"Truly men who give in charity and women who give in charity and lend unto God a goodly loan, it will be multiplied for them, and theirs shall be a generous reward."
Quran 57:18
We've seen similar passages from the Quran before, but nevertheless I still culled this verse out of the 57th surah, al-Hadid, here rendered as "Iron." It reminds us once again about the importance of charity, and we know this is one of the foundational Five Pillars. I guess it hits home with me right now because of the work I've been doing with TechDren and the South Burlington Food Shelf, but also because we're cycling towards the end of the year - the year is getting colder and people are in need, but we're also drawing towards that time of year when we begin to reflect upon what we owe the rest of humanity. Our mosque is very well-represented at the South Burlington Food Shelf, both in regards to the folks working there but also the food which is being left at the masjid (which I'll in turn convey to the Food Shelf). Also, I think this passage is important because it represents men and women equally in regards to their duty to provide charity (now, truthfully, in regards to the Food Shelf it is the sisters who are dominating in showing up to work). Having said all this, as a faith I think we need to make certain that we're not asking equal sacrifice from the female members of our ummah without in turn offering equal benefit. Yes, in the end these issues are always in the hands of God, but in this world we can work a lot harder to give women equal access at the mosque.
Quran 57:18
We've seen similar passages from the Quran before, but nevertheless I still culled this verse out of the 57th surah, al-Hadid, here rendered as "Iron." It reminds us once again about the importance of charity, and we know this is one of the foundational Five Pillars. I guess it hits home with me right now because of the work I've been doing with TechDren and the South Burlington Food Shelf, but also because we're cycling towards the end of the year - the year is getting colder and people are in need, but we're also drawing towards that time of year when we begin to reflect upon what we owe the rest of humanity. Our mosque is very well-represented at the South Burlington Food Shelf, both in regards to the folks working there but also the food which is being left at the masjid (which I'll in turn convey to the Food Shelf). Also, I think this passage is important because it represents men and women equally in regards to their duty to provide charity (now, truthfully, in regards to the Food Shelf it is the sisters who are dominating in showing up to work). Having said all this, as a faith I think we need to make certain that we're not asking equal sacrifice from the female members of our ummah without in turn offering equal benefit. Yes, in the end these issues are always in the hands of God, but in this world we can work a lot harder to give women equal access at the mosque.
No comments:
Post a Comment