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Besides our Zakat obligations, God commands us to also be as charitable as we can throughout our lives. Right at the beginning of the Quran we read that being charitable is one of the ways we can be certain of the Hereafter. This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous; who believe in the unseen, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and from our provisions to them, they give to charity and with regard to the Hereafter, they are absolutely certain These are guided by their Lord; these are the winners (2:2-5). There are many ways to give charity and God credits us for any type of charity regardless. A particular type emphasized in Quran is “Feeding of the poor.” ...They donate their favorite food to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. “We feed you for the sake of God; we expect no reward from you, nor
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thanks. “We fear from our Lord a day that is full of misery and trouble.” Consequently, God protects them from the evils of that day, and rewards them with joy and contentment (76:7-11). To stay alive, a person must have two basic things—air and food (and water). The air we breathe is abundantly provided by God free of cost wherever we are and requires no effort to obtain. Our lungs access it subconsciously. But food, on the other hand, does require some effort to obtain. That means, whether it is a fruit from a tree or game that must be hunted or a processed pack that must be purchased, a person still has to earn or make some effort to “obtain it” or “prepare it.” However, there are many people who cannot afford even a basic meal a day or grow their own food. As believers, most of us are undoubtedly eating well, perhaps too well, praise God. Almost always we have the luxurious choice of clean food and cool pure drinks—a tiny sample of Heaven already! The fact that we have choices is a sign alone that we don’t sleep hungry. We look forward to meals that we assume will be available on time. If delayed, we feel weak or lethargic and may even become irritable. A hungry person finds it |
difficult to sleep and continuous hunger leads to all sorts of health problems. If our food provisions were stopped, search for the next meal for ourselves and families would override all other objectives for the day. This could be followed by the greater risk of despondency, less practice of submission or, for some, even reduced remembrance of God. Do they not realize that we drive the water to barren lands, and produce with it crops to feed their livestock, as well as themselves? Do they not see? (32:27) But for every day that we eat, we live another day within the life span determined by God. By God’s system, every day alive is another opportunity to develop our souls enough to be redeemed into God’s Kingdom. God has set it up this way for us. Surely we must then heed the verses which say: Therefore, you shall eat from God’s provisions everything that is lawful and good, and be appreciative of God’s blessings, if you do worship Him alone (16:114). O you who believe, eat from the good things we provided for you, and be thankful to God, if you do worship Him alone (2:172). Continued on page 3 |
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