Nov 29, 2009, 12.00am IST
SYED ZAFAR MAHMOOD.
Having climbed Mount Arafat on the main day of Haj one is overwhelmed with the feeling of an intense communion with God. I asked, ''O Lord, among the thousands of devotees present in the holy precincts of Mina today, who has received your full acceptance of his Haj pilgrimage?''
My conscience reverberated, ''Ali Hajveri.'' I travelled home and visited Hajver. I was told that in the entire town there is only one Ali, an unknown cobbler. I greeted Ali for performing the noblest Haj. Sobbing, he revealed that he was prepared to perform Haj that year but couldn't. He had, instead, given his life's savings to a starving family. I told him of my vision that because of his great sacrifice, God had accepted his Haj in absentia.
The Quran says that Haj is an obligation for those who can afford the pilgrimage after taking care of family and fulfilling basic obligations. Personal health should not be a constraint. Haj is an obligation only once in a lifetime. Funds intended for performing Haj more than once are better diverted to help the poor and the needy. That's true faith.
This year, a quarter million Indian Haj applicants did not succeed in the draw of lots conducted by the Central Haj Committee. Jointly they now possess two and a half billion rupees that would remain unutilised for one year or more. Not making such funds available year after year to the needy contravenes God's scheme of equitable circulation of wealth in the world
The Sachar committee has documented how Muslims are mostly lagging behind other socio-religious communities. By way of remedy, besides the government, people too have to discharge their obligation towards the poor and the ailing. Through zakat (charity), one-fortieth of one's net value is to be spent annually to help the needy. But in the heavenly computer, to enhance one's ranking among the righteous, zakat needs to be frequently augmented by sadaqa - optional charity out of the remaining 97.5 per cent of one's wealth
The scriptures say that for every Prophet's community, God fixed an object of test. For Mohammedan ummah it is material possession. A wealthy person is only a temporary custodian of funds, usually for less than a century. He has to meet God's expectations for its proper utilisation. The proof of a genuine spirit of benevolence and altruism is giving away something that you personally value and cherish. In addition to material support, you can give from your energy, time, knowledge, skill, moral support or personal position. The scripture warns those who perform religious rites but deny assistance to their less privileged fellows, jeopardising the fundamental socio-economic balance and integration.
Let not those who covetously withhold the gifts which God has given them out of His Grace, think that it is good for them. On the Day of Judgement the things which they covetously withheld would be tied to their necks like a twisted collar. To God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. He is well acquainted with all that we do, says the Quran.
Haj is training for God consciousness which should resonate throughout the pilgrim's life. The annual universal spiritual gathering, the community's focal point, reflects the equality of human beings regardless of geographic, ethnic, political, educational or socio-economic differences. It's a refresher course in living together and mutual accommodation to be extrapolated and applied for the benefit of all.
The writer is president, Zakat Foundation of India. info@zakatindia.org
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