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Feeding the Poor

·382 words·2 mins
Essa Athar Zuberi
Author
Essa Athar Zuberi

NOTE:
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I’m NOT a religious scholar nor do I hold a degree in theology/islamic studies or any sort. I’m just a muslim trying to apply, reflect, and share the word of God. Feel free to correct me by contacting me.

Quran 69:25 begins describing an event on the day of judgement where the one who has been given the record (his deeds on earth) on his left hand cries and wishes that he would have not seen his record and death should’ve been the end of him.

Allah then later describes this person being thrown in the Fire when Allah directly speaks to possibly angels or guardians (of Hell) when He says to drag him in the Hell fire. Then Allah says in 69:33-34:

Indeed, he did not used to believe in Allāh, the Most Great, Nor did he encourage the feeding of the poor.

Did you notice something? Allah right after putting the biggest sin (denying Allah), He put not encouraging to feed the poor as the next big thing! How much serious this issue is! Just imagine. Try to always feed the poor, it has a lot of benefits:

  • Get to appreciate your situation (what Allah has given you)
  • Get rewards for helping the needy
  • Needy benefits from the help

Allah in 89:16 mentions that that when He restricts provision for someone, He says my Lord has humiliated me! And then next few verses Allah speaks to that person directly by stating that:

“No, you do not honour the orphan”, “Nor do you encourage feeding the poor”.

In Chapter 107, Allah talks about the one who denies the day of judgement. Then he says in verse 3:

And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.

Again Mentioning of the same thing. Look how important this is. Also, Allah uniquely uses the concept of constant reoccurrence of themes in the Quran to not just emphasize on its importance but because he knows we humans need to be re-enforced and reminded again and again when we fall short of something.

Important Reflection
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Giving away your leftover meal to a needy is one thing, but buying a separate new meal is truly something else. To see the ethics of how to approach someone when giving charity/food, see this blog post.