Mangaluru, Jul 3: In a heart-warming and humble gesture, over a hundred Muslim families in the hilly village of Asrang in Gorkha district who were affected by the devastating earthquake which left hundreds of thousands of Nepalis homeless, declined to accept Zakat offered by a philanthropic team from Mangaluru, despite their helpless condition.
When members of an non-governmental organisation from Mangaluru approached the village of Asrang in Himalayan nation with an intention of distributing Zakat to around 162 Muslim families living there, they were firmly informed by the families that they would not accept Zakat as they were still capable of earning.
Steadfastly declining to accept any financial help from the individuals who had travelled to Asrang, several village leaders discussed among themselves and informed that they would not accept the Zakat as there were those unable to earn who deserved it more than themselves.
"We may be poor and may have lost our homes. But we understand the value and significance of Zakat. Working as daily wagers, we have been earning enough to provide for our families and daily needs. So none of us deserve this help, which should be given instead to deserving souls who are unable to fend for themselves," said the village leaders.
Hope Foundation from Mangaluru, is an NGO which had earlier provided financial help and aid such as food, blankets and medicines to displaced victims in Muzaffarnagar, Kashmir and similar affected places.
Following recent earthquake, chairman of this NGO Saif Sulthan, along with Fayaz Abdul Jabbar and Syed Habeeb Pasha from Bengaluru, had visited a few affected areas in Gorkha district of the Himalayan nation, to provide immediate relief to some of the victims and affected families.
Subsequently, they began collecting more funds from friends, well wishers and donors in Mangaluru and returned to Asrang village on June 25 and 26 to distribute Rs 5 lakh as Zakat to the Muslim families residing there.
Reaction of families in Asrang
After arriving in the village, they approached the village head and collected a list of 162 families living in the village. Thereafter, intimating the families to gather in one part of the village in the evening, the team from Hope Foundation have a small briefing to the villagers about Tauheed and informed the gathering of their organisation and its activities. Announcing that they would distribute them funds in the form of Zakat, they began calling out names of the villagers to hand it over individually.
However, to their surprise, no person came forward when called out. Instead, a small group of village leaders conferred among themselves for a while.
The village Imam then came forward and explained that they would not accept the Zakat, since they were not living in extreme poverty. "Despite financial difficulties, we are able to provide for ourselves. We are grateful that you have travelled a great distance to come here, and we are not averse to accepting help in other forms," he told the team, requesting them to hand over the Zakat money to more unfortunate victims.
Recalling this incident, Saif Sulthan said that the team was left speechless and at a loss of words.
Further, after discussing with the village leaders, they decided to provide a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh each to construct two religious educational institutions in the village, a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the 17 widows who lost their husbands in the earthquake and Rs 20,000 each for Iftar arrangements in two masjids in the village, and handed over the money.
Out of the 162 homes that existed in the village, the earthquake flattened almost 70 percent of the structures. Yet, all the villagers were united and steadfast in their decision not to accept Zakat money, he said.
Recounting the other incidents, he said that a middle-aged couple who had lost both their children in the earthquake, were reduced to tears and accepted the help provided graciously.
Even the driver of the vehicle who drove us to Asrang in Gorkha district from Kathmandu had initially quoted Rs 18,000 for his services for three days, reduced the charge by Rs 3,000 at the end. He explained that he would not charge exorbitant amount from those who had come to offer relief to the affected families, which is unforgettable, said Mr Sulthan, who added that these experiences had given them a lesson of a lifetime, by showing humaneness in the face of distress and woes.
Comments
Add new comment