( Deccan Chronicle on 22 August 2011 )
The holy month of Ramzan has entered the last 10-day phase. A noticeable development is an unusual increase in the number of beggars in mosques and Muslim populated areas of the city. Though Ramzan is known for charity and the poor from different places visit the city to seek charity, this time I have noticed a heavy rush of beggars.
It is unfortunate that the number of poor people has gone up this time. This shows that our leaders have failed to address the issue of poverty. The very purpose of Ramzan is to instil a sense of charity.
If the Zakat funds are utilised properly one can tackle the problem of poverty quite easily. But Muslims lack strong leadership to address this and other issues plaguing the community.The community should ponder over the reasons for the increase in the number of beggars.
Every Muslim religious person considers the Holy Quran as the law in day-to-day life and wishes to live by its teachings. But when it comes to their practical life they deliberately run away from the Quranic teachings. For instance, this divine scripture orders the rich to spend their excess money for the poor and the needy. The idea is to bring about equality among people. Zakat (charity) was introduced primarily for this purpose.
In this age of modernity, it seems that Muslim leaders, who are considered by ordinary people as their spiritual heads, take the issue lightly. These leaders encourage people to pray before maqbaras (graves where holy men and saints buried) and “flag pillars”. Only leaders posing as spiritual heads benefit from such practices, but the poor are denied their due.
Some of our “religious leaders” have shut their eyes and they do not have any mercy for the poor. As a Muslim I only wish to examine the religion more closely. If we view the situation with the eyes of the beggars, we cannot blame them blindly for “mocking” this holy month.
The reality is that they are forced to extend their hands before others, else they have to suffer starvation.
