| His name is Dr Muhammad Imam Shah. He is 42
and hails from Jauharabad, Khoshab. He has been practicing medicine
for the last 21 years. Attends patients with various diseases and
complaints, which is his routine of day and night. But, past few
days brought some wondering and unbelievable experiences for Dr
Shah. He spent unforgettable 18 days among dying patients, old people
with their backs bent, crying infants, starving human being, calamity-hit
families living in the open on small pieces of land marooned in
the flood water, flies buzzing all around, poisonous mosquitoes,
and those who worship idols and Muslims who do not know their religion
properly. Dr Shah is here with me narrating his experiences he had
at the flood-hit areas of Pakistan.
“It was flood all around when I reached there about 19 days
back. Now when I have returned after 18 days, the situation is not
changed and the area is still inundated with the floodwater and
sewage. It will take another two to three months to dry up the area.
However, people in Karachi and other big cities are of the opinion
that since the monsoon rains have ended, the area would have dried
up, and people there would be facing no more problems. All local
and foreign Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), which collected
huge funds on the name carrying out relief operations in the flood-hit
areas, have also returned after their successful photo sessions.
Their paper work is so strong while they also have influence over
the media. They have an easy access to the donor agencies and philanthropists
but practically their work is equivalent to none. The present situation
in that area is that the floodwater, mixed with sewage, has been
stinking, drinking water is not available, people are compelled
to consume dirty water as a result, epidemics are spreading. As
per survey, eight persons of a family of ten are suffering from
different diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, dehydration, conjunctivitis,
and blood pressure. But there is nobody to enquire about their health
and console them in their hour or distress. Those who live in luxurious
air-conditioned bungalows, work in well-furnished offices and travel
in expensive vehicles never like to get closer to the people who
are living in the dirtiest environment. Meeting such poor and poverty-stricken
masses is an insult near affluent. Passing through lanes of shanty
houses, inundated with overflowing sewage, is against their standard.
Patting poor children who are without proper clothing is not possible
for them. On the other hand, the callousness of government departments
and officials concerned can be judged from the fact that they simply
made an announcement that a flood is going to hit certain areas,
so people should adopt protective measures on their self-help basis.
They never thought that people who had already taken refuge on hillocks
and other higher places, how can they adopt further measures to
protect themselves against the unseen calamity. The government,
by making such an announcement, horrified the people but did nothing
practically for the protection of the lives of poor villagers. Ultimately
when during the monsoon rains, floods hit their villages they experienced
worst devastation. Their huts and makeshift houses were wiped away.
It was dark all around. Small children, women and elderly people
were screaming with pain, grief and fear. Later they passed many
days or weeks without food as all their belongings were swept away.
It was the time when the volunteers of Al-Rasheed Trust came forward
and following the Ahadees-e-Nabwi, vowed to help the calamity-hit
people with their all available resources. These are the Ahadees
which most of the Muslims in today’s world have forgotten
or ignored.
Hazrat Muhammad (sallallahu `alaihe wasallam) has said: “Allah
Almighty minimizes the punishment of that Muslim who shares others’
grief and helps the other Muslim to come out of problems.”
In another Hadees, Hazrat Muhammad (sallallahu `alaihe wasallam)
said: “One who takes profound sleep with full stomach cannot
be a Muslim if his neighbourer sleeps hungry.” One more Hadees
says: “If a Muslim visits another Muslim in the morning, about
70,000 angels pray for him till the evening and if he visits an
ailing Muslim in the evening then the angels pray for him till morning
and also makes a house for him in the heaven.”
Moreover, Muslims remember the Hadees-e-Nabwi in which the Holy
Prophet has termed the entire Ummah as one body which feels pain
if any part gets hurt. But the situation here is different. There
are hundreds of people who are suffering on account of calamities
and there are only a few who feel their pain console them and extend
moral and other support. Who are these ‘a few people’?
They are the volunteers of Al-Rasheed Trust who with torches in
their hands, make their way through waist-deep floodwater to reach
the poverty and calamity hit people in remote areas to provide food
and water to them. They also repaired the broken huts and re-erected
the tent houses, which were swept away by the flood. They also helped
people marooned in floods to shift to safer places and relief camps.”
Continuing his discussion, Dr Shah said, during our stay in the
flood-hit areas, we not only extended the medical and other help
to the people there but we also made efforts to put the innocent
dwellers on right track of the religion. They are people of strong
faith but on account of lack of education and awareness they are
far away from the religion. Their Imams (prayer leaders) even do
not know how to offer prayers properly. One of the Imams did not
even know ‘Du`a-e-Qunoot’. Despite our efforts for three
days he was unable to learn the ‘Du`a’ by heart. There
is a system that after the death of an Imam, his son takes over
the charge and leads the prayers. They do not even look like Imams
by their appearance and also they cannot recite the Holy Qur’an
with correct pronunciation. They do not know the basics of the religion
and small religious issues. Common people are also far away from
the religion, as most of them do not know the Kalimah-e-Tayyibah.
And those who know the Kalimah, they recite it incorrectly. Most
Muslims have names that do not convey clear message that what is
their religion. There are many youth and grown up men who have not
even been circumcised. During my 18-day stay there, I carried out
564 circumcisions. Only one boy was three-day-old, while rest of
them were in the age group from five years to 22 years. Talking
to them it was revealed that about 75 per cent of them did not give
any importance to the circumcision and they considered it ‘unnecessary’.
Rest of 25 per cent who held the circumcision as a religious obligation
did not have resources to pay doctor’s fee for the purpose
and so they let it go as it is. Our efforts, however, produced results
and we could convince a number of youth to get circumcised. This
gives enough to understand that there are still a lot more who have
not been circumcised and they are quiet feeling ashamed of not getting
it done at a proper age. Such people would not be mentally prepared
to go for circumcision.
“We have set up Madrasah / Maktab in every village where `Ulama-e-Keram
are imparting absolute Islamic education to the locals.”
In order to make the locals to acquire religious education, various
packages and incentive schemes have been introduced like those who
show up with a desire for education in the Madrasah are being offered
packs of biscuits, tea and clothes. An environment has been created
there that is attracting the attention of larger number of locals
to come towards the religion. They are poverty-stricken and calamity-hit
people and need sympathies besides financial and moral assistance.
So, we are extending them at this hour what they exactly need. In
return they accept our invitation and join the Madrasah.
There were about 200 patients who did not have proper Islamic names.
I gave them new Islamic names while with the blessings of Allah
Almighty I made about one thousand to learn Kalimah-e-Tayyibah.
Moreover, I also made them to promise that they would teach Kalimah
to other villages. This selfless service has not only attracted
the misguided Muslims’ attention but non-Muslims, most of
them Hindus, are also paying attention towards the Islam. We have
seen most of Hindus praying for Muslims. We have also created an
environment that people are helping each other with whatever resources
they have specially at a time when there is no foreign NGO or government
department for their rescue.”
While Dr Shah was explaining his experiences I was thinking that
such people who really have a zeal to work for the suffering humanity
should come forward and render selfless service to put more and
more people on right track of Islam besides inviting non-Muslims
to come into the fold of Islam. This is absolutely a different way
to preaching.
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