SYED HAMMAD AHMAD
GUEST WRITER
The nature of love is always to reach beyond self. It is not satisfied with loving self, but it strives to love others and be united to others. It is one of the most pleasing experiences of life when you help others and become a source of happiness to others.
Doing charity works or giving others what belongs to you is an aspect of the same. It is to liberate yourself from your self interest particularly financial interests.
Its other forms can be voluntary work, donations or philanthropy. These are all non-monetary interests in society and are very much essential and major pillar for the proper functioning of society. Without them the planet earth would be a darker place to live and shame for humanity.
A society can flourish only when its members do not spend all their wealth to fulfil their own desires but reserve a portion of it for parents, relatives, neighbours, the poor and the debilitated. As the saying goes: Charity begins at home, a true believer is thus always prepared, after meeting the needs of his family, to assist other people in need and this is humanity. Thinking about only oneself is subhuman.
Every religion preaches Charity and pays to much attention on it in order to bring justice and remove disparity in Society. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran: “By no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend (benevolently) out of what you love; and whatever thing you spend, Allah surely knows it.” (3:92)
The important role of charity is never denied. With rapidly changing world the role and objectives of charity have also changed. On micro level we can say that people should help their neighbours and relatives who face financial constraints or any other problem. “The best charity is to satisfy a hungry person,” said Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWW). Thus the spirit of kindness and well wishing is the essence of charity.
But on macro level charity has the power to revolutionaries the societies and countries on modern lines. Charities provide essential services that positively impact the lives of citizens, such as building hospitals, schools and orphanages. Most of the people in our country don’t get proper medical treatment. The government hospitals are over burdened and are unable to impart proper medical treatment to every patient. Building hospital in rural and backwards areas of the country will not only be a great help of people but it will also stop the influx of people into big cities.
The other most affected area in our country is education. Most of the children don’t get the basic education because their parents can’t afford to send them schools. They prefer to take them on work in their teenage. Through this money we can promote education by providing books to children in need and helping and encouraging poor families to send their children to schools.
Similarly, there are hundreds of other areas where this money can be used to bring a positive change in society. It can make a vital contribution to the economic and social sectors of a nation. It can also help the government in many aspects, including personal empowerment and training, fighting poverty, combating social diseases such as drug abuse, and attempting to narrow the deep divide between the rich and poor. Many developed countries such as the United Kingdom, have started promoting charities to relieve the government of some of its heavy financial obligations. Charitable and volunteer work is also the safety valve and supporting pillar for a country’s security due to the preventive roles, which it plays, especially in fighting extremism, radicalism and criminal acts against humanity. Such work is especially targeted at those who are particularly vulnerable to crime owing to their poverty and harsh conditions.
Charity has one big quality and that is the more you give out, the more flows back in. It increases your wealth. It’s much easier to believe that a key to building wealth is saving money and not giving it away. But in fact charity doubles rather triple your wealth. The concept can be better understood when we start observing that why people build hospitals and other large memorials with their money. It is said that charity is as necessary for creating wealth as sunshine is for growing flowers. So giving your money isn’t a foolish activity. Let no one be in any doubt.
The author based in Lahore and can be reached at hammadahmad1971@gmail.com