within the Deen. This was also one of many reasons why those of Quraish despised the message of the Prophet (salallahu alaihi wasallam) because it meant that they had to pay a sum of their wealth to the lower parts of their society, as well as giving that part of society their due rights. A slave knew they were only a slave of Allah. And no believer fears another man, so slavery could be abolished in full.

Such was the strength of the belief of the Companions that we have examples such as Suhayb Ar-Rumi who was told to give up his wealth in order to migrate to Madinah. He did so willingly. When he reached Madinah, the Prophet (salallahu alaiyhi wasallam) said to him; “Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful.” Because what he’d gained in Islam was much more than what he’d lost in material possessions.

But, while we have these examples, do we adhere to them? Eid-ul-Fitr 2009 has passed us, along with the time when zakaat is due and in much the same manner as Faiza’s family, it seems that many of the Ummah are completely hushed in this area. When the Sahaba could give up everything for Islam, can we not even give 2.5%? The fact is that if every Muslim able to give zakaat gave it, poverty would no longer exist.

I see countries, that are called Islamic countries, and I don’t see the Prophet’s (salallahu alaihi wasallam) democracy being carried out in any of them. The governments controlling them are much westernized ones that have moved away from Islam. In fact the loss of the Khilafah was due to the corruption within the ruling powers. So what can be expected by them in terms of their regulation of wealth in accordance to the principles set in Al-Quran and Hadiths? The principles set down in Islam are being ignored, and in their place we have clone systems set up in the interests of the rich and the powerful.

The whole system of money in the world today has proven its instability in the recent economic collapse, resulting in great loss for the average man. It has led to analysis pointing towards the cause of this recession in the loans of money, more accurately, the act of usury which is explicitly forbidden in Islam. I am not going to go into any more detail regarding this when Sheikh Imran Hosein has written a book called ‘The Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham: Islam and the Future of Money’ (found on his website www.imranhosein.org) which can explain the state of the economy a lot better than I. All I want to make clear is that money as we know it today is not stable; what one has today, may be gone tomorrow and this is the danger of reliance on a system built on greed. What today some hold dearer to them than even their own blood, will be the cause of their demise if not in this world, then in the Akhira. So much is their love for the material world that they have moved away from the Creator. This is shirk.

The mentality of a Muslim should be based on their understanding that they are in this world temporarily, so worldly wealth cannot be permanent either – just as the recession has proven:

On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, radiyallahu ‘anhuma, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, took me by the shoulder and said:

“Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveller/wayfarer.”
Ibn ‘Umar used to say:
“When evening comes, do not expect (to live till) morning, and when morning comes, do not expect (to live till) evening. Take from your health (a preparation) for your illness, and from your life for your death.” [Al-Bukhari]

Paying zakaat is one of the five pillars of Islam; it’s an obligation. It is the minimum requirement that is just 2.5% of a person’s wealth, concerning that person who is liable to pay it. Anything beyond this amount is voluntary, but there are those out there who have dedicated so much more towards eliminating poverty (www.edhifoundation.com). May Allah (subhana wa ta’alah) bless the person who has niyat (intention) to give more. Ameen.

The heart of a Muslim should always be softened by seeing or hearing of those in suffering. Our hearts should weep for their situation. Whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim, we should be moved to help them. Our Lord knows there are some people who are suffering terrible circumstances in this dunya, and if we personally are not the cause for this, then we aren’t exactly the solution either are we?

The Muslim does not look to those above (to want to be like them in some kind of celebrity devotion, or jealousy of wealth, fame etc.), but a Muslim looks to those below (to realise there are always those worse off than us, and to wish to help them).

I have myself seen those who do not pay zakaat, and I have this to ask them: Look at the poverty of the world; does it make your heart weep? Does it make your heart weep or do you just turn away from it and carry on a delusion that life is glamorous, life is perfect, everyone has what you have? And even if they don’t, it is of no concern to you?

The ones who do not purify their wealth by giving a portion of it to the needy comfort themselves in a world of illusions. And I know that many reading this will have such people in their lives that would look away from this article. When the subject of zakaat is brought up, they try to change the topic, make excuses, or point accusations at the one asking them. But the fact of the matter is that along with having the obligation of giving zakaat, every Muslim also has a duty to make their Muslim brothers and sisters aware of this obligation.

If you fear asking someone to give zakaat in case they accuse you of showing off or what not, then understand that you are fulfilling your duty and asking them in your love for them in saving their souls, and most importantly your love for Allah (subhana wa ta’alah) in following the path He wills you to follow.

At least then when the Day of Judgement comes, those people cannot point to you and say you did not tell them.

“And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of God. And God is full of kindness to His servants.” (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:2O7).

-          Roszeen Afsar