Children's Ramadan Giving Stories

This Ramadan, many children in the U.S. were touched by scenes of devastating flooding in Pakistan and decided to donate their own life-savings or raise money for a cause they felt passionately about. Read The Irfan Brothers and A Letter from Zain's Mother below.

The Irfan Brothers

Murad Irfan, 9, and his brothers Luqman, 6, and Sinan, 4, stopped by our Va. office last Thursday to donate $200 for Pakistan’s flood victims. Read their giving story as told by their mother, Inayet Sahin.

My sons had been collecting sadaqa all Ramadan and were looking for someplace to donate it to. They only had a couple of dollars because they had been collecting change from around the house. They wanted to collect more and were discussing how they could do it.

They decided to make some drawings and sell them, as well as some of their handmade pottery and books. They were up to $10 by the time they sold everything in their ‘store,’ but they still wanted to raise more and were discussing other methods of fundraising.

The night of the Pakistan Floods Emergency Fundraising Dinner in Alexandria, Va., we had a mawlid at our house, read Surah Yasin and a made a special dua for the people of Pakistan. Since we were not attending the fundraising dinner, my sons suggested that everyone bring their donations to our house. We sent out a message to everyone coming over and that is how they collected the rest.

A Letter from Zain’s Mother

Dear Islamic Relief Worldwide:

My son, Zaid, had his 6th birthday in the beginning of this month and he invited some of his friends. Instead of presents he requested his friends to make a donation towards the victims of flood in Pakistan. I hope you can forward this money to the people in need in Pakistan as quickly as possible. JazakAllah Khair for all your efforts.

Sincerely,

Mona Shah

A Giving Story: Noor and Usman Saleh

This Ramadan, many children in the U.S. were touched by scenes of devastating flooding in Pakistan and decided to donate their own life-savings or raise money for a cause they felt passionately about. Read Noor and Usman's giving story as told by their mother, Yasmine Saleh.

Two children who sold chocolate bars to raise money for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake started focusing their efforts on another emergency this Ramadan. Noor Saleh, 9, and Usman Saleh, 6, were devastated to hear about Pakistan’s recent floods that have affected over 20 million people. They wanted to do something to help.

Their parents, Muhammad and Yasmine Saleh, had blank Eid cards at home, so they decided to decorate and sell them for $5 each to raise money for flood victims. Last Friday, they took the cards to Woodlands Islamic Center in Texas where, in addition to purchasing the cards from the children, the center’s patrons started handing the children additional donations for the cause.

Noor and Usman have raised $660 so far and continue to make and sell Eid cards in hopes of helping more flood victims.

Ramadan 2010: Giving to Those in Need is an Act of the Pious

Gifts, good food, friends and family are things we think about when Ramadan approaches. It is in this month that we find our tables full of food. Friends and family we hardly see throughout the year gather in one place and in the name of faith and brotherhood share a meal. It is in these times that we realize Ramadan is a gift from God, and the last ten days of this holy month is indeed a most blessed time – a time where we should focus even more on worship and giving.

A gift is a thing you give to others without expecting something in return. It is a selfless act, one that strengthens the bonds that bring people together. This is why the prophet said, "Give gifts to one another, and you will love one another. (Bukhari Manners #594)"

In this respect Ramadan is a celebration of humanity that reminds us we are not consumers. Instead, it tells us we are people with a spiritual compass that drives us to be more than who we are. A gift is a symbol and the impact that it leaves on others depends on how appropriate it is. Giving is itself a gift, and giving it to those most in need is the most appropriate gift of all -- an act of the pious:

God describes the most pious by saying in Sura al Baqara, "They spend out of love for Him on those close to them, the orphan and the needy. They spend on the wayfarer, and the beggar, and they free those in captivity from bondage. They are in constant prayer and they give as a responsibility charity. (2:177)"

It is important to give. It shows you care. It recognizes and acknowledges the value of others. More importantly, giving teaches us to think of others before ourselves. It is an act that reinforces feelings of love and compassion, even develops them towards those we may not know.

We are told to give and spend in the way of our lord so we may come to know God -- what greater gift is there than to know our creator? We have been given the opportunity to give and spend in the way of our Lord. The bounties of this giving benefit us in this world, but the best gift can we hope to receive is He who brings us near when we give.

-- Hasan Seirafi

Power to End Hunger is in Your Hands

In the Holy Month of Ramadan, 1.2 billion Muslims all over the world anticipate the sunrise, so they can feed their bodies and prepare for a day of fast: a day marked by patience, prayer, sacrifice, and hunger. To me these days of fasting are a physical and spiritual reminder of the billion that suffer the indignity of hunger, deprivation and malnutrition.

Day-in and day-out, sunrise to sunset, more than 1 billion people in our world face hunger. While it takes 19 cents to feed a hungry child, every five seconds a child dies of hunger. In the richest country in the world, nearly 50 million of our neighbors – 17 million children – struggle to put food on the table during the month. This is our reality, but if we act, it does not have to be.

To me, one of the most powerful lessons of Ramadan is that we must always strive to make our world a caring world. The only way to make our efforts count is to work together as people of all faiths and communities.

That is way I am thrilled the Alliance to End Hunger has teamed up with ONE and Islamic Relief USA for the second straight year to publish the Ramadan Action Guide: a resource to help Muslim communities to share with others, through concrete action, Ramadan’s lessons of solidarity with those who are poor. The guide contains many steps you can take in your community to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

READ, REFLECT, and ACT. The power to end hunger is in our hands.

--Ambassador Tony Hall, Managing Director of the Alliance to End Hunger and Member of Congress (D-OH), Retired

Ramadan Mubarak from all our Islamic Relief USA Offices

Ramadan Mubarak! Check out this gallery for photos and messages from all our Islamic Relief USA offices.

Pakistan Floods: Ramadan Begins, But Situation is Dire

Islamic Relief USA’s Vice President of Programs, Adnan Ansari, is in Pakistan helping with the aid efforts and surveying the needs of the flood victims.

Thursday August 12, 2010

"Ramadan is full of joyous fasts, and nights of worship with family and friends. But this year, it is a different situation for millions of people affected by the worst disaster in Pakistan’s history … and it’s not over yet."

As I sit here typing, we’re experiencing a three-day lull in torrential downpours that have warped a large mass of Pakistan’s land into a body of water. This disaster-in-progress is set to continue when rain and further flooding return later this week, throwing many more people into further poverty.

Uncertainty is everywhere here: Floods that seemed to recede one day returned with vengeance the next; villages that were standing one day were under water the next; and relief organizations that came to provide emergency aid are rapidly running out of supplies.

I crossed over a bridge a few days ago and saw a massive field of crops underneath and on either side. I crossed over the same bridge the next day and all I saw was water. Throughout Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and in parts of Punjab and Sindh, flooding has washed away infrastructure that will take years to rebuild.

Driving through the villages of Charsada in the aftermath of flooding, all I saw left standing were doors that once belonged to villagers’ homes. A man was standing beside what was left of his home and I asked him what his livelihood was. He pointed towards an area that once housed a field of crops; it was now a bed of water.

Looking past the village destruction to the large quantity of water beyond, it’s hard to tell where this body of water starts and where it ends. It had taken everything these villagers had and spared only their lives – for those who survived.

I’ve travelled through flood-affected areas with Islamic Relief staff members to deliver food, hygiene kits and other emergency aid items to flood victims. I’ve been receiving requests from people all across the country who want to travel with us to affected areas to help the victims and aid in recovery efforts.

Islamic Relief is known to enter areas where other nonprofit organizations and non-governmental agencies don’t, but how can I let these volunteers enter wet terrains that have even stranded the staff and I during a village rescue mission in Nowshera District?

Our supplies are running low and today is the first day of Ramadan. There’s no firewood for people to cook food on, not even kitchen utensils to cook with. The camps are getting fuller by the day with tents packed full of flood victims. All I can think about is how we will provide what bare minimum support we have to reach the maximum number of people. The situation is dire.

Please act now to help save lives.

--Adnan Ansari, Vice President of Programs, Islamic Relief USA

Ramadan 2010: Why Giving is a Gift

Many Muslims look upon the holy month of Ramadan as a time of spiritual growth, oneness with Allah (SWT), and a time to give up bad habits and take on new good habits. It’s a time when whatever good deed we perform, each prayer we do, each time we give back, and each time we remember Allah, we will insh’Allah gain 70 times the amount of reward for it.

We are encouraged to give in Ramadan. Give zakah and give wherever we can. Volunteer, donate to a good cause, help someone -- because giving is a gift. Being able to give back to those in need is a gift for us, for through our giving we can insha’Allah obtain spiritual reward.

Upon reflecting on these principles of Ramadan, we at Islamic Relief USA felt that the theme of “Giving is a Gift” was fitting for this year. We’ve seen great suffering and need in disasters like the Haiti earthquake, the continuing Gaza crisis, and the Pakistan floods, and we’ve seen the great need for help here in the United States through our Day of Dignity events. We realize that it is a blessing for us and our donors to be able to raise money, reach out, create programs, and provide help where it is needed most.

The Holy Qur’an says, "Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. (2:274)"

The Holy Qur’an, also says, "They ask you (O Muhammad) what they should spend in charity. Say: 'Whatever you spend with a good heart, give it to parents, relatives, orphans, the helpless, and travellers in need. Whatever good you do, God is aware of it.' (2:215 )"

The emphasis on charity and giving in Islam is seen throughout the Qur’an and in hadith. For that matter, charity and helping those in need goes beyond Islam: It is a moral principle shared by many faiths. If you are in the position to give, then please give back. It is a gift to be able to give.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If I had (a mountain of) gold, I would love that, before three days had passed, not a single (coin) thereof remained with me if I found somebody to accept it (as charity), excluding some amount that I would keep for the payment of my debts." - Sahih Al-Bukhari.

We would like to wish you a blessed Ramadan. Please check out our blog during Ramadan to hear more giving stories from people like you. We here at Islamic Relief USA appreciate all you do, and we appreciate your support of our efforts to give back to those in need. Indeed, giving is a gift, and we hope you choose to give and receive that gift.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Summer is a Busy Time for Islamic Relief USA Volunteers

Has your summer been busy? For the volunteers at Islamic Relief USA, it’s been a constant buzz of activity. With helping out at the Islamic Society of North America’s annual convention, working in our Washington, D.C.-headquarters, and preparing for Ramadan, IR USA volunteers continue to work hard for the campaigns and relief efforts of this organization.

We began July with helping to get more than 100 orphans sponsored at the annual ISNA convention in Chicago. Volunteers joined together with IR USA's National Events Coordinator, Natasha Isaac, to put together the "best booth" display at the bazaar: a first-hand look at IR USA's Children in Need projects.

And throughout the summer there has been an increase in the number of volunteers at Islamic Relief USA's headquarters. Volunteers have been assisting with community fundraising, public affairs, finance, and constituent relations management department.

Ramadan's Gift
As we head into August, we are all aware that Ramadan, the blessed Islamic month, is around the corner. Muslims around the globe are preparing for a month of fasting, prayers, and charity. One of the blessings of the month is that good deeds done will be rewarded manifold. I am eager for Ramadan to start and to increase our volunteer efforts in this month, inshallah, for the sake of Allah.

Muslims believe that charity, or sadaqa, is what is given voluntarily for the sake of Allah to obtain the spiritual recompense from Allah. This charity is not just monetary. As the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

"Every day the sun rises, charity (sadaqa) is due on every joint of a person. Administering justice between two people is a charity; and assisting a man to mount his beast, or helping him load his luggage on it is a charity; and a good word is a charity; and every step that you take (towards a masjid) for salat (prayer) is a charity; and removing harmful things from the road is a charity. (From Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)”

I spent last weekend in the Midwest speaking about the importance of volunteering and how volunteering itself is a charity. Islamic Relief USA volunteers will be helping at two big projects: a worldwide orphan sponsorship drive ("Drive to Save Lives") and a local school supply drive ("Be Cool for School"). Volunteers will also be assisting the Midwest region with masjid (mosque) bookings, spreading awareness, and crucial office support during the busiest season of the year!

Make Ramadan 2010 spectacular. Give the gift of time, and volunteer today!

Your National Volunteer Coordinator,
Nazia Hossain