Wednesday

 Five Days - Five Pillars

If you tell people that the Zakat is an 'Alms Tax' (which many do), they frankly don't know what you are talking about. Anyway, Zakat as Sadaqah is so much more than that, and I tried to get its everyday nature across.

You know, it sometimes seems that the scale of global problems is so overwhelming compared to our ability to contribute to a solution that we can suffer from compassion fatigue and lose the urge to try. If we can't put an end to the world's suffering, we might as well just think about our own.

But suffering is part of the human condition, so we can never put an end to it. That doesn't mean we should forget about charity and just look out for ourselves. Muhammad said that charity is compulsory for every human limb for every day that the sun rises. But he also explained how charity is so much more than giving money.

He said that if a man plants a tree, or sows a field, and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is a charity on his part. To bring about reconciliation between those who fight is a charity. A good word is a charity, and even a smile is a charity. So though you may be a bit low on cash right now, remember you've still got something you can give.