By Nabeelah Naeen

Eight days after the December 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, 11-year-old Fatimah was rescued from the rubble. Holding a soda can in her hand she asked, “Am I allowed to drink this? It is not mine.”

“What really moved me is the level of consciousness that the young girl had,” said Islamic Relief USA founder Ahmad El Bendary, who was at the site in Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the tsunami. “She actually could not drink it in spite of being there for eight days without any food, drink, or anything because it didn’t belong to her.”

Just like our bodies and families have certain rights over us, so do the other 7 billion-plus people around the world. Blessed and absorbed in our busy lives, we sometimes forget that our brothers and sisters are entitled to more than just their worldly belongings. The well-being of the individual takes precedence. Those of us who are privileged enough to have basic life necessities must share.

“None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother and his neighbor what he loves for himself.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Mahmoud, a 9-year-old boy in Syria, lives this hadith (narration). Upon hearing a shot outside his house, he instantly ran out to help a wounded girl. Consequently, he was captured and tied up. By the time he was freed 18 days later, his foot was so badly infected with gangrene that it had to be amputated, said Islamic Relief USA CEO Abed Ayoub, who visited the hospital where Mahmoud was treated in Jordan.

We too need to come to the aid of our neighbors around the world just like Mahmoud risked his life to come to the aid of a girl he didn’t know. And like Fatimah, we need to look outside of our problems and remember the rights of our brothers and sisters.

We must answer the prayers of those in need and come to the aid of our brothers and sisters. Right now our brothers and sisters in Myanmar and Syria need us.

“Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment.” (Sahih Muslim)

By Nada Shawish

Muslims Making a Difference: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII

In the “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” a tornado strikes rural Kansas and farm girl Dorothy is knocked out with a blow to her head. When she comes to, her aunt and uncle’s home is sent up into a whirlwind with her inside.

Floating in the cyclone, the house is in shambles, and everything seems lost as Dorothy crouches down in horror.

Many Americans have felt like Dorothy during the past several years, huddling with their families as the recession swirled around them and tore at their livelihoods.

For those who were already living on the edge, like Neima Naeem, the financial crisis has been a devastating shock.

“We just don’t have a chance to get out of this cycle,” she says.

The financial crisis has made living nearly impossible for millions of Americans, but some organizations are offering solutions to help people get back on track. Individual Development Accounts are giving people a second chance and a way out of poverty.

Shattered Dreams

Neima immigrated to the United States several years ago looking for more opportunities—a better life, the “American Dream.”

But that life was nowhere to be found. School programs were too expensive, and she couldn’t manage to secure a reliable job with an income that she and her disabled son could actually live on.

When the financial crisis hit, Neima’s financial situation quickly spun out of control.

Today, an estimated 26 million Americans do not own enough to survive at the poverty level for three months. More than 50 million Americans currently live in poverty, and an astounding 17 million of them are children.

Minority and female-headed households are suffering in even greater numbers.

At least 25% of female-headed households have zero or negative net worth, and more than 30% of minority-headed households have zero or negative net worth.

While the economy has shown signs of improving, it’s hard to see that down in the trenches. Unemployment rates are getting lower in the United States, but families are still losing homes and unemployment is still twice the rate it was in 2007. New jobs being created are mostly part-time positions averaging only $19,000 a year. That is well under the annual income considered the national poverty line for a single individual.

For people who don’t have an education or specialized training, prospects of financial security are really slim.

“If you don’t have money and you don’t have an education, you don’t even have a chance,” Neima says. “You can’t do what you need to do or what you want to do with your life.”

A Way Out

When asked what she needed to get started toward the kind of stability she wanted for her family, Neima replied, “Money.” She knew what she needed to do and how to do it. She just needed the money to start. But for Neima, like millions of other Americans, funding is hard to come by, especially when starting from scratch. Without any way to save money or access to credit, she was stuck trying to scrape up enough money to live on, without a chance for growth.

But Neima found a way to break free from this cycle. She started the business she had always dreamed of—a beauty salon just for women that offers hair, nails, skin care, henna designs, and makeup tutorials.

“I wanted to provide a service to women of the community,” said Neima.  “I wanted to offer an option of having a more private salon, just for women. We never had that before.”

The tool that helped her break out was an Individual Development Account, or IDA.

She found out about IDAs from a friend, and soon after signing up, she was finally on her way to getting her cosmetology certification and business licensing, which were too expensive for her to get on her own.

IDA programs teach people how to save and handle their finances, and give them a boost with their savings. New participants work toward reaching a financial goal, like starting a business, getting an education, or buying a home.

One such program, through Islamic Relief USA and Capital Area Asset Builders, plans to make IDAs available to residents of the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area. The goal is to equip families in need with financial knowledge and match the amount they are able to save to help them build a better future.

The Individual Development Account program through Islamic Relief USA and Capital Area Asset Builders will offer people like Neima the starting point they need—one that can help provide the support to start something new.

First, participants are required to open a savings account, and set a goal for an asset to save for. Then, savers are required to complete a Money Management course and subsequent training related to their specific goal. Finally, participants save each month and watch their money grow.

When families reach their savings goals, they receive matching funds.

“I saved $2,000,” Neima said. “I was so proud of that. And then my IDA matched it with another $2,000. This kind of money was so valuable. I couldn’t have started my business without it.”

Islamic Relief USA’s IDA program will match savings at a rate of $3 for every $1 participants save.

Research from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Assets for Independence program (AFI) suggest that IDA programs aren’t just a temporary fix. They work. IDA participants are 35% more likely to own a home, twice as likely to attend college, and 84% more likely to own a business.

Better Days Ahead

Since 1999, more than 1,000 program sites have helped more than 80,000 people to save, build their assets, and pursue education, training, and business opportunities.

As for Neima, now there really is no place like home.

Her in-home business is doing well, and she now has regular clients who come to her for her beauty services.

“For people like me, this really gives them a chance—helps open doors,” Neima says, “I’m just thankful for this opportunity. Now, I can take care of myself. It feels good.”

And she has even bigger goals. One day she hopes to move to a bigger space where she can employ other beauticians and grow her business.

She’s building her own yellow-brick road, one brick at a time. All she needed was a few tools to get started.

“After all,” she smiles, “you have to start from the beginning so one day you can grow.”

By Nada Shawish

Muslims Making a Difference: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII

Xiyang Village, China—Sha Ximei feeds her cow in her small clay shed, and smiles with tired eyes. The crops on her farm don’t make enough money, so she has to travel to Pingliang city to take whatever labor jobs she can get to feed her family.

Jobs are becoming more and more scarce in China, especially for people living in rural areas. In the past, rural migrant workers like Sha flocked to the city to take jobs as day laborers in factories or construction sites.

Without education or funds to start something new, they don’t have much alternative.

But with the recent economic downturn, and demand for Chinese products reduced internationally, these jobs have been cut and people are forced to return to their farms. Now, when Sha can get work in the city, it’s very hard to get there and it’s usually only for a single day.

With these kinds of jobs, Sha can barely put food on her family’s table.

Farmers like Sha make up the majority of people living below the poverty line—nearly 90 percent of China’s poor live in rural areas. And China has the second-largest population of impoverished people in the world—245 million Chinese live on less than $2 per day. You’re either rich or poor in China, and that economic gap is only getting wider.

“We don’t have enough money to survive,” Sha said.

But Sha has an idea.

She wants to have an income that she can count on, so she borrowed some money from relatives to buy a cow that can produce milk and other goods to sell. She hopes to raise a herd.

Raising livestock in China can help her family earn a good living—enough to support her son’s education one day.

But Sha needed to buy a few more cows and supplies to get started. These cost money that she didn’t have, and loans are hard to come by.

Microfinance has become an increasingly vital tool in promoting sustainable livelihoods in impoverished communities in the last 30 years.

Microfinancing and microcredit programs have existed in China for more than 20 years, but China’s microfinance institutions haven’t had much success. And while China looks for a microfinance model that works internally, complicated bank formalities make acquiring loans especially difficult for poor farmers like Sha.

While banks can provide larger business loans, many banks and local credit agencies in China won’t help small businesses that need smaller loan amounts.

So financing remains a major obstacle for people who want to improve their lives in places like rural China.

Islamic Relief’s Pingliang Islamic Microfinance program is giving people in China the opportunity to create means of earning a living that are sustainable. The Islamic Microfinance program makes it possible for poor people, especially poor people in rural areas, to get interest-free credit that they can invest in income-generating projects and education.

The Islamic Microfinance program is born out of the microfinance idea and is inspired by Islamic values. The people are the owners of their work and their profits, meaning that the role of the lender is minimized. The loans are interest-free, and the borrowers, China’s rural poor, can reinvest more of their profits back into their own business, to help them get out of poverty faster.

With her interest-free credit, Sha has been able to buy the cows she needs, along with supplies and veterinary care to keep them healthy. She’s even getting training in how to grow her herd and care for the animals on her farm.

The goal of sustainable livelihood projects like Islamic Relief’s Pingliang Microfinance program is to create a sustainable means of generating income. And these types of projects are proven to reduce poverty in a lasting way.

The United Nations has consistently found that sustainable livelihood projects are better than other types of humanitarian aid projects at reducing poverty long-term. This is because they are tailored for each community and family, helping people build the situation they need to earn a reliable living. People with sustainable livelihoods are better able to rebound after a disaster, and are better equipped to grow over time. They’re empowered to improve their own lives and help create jobs for others in the community.

1.4 billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty, but why? Solutions are possible.

For Sha Ximei, the support to start her new way of life has been heaven-sent.

“Thank you so much to all those kind-hearted people who have given their support to make this possible on my farm.” Sha presses her lips together and nods. “This is my opportunity to help my situation.”

by Furqan Naeem

Recently I embarked on a journey of a lifetime when I set out to climb the highest mountain in the world – Mount Everest. It was a great experience with many unforgettable memories. There were moments during the trek, such as the pain of the low altitude and the difficulty in breathing, when I wondered why I was doing this.  However, in retrospect, I would do anything to go back.

The journey came about as Islamic Relief, one of the biggest Islamic charities in the world, was undertaking different challenges worldwide by taking groups of people to different areas to raise money for various humanitarian causes. Being an active part of the organization, I always wanted to embark on a journey like this, so when the opportunity to climb Everest came about I felt it was one I could not miss. For me, helping the poor and needy in Africa have access to the basic essential need of clean water was the main motivating factor. I felt there was a greater purpose to the challenge, although at the same time I was fulfilling a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The journey itself will forever live in my memory. Often in our lives we become so bogged down with the trivialities of life itself that we neglect to look at the greater meaning and to reflect. Whether we are at school, our workplaces, with our families or at our social outings – there is very little time to focus on ourselves as an individual. I, for one, was looking for an opportunity like this – to get out of my comfort zone, go out, see the creations of God and be close to them in order to be thankful for the countless blessings He has bestowed upon us. The freezing cold temperatures at night in the mountains, the cold beds we were in, turning on the tap but having no hot water, adjusting to a new food diet without meat for two weeks – after being without these basics luxuries that I often took for granted, it really made me appreciate what I have.

As soon as our delegation arrived in the Himalayas I was in awe of everything that we were surrounded by – the tall, snow-capped mountains, clear blue skies, waterfalls, beautiful trees in shapes I’ve never seen before, stunning views. We set off from Delhi to Kathmandu and I saw what appeared to be pointed clouds in the distance.  As we got closer, I realized that this was the start of the huge stretch of the Himalayan Mountains. The view of the mountains from the plane looked amazing and just to think that we were going to be climbing 18,000 feet high and be right amongst them gave me goose bumps.

In total we were out for 16 days, with 12 days of trekking in total. It took around seven days to get to Everest base camp and about five days coming back down. There were thirteen of us in a group, with two women coming along for the first time. The beginning part of the trek was really fun. In the lower part of the base of the mountain, we didn’t have the altitude problems so we enjoyed the lovely views everywhere. Wherever we looked, we were surrounded by huge mountains, with various peaks – some with weird shapes! We stayed at lodges on the entire journey, but as we got further up the mountain the lodges became really basic. Some of us went without showers for over a week because of the lack of warm water. Our whole food diet had to change. We were having porridge in the morning, rice at lunch and a basic lentil dish called dal baat for the evening. We couldn’t complain though because we were always conscious of the reason why we were there, and that the money that was to be raised was to allow for the poor to have access clean water. The whole experience made us humble to the point where we would accept any type of food.

We would wake up everyday at 6 am and start trekking by 7:30. Some days would be really long and we wouldn’t get to the next lodge until 5 or 6pm, meaning we would be climbing for some 11 hours a day.  I wouldn’t have imagined it but all of a sudden I was in bed by 9pm on most nights because of the early start and the long days we had ahead of us. This was definitely a point of reflection for myself. Back in the UK I genuinely found it difficult to wake up early but it was usually because I slept so late. There in the mountains, I really began to see the barakah of starting the day early and making the most out of it. We would leave just after fajr time, which proved to be a great time for some early morning adkhar and reflection. Seeing the sun rise high above the lofty mountains made it easy to focus on Allah’s wonderful creations; these were the most perfect moments, and it is these times that I miss the most. But that reflection period would be of no use unless I could go from strength to strength when I got back.

As there were 13 of us, we would often split into different groups. Sometimes we would walk in a group and have the odd banter or two, and other times everyone would be in their own zone, using the time to take in the breathtaking views. There were times were I would rush ahead of the group, sit on rock and just zone out for a few minutes. It was a great purification moment and it really did connect one’s heart back with its Creator. The story of Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah comes to mind of when his student  Shaikh Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah used to ask him, “Why do you go to the outskirts of Damascus every morning and just sit there?” His reply was that he used to remember Allah and do his Dhikr and that every morning this was like his breakfast. If he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have the energy throughout the day; just like breakfast was his physical nourishment, dhikr was his spiritual nourishment. I remembered this as much as I could throughout the journey, as we had long physical days and I wanted the maximum energy within me. When remembering Allah and reciting His name, the thought of the mountains and trees testifying on that Day to Allah when they hear His servant mentioning His name was one thing that kept me going. Just to imagine that day when we would meet Allah and that these very mountains would be a proof for us made us all increase in His remembrance.

As we got further to the top, the difficulty level increased. With really low altitude and the increasing cold many of us were suffering from altitude sickness, hallucinations, diarrhoea, really bad headaches, and more. We were at 50% lower oxygen levels than on normal ground so that obviously was going to take its toll. The day we were going to hit Everest base camp was the coldest of the whole journey. Being 18,000 feet in the air, there were grey clouds all around us and with the wind chill we were hitting -20 degrees. To put it into perspective of how difficult it got at times, I would take ten steps up in this altitude and it was like I had just played a full 90-minute football match.

One of the things I remember fondly was the view at night. As we were high up, there was very little electricity and it was almost complete darkness at night. When we would look up in the skies our eyes would be filled with thousands and thousands of stars shining brightly above the mountains. We saw shooting stars and the view made us wonder about Allah’s creation in our galaxy and beyond it – what is it like in the heavens? His magnificence and the number of His creations just made us increase in His remembrance. When we prayed Maghrib and Isha outside on one of the nights it was so peaceful.  We would say salams at the end and when we would look right and left we would have mountains in our direct view on either side. Most times it was a most peaceful prayer and when we prayed we didn’t want to stop.

One verse of the Qur’an that I always remembered throughout the journey was in Surah Hashr where Allah says:

“If We had sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of Allah. And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought” (Qur’an, 59:21).

This verse made me think about the weight of the Qur’an and how even the mountains would be humble due to the weight of His Majesty. It made me consider the state of the dunya after the final trumpet is blown and how all these rock solid mountains will turn to dust. It made me think about how Allah has made these mountains in order for mankind to reflect and think about His creation, and to know when Allah mentions these mountains in the Qur’an we were amongst the highest ones He has created. That was a moment for us all to deeply ponder.

Every evening we would sit in a circle and someone from among the group would give a thought of the day. Everyone came out with excellent reminders to keep us all thinking and renewing our intentions. Some spoke about how we should appreciate the things we have in life that we take for granted, some spoke about animals that we saw and how much they sacrifice for us humans. Others spoke about how our struggle will help impact the lives of millions who are struggling in the third world. After mentioning the ayah I quoted above, I talked about three lessons we should take back in our lives.

1. Physical – that all of us were here on a journey of a lifetime and we made that choice. Many of us trained hard before in order to be in the right shape and keep fit. But this shouldn’t be the end of the physical battle within us. We should always strive to remain fit and healthy even after our Everest venture. We should take pride in keeping fit and looking after our shape. We were told that the Prophet ﷺ had the strength of 30 men and used to wrestle in the mosque. And he was physically strong!
2. Mental – in our life we will no doubt be faced with obstacles and have struggles that life throws upon is – be it with work, education, family, society pressures, etc. But having completed the trek to Everest and remembering the struggles and hardship that we went through on this epic journey, it should surely encourage us that with any task or obstacle we’re faced with in life, we should first and foremost put our trust in Allah and secondly remember this particular event as it should help us overcome that specific obstacle. Mentally, this experience should make us stronger and more motivated.
3. Spiritual – if anything from this journey alone did not bring you closer to Allah then there’s something missing. After being halfway around the world, being able to witness what very few people have had the privilege to see, and viewing Allah’s creation in its full glory, anyone should be on their knees in admiration of the Creator. Spiritually, it should have brought us closer to the One who gave us the ability to walk, breathe, eat, see, etc. It should make us grateful to Allah for His endless blessings, make us appreciate what we have, and above all, make us ask for His forgiveness. And once we get back we should try and take that spiritual high and maintain it even when bogged down with our normal life chores.

All in all, alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah) it was an event that will live forever in my memory and I am sure for all those that came on the trip. Just to know we fulfilled our own personal venture out into the Himalayas and of course at the same time helping all those poor and needy gain to access clean water was a very satisfying feeling. I hope the lessons I learnt along the way will serve as a spiritual and professional turning point for me. This journey certainly gave me a break to reassess my life and made me become more determined and focused to fulfil my aims in life. Our bodies are vessels that carry us through this world to the next, but it is our legacies and the monumental work we all strive to do to preserve and empower generations to come that will live on. It is my sincerest hope that this entire endeavour will forever remain, like the mountains, as a cemented testament to His Glory for myself and a pedestal for which to reach new heights. We all want to leave a legacy behind us where people will remember us for what we achieved. Sometimes that transition of change is inspired by a certain moment, journey or an event. For me I hope this was that journey…