Homeless In America...

Homeless

عن أبي حمزة أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه خادم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن النبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يحب لأخيه ما يحب لنفسه

Not a one of you believe until he wants for his brother what he wantes for himself....Bukhari and Muslim

Many time in our own little world we loose tract of how others around us are doing. Our Prophet in this Hadith reminded us that true belief is related to our wanting for our brother what we want for ourselves. Just because we are doing well today does not mean that we will be doing as well or better tomorrow. Life sometimes takes us for a bad turn. It could happen at anytime to anyone of us. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to remember those around us that are less fortunate than ourselves. Much of the time when we think of poverty we like to move it outside of our borders...it has to be something that effect only people in undeveloped countries. Poverty is alive and well in the U.S.A. Much of the time it affects someone we know very well...our neighbor our classmate or anyone we may come in contact with.

For everything there is a cause and an effect...things don't just happen, they are made to happen. There was an article that appeared in the news related to this crisis in America:

Lakewood, New Jersey (CNN) -- Cars and trucks cruise along Cedar Bridge Avenue, drivers listening to radio anchors reporting the headline that a record 46 million Americans are living in poverty, while 50 feet from the bustling boulevard, hidden by the woods that border the road, lies a shocking example of that shameful statistic.
Behind the trees, six dozen homeless Americans have set up camp, in tents, teepees and huts, residents of what they call Tent City. It's a place where those out of work and out of luck can drop out of society while living as cheaply as possible

Can any of us imagine just 50 feet from a major highway there are people in America living in tents. For there there to be 46 million people out of work or living in poverty that is a major problem for our society. Many of these poverty stricken people are women and children. To bring it even closer to home many of them are our Muslim brothers and sisters. Some we may know and see on a regular basis, but they are too proud to ask for help. It is our duty to seek them out and give them whatever aid we can to help to make their situation better.

It is our religious obligation to help as much as we can....we must begin to set up funds to help those in need. We must get involved in social and political program that help the less fortunate in our society. We can no longer pretend that everything is well in America and poverty only affects the people of third world countries.

Remember this is a matter of belief and not just something to do...we must help and advise others to do the same.
If we are to be successful we must do two things

1. We must always try to do what our Prophet would do in this type of situation, he would often go out and look for people who were in need and attempt to meet their need.
2. He always advised the Muslim to be sensitive to the needs of the poor, oppressed and the less fortunate in the society. These are many times the peoples who cry Allah hear loud and clear.