This occasion is about self-exploration and filling the void we have been sucked in, both spiritually and through corporal medium. We are living in the ‘age of extremes’ as Eric Hobswam calls it. This pandemic has been wreaking havoc in almost all the spheres of society. This Eid demands from us to ensure that everyone is living without having any difficulties, be it financial or the other way. The spirit of having the collective and fellow-feeling when most of us won’t be having the means to survive is the life-force that keeps the society thriving. Eid won’t be the same this year as well. The partial lockdown again this Eid means this time we would be celebrating it indoors.
Sometimes the days become too long to endure and the nights even more cruising. But there are days when one hopes to bask in there forever. It’s always between the high and low of the horizon that makes us breath and see the grandeur of the Lord in different ways. The work of voluntary groups in Kashmir again proves their efficiency and the philanthropic management. From the 2014 floods to this pandemic the efforts have been helping most of the people out there in need. These laudable efforts have time and again shown that how the social cohesion is rejuvenated by this voluntary workings.
The marginalised sections have been faring worse and it becomes imperative for us to have the summative review of their conditions. The ILO Monitor 2nd edition: COVID-19 and the World of Work report have described the coronavirus pandemic as “the worst global crisis since World War II”. So there is an urgent need to reach to the jobless and the daily workers who lost their avenues for the required assistance and care.
This pandemic has taught us ‘managing things with humanitarian spirit’, and people have really been supportive. The distinct aspect has been the vibrant and active use of social media platforms for canvassing of help and care people needed in these tough times.
The Eid in Islam has been the hallmark of brotherhood, generosity and gratefulness to the Lord after month of fasting. Fasting is not to withstand pangs of hunger but to sustain the soul-filled vibes within you always. Let’s us all work and oversee the workers and needy so that they too will have the reason to celebrate with their family this time. According to a Hadith documenting the need for same ‘He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour remains hungry by his side’. This is how we should inculcate the spirit of giving and consider the welfare of others and make a meaningful contribution to society. The impulse for charitable giving was given by the Prophet ﷺ who explained that: “When a human being dies, their work comes to an end, except for three things: on-going charity, knowledge benefitted from, or a pious child who prays for them”.
In Islam, the charitable giving has a perennial role. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated that: “Each joint of every person must perform a charity every day the sun comes up: to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount, lifting him on to, it is a charity; a good word is a charity; every step you take to prayers is a charity, and removing a harmful thing from the road is charity”
Islam teaches us being more practical rather than being docile or turning deaf when situations demand. The Quran refers to the same as ‘Al`Amal Assalih’ There are numerous examples of the bravery and being realistic in the aspects of life. Muslims should always wear the sleeves of strength and activism in any distressing situations that befall the community. And on this eve of Eid we have to keep this spirit alive and work by providing helping hand to the affected. In Islam we have the redistribution mechanism that if utilised fully can do wonders in the form of `zakat’, `sadaqa’ and `awqaf’ (religious endowments) which played a large role in a society – not only poverty alleviation but in infrastructure development as well in early years of Islam. Habib Ahmed – presently Professor of Economics in Islamic Law and Finance at Durham University calculated that “if all potential `zakat’ were collected in Muslim countries, between a third and half of them could move their poor out of poverty”. The Ottoman Empire was built on ‘waqf’ and the term waqf society was pioneered there. The authoritative account on this theme was documented by historians Boyer and Fleet in ‘Social History of Ottoman Istanbul’. Quote the importance of waqf in those times, “For many of the inhabitants of the city, it was a cradle-to-grave institution, for a man could be born into a waqf house, sleep in a waqf cradle, eat and drink from waqf provisions, read in waqf libraries, teach in a waqf school, take his wage from the waqf administration, and when he died, be put in a waqf coffin and be buried in a waqf graveyard…. In short, life in Istanbul without the waqf institution was unthinkable” (pp 130)
Being humans we have the dispositions in our psyche but we lack the timely guideposts to realise that feeling. It’s pertinent to mention this proudly that Kashmir has been a remarkable example when it comes to internalising and mainstreaming the strong fellow feelings in the society. The community that is committed and has strong bonds celebrates, and the nation that’s devoid of this is ruined. It’s upto us now whether we celebrate or get ruined. It is high time to redefine, and strengthen, the philanthropic management systematically and in best possible manner. Waqf resources should come handy in these situations when pandemic has blocked out all the pathways to the normal routes of sustenance for the deprived and indigent in Kashmir. The contribution of Waqf although being the most essential component of social well-being and philanthropic organization has bitter-sweet shades. The time and situation at this critical stage demands the revival of wakf, and there is need for more vibrant and effective involvement in the public discourse of the egalitarian ethos in Kashmir.