By Amatul Qafaar
Why do you think Allah wants you to spend during Ramadan or any other time? Whenever you are reciting or listening to Ayah saying “Spend from what We have given you?” does that mean that the Ayah is only for those who have been given a wealth to spend? Or do you think that whatever goodness that Allah has given you should be spent on others?
Having wealth is one of the merits given to some of us, if only we spend it in a way that pleases Allah but when you want to spend on others you are not excluded if spending money is not an option for you.
What other forms of wealth do we have to spend on others in the way of Allah?
Strength and Physical Capabilities
Your strength and physical capabilities are another form of wealth. If Allah has bestowed you with the ability to get things done with your strength, then you have another form of wealth in which some people who have the money couldn’t get it even with their money. So, spend your wealth on others, be it your family or other members of your community. Don’t sit idle and burn your energy with things that will bring nothing for you in this life and in hereafter.
Start with spending on your own family as it is mentioned in the Qur’an “ They ask you (O, Mohamed), what they should spend. Say: Whatever you spend of good is to be for parents and relatives.” (Qur’an 2:215). In one narration we find that prophet Mohamed (saw) said, “Whoever helps another Muslim to break his/her fasts gets the same merits as the one fasting” and you can achieve this simply by helping your family to get the iftar ready or the suhoor ready. Nothing is holding you back from collecting rewards by taking advantage of what you are blessed with except you.
Knowledge and Mental Capabilities
Your kind of mentality shapes how your limbs function. If you have been granted a beneficial knowledge then it is big problem if you are not feeling the responsibility to share it with your community starting with your own family members, the prophet said “The best among you is those who learn Qur’an and then teach it to others.” He could have stopped after saying ‘those who learn the Quran” but he did not, because in another narration, it is narrated that he said, “The best among humans are those who are most beneficial to humanity.”
Start with having some circles of daily reminders with your family and if you think you can do more than that, then try to do it this Ramadan, because you surely need to spend what Allah has given you on others. Your journey of spending on others can start right now and it will be exciting and never ending even after you die.
May we all be among those who spend from the goodness they have bestowed with and that is all I want to share with you on our fourth article of our series Ramadan Gist.
