Last week the papers reported the sad tale of an infant who cried constantly for two days beside his mother’s dead body in a flat in Makkah. No one from among the neighbors or others in the same building attempted to alert police or the civil defense. It was only after a smell was noticed that people were pushed into action and realized that something was surely wrong. When police arrived, they found the child still crying beside its mother’s dead body. The poor woman had died two days earlier and neither the neighbors nor anyone else in the building seemed to wonder why a child would cry continuously for so long.
Our society was not always so indifferent. Until very recently, we were very caring people, especially for our neighbors. The reason why people no longer respond to a situation that requires them to intervene is that they are afraid of being questioned by the police and being held responsible. We have chosen to ignore what the Holy Qur’an tells us: “And let neither scribe, nor witness suffer harm,” and have instead told ourselves, “Why should I care? It’s none of my business.”
Before we had either civil defense or the police in its present form, people in a neighborhood felt it their duty to help anyone in need of assistance. Everyone was a policeman, rescuer and firefighter, chasing and arresting criminals, helping to put out fires and conducting rescue operations. They carried out these actions without fear of being questioned why they had behaved in such a way. A suspected wrongdoer or criminal had his hands bound with his own headdress and was then led away to the judge or some other competent authority.
Running after the bright lights that we see as modern life has not brought us happiness nor has it helped fulfill our dream of an ideal society. We have become so concerned with our own interests that we no longer care anything about others, even our neighbors. How else can we explain the story of the man who saw burglars break into his neighbor’s house, dismantle the air-conditioners in broad daylight and leave — without the witness saying a word or doing anything. Had he bothered to greet the thieves and ask if his neighbor were at home, they would probably have fled. We talk often of our special traditions and our special culture; this kind of behavior falls into neither group and is totally foreign to our traditions and culture.
More Resources to Fight Poverty
Muhammad Salahuddin
Al-Madinah
A report on the performance of Saudi banks in 2004 has shown that bank assets increased by 18 percent in 2004 over 2003. Assets stood at SR422.3 billion in 2004 compared to SR356.3 billion in 2003. Saudi banks saw their profits rise 36 percent to SR16.6 billion during the same year. Such figures are seldom attained by financial institutions anywhere in the world. The release of the figures coincided with the announcement of a fatwa (religious edict) by the Islamic Research Center, the highest religious authority at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, authorizing the paying of zakah (alms) from money deposited in banks as capital sums.
This is an important resource that could be used to fight against poverty in this country. If the amounts taken as zakah from these vast capital sums were added to the zakah levied on stretches of land reserved for investment in real estate and other forms of land speculation, we would have at our disposal more than SR10 billion annually. Such a sum is more than enough to eliminate poverty if the money were spent for that purpose.
We do not lack resources but we continue to lack an approach and a mechanism for implementing the programs that would allow these funds to help the poor and needy.
Compared to other Arab countries, the Kingdom has very few charitable societies or funds earmarked to help the poor. We need to encourage the establishment of more charitable bodies and create more funds — especially for women and their requirements. This could be done through close coordination and cooperation at both local and national levels involving all those willing to join such effort. Those involved should have the highest level of professionalism and be trained to carry out charitable work which is very different from ordinary work. Neither should we hesitate to benefit from the experiences of others whether from East or West.
