[ButKnillinoi]

dear every body tonight is is extremely cold here in S.A. its -5 in our town., and tho its pretty late
(1.30am) i cant go to sleep - not becoz im cold - but becoz i can't stop thinkin of those who are. the more i'm thinkin of the poor, underpriviledged people in this country and in the world the mpre depressed im feeling. WHY? i know what triggered it off... on wednesday (3 days ago) i happened to go thru the newspaper and in there was this picture of a seven month old somalian boy who is severely and totally undernourished, and i was apalled, his ribs were clearly visible and his stomach and face was hollow, which made his eyes look huge (almost half the size of his face), this kids arms and legs were thinner than anewborns and he weighed like 3-4kilo's if i remember correctly. + this picture was right next to the picture of a childs coffin (a child who died of malnutrition)... these images seem 2 be hauntin my mind. after seeing this i'm beginning to feel almost ashamed of the luxuries we bask in and take so for granted. im not saying its wrong to live luxuriously, im just saying that we, as well-2-do humans have sooo much - why is it that we can give only so little? not only in somalia are people dying of hunger, thirst and cold daily, its happenning here in our own country, towns and streets... we will only see iy when we look 4 it! alhamdulillah most of us muslims in S.A are priviledged beyond imagination, we have everything of the best in every sphere of the world - like 2day in this biting cold we have innumerous ways of heating up our homes e.i. underfloor heating, hot a/c, electric heaters, gas heaters, warm clothes, hot drinks/soups etc. etc. etc. but do we ever think about the poor who dont posess things such as stoves, geysers, homes and even food? do we ever feel 4 those kids who have no winter clothes, beds or even shoes?? its very easy 4 us to 4get that these people, like ourselves, feel hunger, thirst, pain, misey and cold just the way we do. we shud always remember that poverty does'nt make one immune to humane feelings... they also want gud lives, want to see their kids warm and happy, want to have a positive and comfortable life - but their fate is not in their hands - it's in the hands of ALLAH TA'AALA the most compassionate. plz guys, lets make a difference to even just ONE child this winter by putting a R100 or R200 note into the hands of his/her parents, 2 us that may be insignificant but 2 a family who has'nt seen food in their shacks for days, it can be a means of their survival 4 up2 a week! plz let us start feeling and giving more comoassionately 2wards the poor and let our sadaqah 2 them be a means of cleansing and protection 4 ourselves and a means of practical da'wah 2 them. let us think about how easily it cud have been us in their shacks and on the street and them in our homes... we are not living comfortable lives thru our efforts and nor are they living difficult lives due 2 lack of effort (for they work harder than we do)! it all ONLY the grace of ALLAH TA'AALA who blesses whomsoever HE wishes 2 from among his creation. Subhaanallah!
Thnx 4 reading - i hope i did'nt bore you with this long post, but its just sumthin i had to say!, and i hope it encourages even just one person 2 give sumthin in charity.

plz if any1 has any interesting or inspirational story, ahadeeth or any motivational words on charity, i will really appreciate it if you can post it on this thread... lets encourage each other toward goodness!

[DeronBoltonRen]

Very great post sister. Majority of muslims are busy thinking about those that have more than them. You know we take so many things for granted. Imagine a mujahid in checneya in snow who is in the mountains? Imagine the mujahid in southern phillipnes whose feet and whole body is constantly wet as the terrain is of such a nature. Imagine such a mujahid staying in a tree for 3 days? Imagine those that walk for 30km just for water on a daily basis. Imagine those who are blind? Those that are deaf? Those that are raped? Those people who are banned from going to the masjid? But all world suffering shall come to an end but the hereafter is eternal. We should look at both types of suffering. Those that are suffering from poverty, disease etc are in 1 type of temporary suffering however those who are away from islam are suffering eternally. Many times (myself included) we sympthise with friends and family members who have financial difficulties, who are disabled etc but how many times have we expressed grief at those who are away from the path of islam? Those who have abandoned salah? We act normally towards them and don't try to relieve them of this greater suffering. ALLAH give us taufeeq ameen.

[jstizzle]

A Good Deed a Day
It’s an ordinary weekday, and I’m juggling ordinary duties in my home office: researching and writing, making phone calls, doing a load or two of laundry. Amid these tasks, I use my email network to help a mom track down a dog that recently bit her child. I pop across the street to clear up an elderly widow’s computer problems. I mix up batter and throw a batch of chocolate cupcakes into the oven, to be given away to some rather reclusive neighbours. None of these acts takes long, and none is difficult or costly.
Not long ago, I would have been surprised by how easy it is to lend a hand, brighten a day or make a difference. But now I’m not. That’s because I achieved my goal of doing a good deed every day for 50 days straight. Am I some kind of bleeding heart? No way. Was a good deed a day a daunting concept? You bet.
Most of my days are hectic. I’m a hands-on mom to Emily, now ten. My husband, Ian, and I work full-time. When I’m not at my desk, earning a living as a freelance writer, I’m cooking, cleaning, paying bills. I take my daughter to school, choir practice and swimming lessons. I provide assistance daily to my husband, who is quadriplegic. Like millions of other Canadians, I’m short on time and careful with spending.
It’s a sad reality that many of us find ourselves just too busy to contribute to our communities or the world at large. For a long time, I, too, believed it cost too much in time, money and energy to make a real difference. But all that changed when I started my good-deed-a-day project. In the spring of 2006, I was inspired by several high-profile personal challenges, like the Julie/Julia Project, in which a blogger wrote about cooking 524 Julia Child recipes in a single year—the inspiration for the film Julie & Julia. I considered a similar challenge for myself. My daughter was my primary inspiration. She already knew we supported a foster girl in Egypt, donated our used clothing, gave pocket change to door-to-door canvassers for charity. But I wanted to show her we could do more, so I resolved to do a good deed a day for 50 days.
The first week, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I browsed the Internet for ideas. When I stepped out for errands or meetings, I looked for potential acts of kindness to fill my daily quota. One day, I cleared a handicapped-parking spot of shopping carts. Another day, I guided a blind man in the subway station. He beamed as he thanked me.
Sometimes, I had to go out of my way to find something kind to do, which meant straying from my comfort zone. I brought flowers from my garden to a local nursing home. I gathered up litter at the playground, disconcertedly aware of other families watching. I could only hope I was sparking ideas in others.
After just a few days, though, I found it easier than I’d expected. I felt almost guilty for the smallness, the simpleness, of the deeds I was doing. I was slotting them into our jam-packed lifestyle in a way that suited me. But wasn’t that the point? That good deeds don’t have to be taxing? And even though most of what I’d done was small potatoes — I hadn’t funded an orphanage or saved a life with the Heimlich manoeuvre — somehow I knew I was making a difference.
Of course, being a do-gooder wasn’t without hazards. One day, on a street-car, I was squatting to pick up newspapers when a woman pushed past, scraping the top of my head with her oversized handbag. I returned home with a headache, but still a sense of a job well done. Other good deeds went flat.
I went to donate blood, but after much fruitless poking at my inadequate veins, I was sent away. Another time, I tried to give food to a panhandler, only to have it rejected because she was vegetarian. (She gladly accepted some coins instead.) But some deeds took on a life of their own. I tracked down my high school creative-writing teacher and sent him a letter, thanking him for his encouragement all those years ago. He wrote an enthusiastic note back, thus kindling an ongoing friendship.
Every evening at the dinner table, I described that day’s good deed to Emily and Ian. The idea took hold and soon we were swapping stories. My daughter talked about the litter cleanup she’d instigated at school. My husband described helping at the scene of an elderly lady’s fall on the sidewalk — he got a passerby to call 9-1-1, then comforted the woman until help arrived. Even my father called long-distance to report his morning’s quirky good deed—holding up six lanes of traffic at a city intersection while a mother duck led two ducklings across the road!
Emily began sharing what I’d started as a personal quest. On a walk home from school, she marched over to a neighbour’s pot of geraniums, which had toppled in the wind, and set it right. “That was my good deed for the day!” she exclaimed. Another day, she helped me collect donations from our neighbours for the food bank. We dropped off the food and, as we drove away, Emily announced grandly that she wanted to work there one day.
By the last week, I knew I’d changed, too. At the outset, I hadn’t been entirely convinced I could do a good deed every day. Now it was practically second nature. I now felt more alert to what was going on around me, what cried out to be done. I felt a greater responsibility to take action when I saw a need, instead of looking the other way. I felt as though I’d awakened, somehow.
On day 50, I congratulated myself for rising to the challenge. I had done it! More importantly, I learned that three quarters of my good deeds had taken less than 15 minutes to do. Three quarters of them had cost no money. And yet these acts had surely made an impact.
On day 51, somewhat to my own surprise, I felt compelled to throw away litter left in a public washroom. As it turned out, 50 days of good deeds had established a habit in me that has continued ever since. I now do many more good deeds than I used to, as does the rest of my family. When I tell people about my 50 good deeds, I often hear stories of kindnesses other people have performed. It seems most of us thrill at being able to make a difference. Why do we have such a strong urge to help others? One theory says that
a more caring human is likely to do a better job raising his children to adultdhood than a human who only pretends to care. I like that idea. And I know now that everyone has it in them to perform a simple good deed every day.

[jstizzle]

A Good Deed a Day
It’s an ordinary weekday, and I’m juggling ordinary duties in my home office: researching and writing, making phone calls, doing a load or two of laundry. Amid these tasks, I use my email network to help a mom track down a dog that recently bit her child. I pop across the street to clear up an elderly widow’s computer problems. I mix up batter and throw a batch of chocolate cupcakes into the oven, to be given away to some rather reclusive neighbours. None of these acts takes long, and none is difficult or costly.
Not long ago, I would have been surprised by how easy it is to lend a hand, brighten a day or make a difference. But now I’m not. That’s because I achieved my goal of doing a good deed every day for 50 days straight. Am I some kind of bleeding heart? No way. Was a good deed a day a daunting concept? You bet.
Most of my days are hectic. I’m a hands-on mom to Emily, now ten. My husband, Ian, and I work full-time. When I’m not at my desk, earning a living as a freelance writer, I’m cooking, cleaning, paying bills. I take my daughter to school, choir practice and swimming lessons. I provide assistance daily to my husband, who is quadriplegic. Like millions of other Canadians, I’m short on time and careful with spending.
It’s a sad reality that many of us find ourselves just too busy to contribute to our communities or the world at large. For a long time, I, too, believed it cost too much in time, money and energy to make a real difference. But all that changed when I started my good-deed-a-day project. In the spring of 2006, I was inspired by several high-profile personal challenges, like the Julie/Julia Project, in which a blogger wrote about cooking 524 Julia Child recipes in a single year—the inspiration for the film Julie & Julia. I considered a similar challenge for myself. My daughter was my primary inspiration. She already knew we supported a foster girl in Egypt, donated our used clothing, gave pocket change to door-to-door canvassers for charity. But I wanted to show her we could do more, so I resolved to do a good deed a day for 50 days.
The first week, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I browsed the Internet for ideas. When I stepped out for errands or meetings, I looked for potential acts of kindness to fill my daily quota. One day, I cleared a handicapped-parking spot of shopping carts. Another day, I guided a blind man in the subway station. He beamed as he thanked me.
Sometimes, I had to go out of my way to find something kind to do, which meant straying from my comfort zone. I brought flowers from my garden to a local nursing home. I gathered up litter at the playground, disconcertedly aware of other families watching. I could only hope I was sparking ideas in others.
After just a few days, though, I found it easier than I’d expected. I felt almost guilty for the smallness, the simpleness, of the deeds I was doing. I was slotting them into our jam-packed lifestyle in a way that suited me. But wasn’t that the point? That good deeds don’t have to be taxing? And even though most of what I’d done was small potatoes — I hadn’t funded an orphanage or saved a life with the Heimlich manoeuvre — somehow I knew I was making a difference.
Of course, being a do-gooder wasn’t without hazards. One day, on a street-car, I was squatting to pick up newspapers when a woman pushed past, scraping the top of my head with her oversized handbag. I returned home with a headache, but still a sense of a job well done. Other good deeds went flat.
I went to donate blood, but after much fruitless poking at my inadequate veins, I was sent away. Another time, I tried to give food to a panhandler, only to have it rejected because she was vegetarian. (She gladly accepted some coins instead.) But some deeds took on a life of their own. I tracked down my high school creative-writing teacher and sent him a letter, thanking him for his encouragement all those years ago. He wrote an enthusiastic note back, thus kindling an ongoing friendship.
Every evening at the dinner table, I described that day’s good deed to Emily and Ian. The idea took hold and soon we were swapping stories. My daughter talked about the litter cleanup she’d instigated at school. My husband described helping at the scene of an elderly lady’s fall on the sidewalk — he got a passerby to call 9-1-1, then comforted the woman until help arrived. Even my father called long-distance to report his morning’s quirky good deed—holding up six lanes of traffic at a city intersection while a mother duck led two ducklings across the road!
Emily began sharing what I’d started as a personal quest. On a walk home from school, she marched over to a neighbour’s pot of geraniums, which had toppled in the wind, and set it right. “That was my good deed for the day!” she exclaimed. Another day, she helped me collect donations from our neighbours for the food bank. We dropped off the food and, as we drove away, Emily announced grandly that she wanted to work there one day.
By the last week, I knew I’d changed, too. At the outset, I hadn’t been entirely convinced I could do a good deed every day. Now it was practically second nature. I now felt more alert to what was going on around me, what cried out to be done. I felt a greater responsibility to take action when I saw a need, instead of looking the other way. I felt as though I’d awakened, somehow.
On day 50, I congratulated myself for rising to the challenge. I had done it! More importantly, I learned that three quarters of my good deeds had taken less than 15 minutes to do. Three quarters of them had cost no money. And yet these acts had surely made an impact.
On day 51, somewhat to my own surprise, I felt compelled to throw away litter left in a public washroom. As it turned out, 50 days of good deeds had established a habit in me that has continued ever since. I now do many more good deeds than I used to, as does the rest of my family. When I tell people about my 50 good deeds, I often hear stories of kindnesses other people have performed. It seems most of us thrill at being able to make a difference. Why do we have such a strong urge to help others? One theory says that
a more caring human is likely to do a better job raising his children to adultdhood than a human who only pretends to care. I like that idea. And I know now that everyone has it in them to perform a simple good deed every day.

[ButKnillinoi]

salamz. jzkallah sis for the story i really loved it, gonna start a gud a deed a day insha-allah. anyways there is a hadeeth i wanna share...

on the day of resurrection ALLAH the most high will say:
"O' son af adam i was sick and you did not visit me" he will reply: "My lord, how could i visit you when you are the lord of all being?" ALLAH will say: Did you not know that MY servent so and so was sick and yet you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found ME WITH HIM.

"O' son of adam i asked you for food but you gave Me none." He will reply: My lord how could i feed you when you are the lord of all being? ALLAH will say: did you not know that my servent so and so asked you for food and yet you gave him none, did you not know if you had fed him you would have found HIM WITH ME.

"O' son of adam i asked youm for a drink but you gave me none." he will reply: My lord how could i give you a drink when you are the lord of all beings? ALLAH will say: did you not know that my servent so nad so asked you for a drink but you gave him none, did you not know if you had given him something to drink you would have found HIM WITH ME? (MISHKAT-AL-MASABIH)
suhaanallah! may we never turn away a begger.