I had a long post mostly written the other day until Blogger randomly closed and deleted the whole thing. Oh well, back to the drawing board, as they say.
As Muslims, myself and my immediate family no longer celebrate Christmas. However, this post is not about whether you do or do not participate in any aspect of Christmas either. What it is about is something that we all can do and that is remember those out there who are less fortunate than we are. Stop and consider for a moment, the amount of money you are going to spend on expensive toys or electronics, and while those gifts might be nice and appreciated for a little while, eventually, they will be forgotten about or broken. Consider donating a portion of what would have been spent on worldly possessions to your local food bank, homeless shelter, animal rescue or children's hospital. If donating money isn't your thing, buy the coffee of the person in line behind you or the homeless person on the street. Give a hot meal to the person you see begging on the corner, or clean out your closets and donate old clothes and coats to local shelters. Get the kids involved and let them see what it's like to give before they receive and sponsor a family, choose a child from the Salvation Army angel tree, give them spare change to toss in the red bucket or volunteer as a family at the local or regional food banks, visit the elderly in nursing homes, or even take treats to the emergency responders in your town (they generally love that!).
The holiday season can be a very depressing time for a lot of people and for a lot of different reasons. Maybe someone doesn't have any family to share it with, maybe they've come into hard times and have lost their home or maybe they are just barely getting by from day to day and only wish they could give their kids a present, or any number of reasons.
Zakat (charity) is compulsory in Islam for all who are able and is one of the five pillars on which Islam is built. The Prophet said: 'Charity is a necessity for every Muslim. ' He was asked: 'What if a person has nothing?' The Prophet replied: 'He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity.' The Companions asked: 'What if he is not able to work?' The Prophet said: 'He should help poor and needy persons.' The Companions further asked 'What if he cannot do even that?' The Prophet said 'He should urge others to do good.' The Companions said 'What if he lacks that also?' The Prophet said 'He should check himself from doing evil. That is also charity.'
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
Alms are only for the poor and the needy, and the officials (appointed) over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the way of Allah and the wayfarer; an ordinance from Allah; and Allah is knowing, Wise." (Holy Qur'an 9:60)
So, this holiday season, whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, atheist, or consider yourself more spiritual than religious, let us all try to spread a little cheer to someone who might not otherwise have a reason to smile.
Happy holidays and may Allaah subhana wa'tala shower you with many blessings and give you the ultimate reward of Jannah in the next life. Ameen.
