Ramadhan: Who Bothers? Muhammad Maroof Shah

Ramadhan: Who Bothers?

Muhammad Maroof Shah

Marooof123@gmail.com 

In Kashmir it is misplaced priority shockingly seen in Ramadhan. People don’t miss non-obligatory prayers but miss obligatory zakat. Loudspeakers for reciting tarawih are made obligatory while the silence that Islam treasures is not there in the schedule at even Tahajud time. Backbiting is not missed and it is hard to find one who avoids it resolutely. Lift isn’t made available to one without asking or even after asking for it, generally speaking and he one who refuses is fasting. People park money even at the cost of 2.5% “penalty” and don’t invest during the year or keep available to someone for business or just for qard- i hasana needs. And it is God who requires us to give qard i hasana.  It is no virtue – but only a compensatory gesture for failing to circulate wealth above the nisab level. To wait to give zakat when it was due earlier is sin. We don’t to give zakat when zakat has become obligatory. We don’t give daily sadaqah that is enjoined on every human being every day on every joint as the sun rises. We don’t give fitrana in the best recommended way – collectively or as a group giving to one.  

A few points we may note showing criminal negligence of masses who fast about zakat. Note some problems in current zakat, infaq and sadaqah management in J & K as people, generally speaking,

    1) Don’t give zakat or community is unable to collect it. Not even 0.01% of over Rs 15000 crore zakat due to people in J& K gets collected or is made available for the specified catagories. 

2) Give individually or secretly and not professionally to credible institutions. Zakat is not the sadaqah that is advised to be paid secretly.

3) Partly give it. Who gives on investments in land or real estate or non-delinquent loan or voluntarily subscribed additional amount of GPF.  

4) Don’t calculate it professionally the way we meticulously calculate income tax and file ITRs.  

5) Fail to identify proper recipient. 

 6) Give too little to those who need more or to the same persons year after year who don’t get pulled out of recipient status,

7) Don’t monitor whom we give and don’t care to track impact. 

8) Give for consumption primarily. 

9) Don’t give any zakat for some categories such as heavily indebted, accommodation and food facilities for travelers.

10) Don’t focus on multiplying zakat resources to help more beneficiaries.

11) Don’t have professional economists/Islamic finance experts for advising or managing productive zakat management.

 12) No power to the donor to recommend beneficiary.

13) Institutions park it and don’t rotate it amongst maximum number of recipients. No scholarships, interest free loans etc. on the scale required.

Exceptions only prove the rule.

BAITUL AMWAL and MOSQUE COMMITTEES 

These routinely park money and have no system of multiplying resources through microfinance and such multipliers as livestock that could help local community and create sustainable sources for these institutions in turn. They usually collect for mosques that are mostly over-furnished and they these mosques fail to let community use them, especially their extra-space/premises for different purposes including marriage functions, care of elderly people, extension spaces for different welfare schemes, student support, hosting travellers or attendants of patients. No wonder youth are increasingly alienated and many visit only in Ramadan and that too in the beginning and end of it. People just come for ritual of prayer failing to comprehend how prayer is linked to attention to non-self or care for the other, the poor, the needy, the destitute. Mosques are the houses of God for everyone including those who have no refuge.

Shrines These have been centres of healing and refuge for the marginalized. Now these are not available for community and have mostly become occasional attractions on Urs   days. Neither Langars nor accommodation available for all and sundry. They don’t understand a simple point that instead of auctioning the sheep that come there they can convert them into sheep breeding units and co-own them with local people or buy shares in local sheep farms and get returns for shrines for life and in turn support someone who can’t afford to buy female sheep to start his own unit.

DAILY SADAQAH 

Once upon a time our days begun with mothers sparing some food for the birds or dogs. It was thought that we have duty towards every creature. That has been suggested to be a reason for the yellow colour of prayer food as it allowed birds to see food when everything was covered by snow. Now it is easier to make a transaction of rupee one at least as daily sadaqah for one family member or Rs 10 in the name of every family member so that one is protected during the day from bad death, evil of the day and intensity of sickness as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said. None would be forced to beg or struggle for small help like monthly fee or hostel fees or foodkit if this were made a habit in schools – as is in some schools in Srinagar. Will we begin our days by a small transaction or at least pay it weekly to be paid in turn daily by those who take responsibility for clearing daily sadaqa. 

 

FIDYA 

Feeding two meals a person (costing 100-200 or more depending on one’s  family standard) for a missed fast due to chronic illness or old age is a requirement and as such this means 3000-6000/month from at least one lac families in Kashmir where such people are present. This means thousands of the poor and needy needn’t struggle for whole year get a sort of pension  for food needs months from this. But how many pay this and if they do where does it go?

FITRANA  

Fitrana if paid by a group to an individual would cure beggary before Eid. But do we bother? We pay peanuts to some regular customers year after and don’t find truly needy ready to work or tie them up with some profit generating enterprize so that they don’t feel compelled to ask again next year.

We, the children of Cain, as “Am I my brother’s keeper?” and all suffer in their turn from this collective apathy. Dostovesky said that “Each of us is responsible for everyone else – and I more than the others.” We are  formally responsible for 40x4 or 160 neighbours and our relatives. Who knows even the names of so many neighbours nowadays?  We can get proper survey done of their needs for as low as Rs 3000. Will we bother?

Ramadahn will soon go and so will our bothering about part of zakat or rights of the poor. We don’t owe zakat only. Infaq of whatever is not required at our end needs to be done. Our ancestors often gave away 30% of income. We forget even 2.5% and invent excuses such as income tax to avoid it.  

Can we begin tomorrow by giving Rs 10 and asking our children to cultivate this habit of giving and thus make at least daily sadaqa part of morning routine? And spare fitrana  for education this year? This isn’t too much. We can ask our extended family members and students to help struggling students whose number is increasing.