One of the five cardinal pillars of Islam is Zakaah. It is a form of alms-giving and religious tax which, by Qur’anic ranking, immediately follows prayer (salaah) in importance. As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, Zakaah is a religious obligation for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth to give to needy Muslims. This obligation was magnificently shouldered by local Muslims during the month of Ramadaan in general and last weekend in particular.
A long stream of vehicles was seen offloading food parcels and haleem (broth) at musjids and other venues. These were kindly sponsored by individuals and business houses to alleviate hardships endured by the unemployed, widows, orphans and destitute.
In many cases cash was also handed to allow the poor to purchase goods of their choice. Undoubtedly Eid ul Fitr (Tomorrow) will be more special this year, thanks to the immense magnanimity of the local Muslim community.
The stark economic climate was acknowledged by individuals, groups of Samaritans and religious organisations who distributed food and cash to indigent families. Meat4Eid was an innovative gesture to galvanise family ties to prepare the main dish for Eid and to revive age old tradition of engaging the entire family in preparing the celebratory dish.
The organisers were overwhelmed by the generosity of respective donors and the gestures of appreciation from the huge number of recipients bore testimony of sincere gratitude.
The Meat4Eid packs contained rice, potatoes, sour milk, eggs and fresh meat.
The generosity of the yeoman donors may be a small step in acquiring the pleasure of God Almighty but a giant leap for those who would have experienced a bleak Eid-ul-Fitr.
All the distributors – organisations, religious bodies and individuals – expressed indebtedness to the Creator and the large number of charitable donors.
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