An Orphan's Eid

লিখেছেন লিখেছেন রেজাউল হক ০৮ আগস্ট, ২০১৩, ০৯:৫৫:০১ সকাল

All the monotheistic religions are most vocal on kind treatment and establishing justice to the orphans and the weak. Here are some wonderful verses from the Bible and Quran – a reminder to the believers:

BIBLE:

“Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.” (Psalm 82:3)

“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” (Isaiah 58:7)

“Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do, I, the Lord, will answer them when they cry out to me for help.” (Exodus 22:22-23)

QURAN:

Quranic verses explicitly warn the believers; because of the sufferings of the orphans on daily basis, they deserve to be honoured, not disregard. God says in the Quran:

“Nay, nay, you do not honor the orphan (89:17)”.

Those who mistreat the orphan are considered to be out of the periphery of religion, as is said in the Quran:

“Have you seen him who calls the religion a lie? That is the one who treats the orphan with harshness. And does not urge others to feed the poor” (Al Quran; Al-Maun-107:1-3).

Prophets are intellectually fully developed humans lived to deliver and exemplify the divine messages eternally. Here is a story of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) we have read in our school years worth remembering and refreshing.

On a great occasion of Eid, while Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was on his way to Eid prayer, and the streets were crowded with joyful children with new and colorful clothes - Prophet noticed a young boy sitting at the corner of the street weeping bitterly. He was messy, clothes torn; it seemed the boy had not bathed for days.

When Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) asked him about his pitiable state, he sobbed out, “My father had gone on a war along with Prophet and he was killed. My mother married another person and my new father let me out of his house, so I have nowhere to go now. The boy did not know whom he was talking to.

The Prophet patted him affectionately and asked, “Would you like to have me as your father, Aisha as your mother, Ali as your uncle and Hasan and Hussein as your brothers?” The boy was dumb-founded for a moment. He could realize with whom he was talking to, and then said, “Why not, Oh Rasool-Allah?”

Rasool-Allah took the boy to his house. Hazrat Aisha felt happy to see the boy. She gave him a cold water bath, dressed him up in new clothes and fed him to his heart’s content. The boy’s happiness knew no bounds. He ran out of the house to join and play with other children. The boys quizzed him, “O Rafiq! You were so dirty a short while ago. How come you are so well-dressed and happy now?”

The boy replied! “I was hungry and thirsty. Rasulullah fed me. I was an orphan, but now, Prophet is my father and Aisha is my mother. I am no longer an orphan.”

Sounds a simple story, but an ocean of knowledge and wisdom is there for us; God says in the Quran:

29:2 Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?

God tests us – one by the other; surely, the orphan and the poor are one of many tests for us. They are destined to follow a path of agony and disregard only to test the believers and a test of patience for themselves.

More than just providing sustenance - most importantly, the believers are to present themselves in a manner that the orphans may find their lost beloved parents in them- as Rasool-Allah had always been to orphans.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said,

“I will be like this in paradise with the person who takes care of an orphan”.



(Messenger of Allah (PBUH) raised his forefinger and middle finger by way of illustration, meaning as close as these two fingers are to each other - how a person who takes care of an orphan and himself will be in paradise) [Al-Bukhari].

Rezaul Haque

Toronto, Canada

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