By Bilal Ahmad Khanday
Preferences give proper meaning to our lives, and they do the same for society. Once we keep our preferences in the order they should be, we are destined to cherish a life worth living. A society flourishes only when it gives proper preference to different activities, norms, customs, etc. Conversely, when it misplaces its preferences, the social order becomes disturbed, and as a result, its fall is bound to happen sooner or later. Our society is generally a Muslim society that operates primarily on Islamic principles and teachings. Unfortunately, we have failed to maintain a proper balance with regard to preferences. This leads to disorder within society, which ultimately gives rise to many social evils, becoming detrimental to its peace and prosperity.
Let me cite some examples: In every nook and corner of the valley, we have many mosques (Masjids) of all sects in every street (mohallah), which drain a significant portion of our income for lavish constructions and interiors. However, we hardly see well-run institutions of charity (Bait ul Mals). The primary function of Masjids is to unite the Ummah, but unfortunately, they are somehow dividing society on various pretexts, which we are all aware of. Had the money collected for Masjids been properly channeled to and utilized by Bait ul Mals, there would not have been hundreds of thousands of destitute, widows, orphans, and needy individuals in our society without proper financial and medical support.
Recently, a report published in a daily newspaper shockingly revealed that there are more than fifty thousand unmarried girls in one of the districts of the valley who have passed the age for marriage. And these are just official figures. Unofficially, the number would be even higher. If we take this data as a reference, it means there are more than five lakh unmarried girls in ten districts of the valley.
How many orphaned children do we have in every street who are either out of school or unable to get proper schooling due to financial burdens? Aren’t there thousands of widows and destitute in our society who can barely make ends meet? Is it not true that there are many old age homes emerging in our society that lack proper facilities to accommodate our neglected parents and grandparents?
Social media is flooded with news about the poor, destitute, needy, orphaned girls, widows, and deserted parents and grandparents who need financial, medical, and psychological support. Yet, we, as a society, are busy constructing fancy Masjids and religious seminaries, because we have unfortunately been misinformed about the true teachings of religion by so-called religious scholars and preachers. I do not deny the role of religious preachers and scholars, but they must come clean with the public regarding the true and original teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, according to the correct preferences.
If we claim to be a Muslim society, we must be aware of the teachings and preferences Islam advocates. During the Prophetic era, we see that the Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) was built with the least available resources, such as mud, stones, and branches of date trees. However, proper care was taken of the poor, orphans, widows, and destitute, who were the primary responsibility of the state and were even given monthly stipends.
There is a narration that during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar (RA), some of his companions demanded that the kiswa (cover) of the Kaaba (House of Allah) be replaced because it had become old and tattered. They insisted on covering it with a new one, but Hazrat Umar (RA) said that his primary concern, rather his duty, was to feed the needy and the poor, and he would be held accountable for this on the Day of Judgement. So, he gave preference to the needy, the poor, the orphans, and the destitute over the Masjid. The same principle applies to us in letter and spirit, but unfortunately, we are misplacing our preferences, which leads to many social evils within society.
Given this, the need of the hour is to prioritize preferences in a proper and efficient way, channeling our wealth to the institutions that serve us in the best possible way, making our society vibrant, peaceful, and prosperous. We can offer prayers in traditional Masjids, but the hunger and needs of the destitute cannot wait. Let us pledge to make our Bait ul Mals financially strong and administratively vibrant, in order to make our society a better place to live.
The author can be reached at for feedback at: khandaybilal12@gmail.com
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