During the holy month of Ramadan, charity deeds become abundant and giving becomes a feature characterizing the fasting month.
Many people perform good deeds by translating all the words into reality during this month, which during the other months remain empty slogans. People also show virtue that they are not accustomed to in the other months of the year. This makes Ramadan a unique month in everything and projects an authentic picture of true Muslim society.
But some people with their actions are killing the spirit of giving, destroying these values and tarnishing the impeccable picture. They have drifted from the true values of Islam and act to satisfy their egoistic thirst. When these people give charity, they put it on a platter of humiliation and personal degradation for the needy people.
We see large numbers of the poor and needy people waiting at their doors under the scorching sun or lying down on the pavements for long hours waiting for their charity. Unfortunately, the security personnel guarding the rich men’s houses, on many occasions, deal with these poor people very brutally and sometimes just drive them away so as not to give the needy a chance to see the rich, to whom they turn to for some money and charity during this blessed month. The manner in which the security men or those guarding the houses of the wealthy people deal with the poor is totally against Islam, which is a religion of providence, cordiality and tolerance.
How can people act like this or allow such callous acts in our society? Why do some of the rich treat the poor with humiliation? Is it the correct way to give charity to the poor and needy?
Such practices do not represent the true Saudi society. They also do not reflect the manner in which the rich should treat the poor. Giving charity for fame is not acceptable in Islam, which teaches us that the left hand should not know what the right hand had given. This is to preserve the dignity of the poor and to do good in silence and away from any glare of publicity.
I appeal to the rich, who find the poor waiting for them at their doors, to treat them nicely, sparing them any humiliation. If one does not want to give them zakah money, at least do not degrade them. They are human beings and should be treated accordingly.
The rich can always specify certain places for the poor to wait away from the scorching heat, if they find the crowding of people at their doors annoying. Their staff can then study each case individually and give those deserving among them money in closed envelopes so that others will not know about it. This will preserve the dignity of the poor and at the same time be in line with the teachings of Islam.
Ramadan is a month of charity and good deeds. We should do this to gain the blessings of Allah and not to show others that we are doing good.
