| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
A RELIGIOUS talk on the importance of giving alms and being thrifty during the holy month of Ramadhan was held during the launching of the 8th Jalinan Kasih Project at the Raya Hall, RTB in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Leading the talk was Ustaz Isham bin Ismail, a speaker from the Islamic Da’wah Centre. He began by asking the audience how the culture of saving money and giving relates to our daily lives, especially during Ramadhan.
“We are ordered to fast so we will have taqwa, how does taqwa relate to our daily lives? Because Allah the Almighty has promised in the Al-Quran, the most noble to Allah the Almighty is the person who has the most taqwa, and among the ways to have taqwa is to fast,” he said.
He then explained that Allah the Almighty has ordered Muslims to fast, so that they may experience the hardships of hunger and thirst.
“When we understand what hardship is, we won’t complain so much. Why? Because we know that however burdened we are, we remember Muslims in other countries who not only fast in Ramadhan, but for the rest of the year. Why? Not only because they observe it as worship, but because they have nothing to eat, because they live in poverty.”
Ustaz Isham bin Ismail, a speaker from the Islamic Da’wah Centre, during the talk. – ABDUL HAKIIM YAKOF
The ustaz then said that by experiencing hardship, a Muslim will stay well grounded so they can realise how lucky they are, as there are others who are less fortunate.
“And here is where we are encouraged to give sadaqah, even though giving sadaqah sounds simple, if a person is weak-hearted, he won’t be able to perform sadaqah. Imagine you are in the mosque, and you have the intention to give sadaqah, but then you find out that you don’t have change, this shows that most of us are too selective.
“The drive to give sadaqah is not merely out of pity but also a sense of how important it is, a sense that we can relate to the poor person. I went overseas and some children on the street taught me something, three little girls picking leftover food out of a garbage bin, to my amazement they could still smile, how strong these children are. Those who are used to living in such conditions can still smile, along comes a cat and they share what they have with it.”
He said that the point was not only to give because we have extra, but because we can relate to how it feels to not have anything. “We shouldn’t wait until we are rich to give sadaqah, because the more we give the more we are rewarded. If an impoverished child can give, then what is our reason not to?”
The ustaz then tells how he was asked when is the perfect time to give sadaqah and he answered with “when we are able. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to increase the giving of sadaqah in Ramadhan. But we have to remember, are these orphans and poor people only to be given assistance in Ramadhan? What about the rest of the year? Help each other in good so you may gain taqwa.”
He then moved onto why we should be thrifty during Ramadhan. “We tend to overspend in Ramadhan on food that we waste at the end of the day, and some people practice retail therapy, which is buying what they desire so they can feel better.
“What if we changed this habit into the habit of giving rather than spending. When we give sadaqah, the person who receives it will supplicate for us. Allah the Almighty judges us through our sincerity and giving sadaqah can save us from hellfire. We want what Allah the Almighty promised us in the hereafter.
“If we are not able to give sadaqah in the form of money, we can give sadaqah in the form of ideas, helping someone carry items into their vehicle, settling a feud between two people; sadaqah can come in many forms. And know that when we help the orphans and the less fortunate, we are helping them in the worldly life, and they will help us in our hereafter,” he added.
The post Talk on the importance of giving alms, being thrifty during Ramadhan appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.