Your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance

Your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance 

 In our world, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. It is imperative to recognize the interconnectedness of our sustenance with that of the less fortunate.

The food we consume. The resources we exploit. The choices we make regarding sustainability and equality. All have a profound impact on the well-being of others. Particularly those facing poverty and hunger.

In this article, I will explore the significance of understanding this connection and highlight the responsibility we bear. We should  ensure that everyone has access to adequate sustenance.

Since I was a young child, I have grown accustomed to having everything I purchase from the neighbourhood shop wrapped in a newspaper page, which I am required to read after using the item. I was preparing for a competitive examination to join Central Superior Services of Pakistan. During my study at night, the sentence "your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance" shocked me. I thought and thought but failed and went to sleep. 

The next morning I started reading the piece of newspaper in which popcorn wrapped that I purchased yesterday. On reading the piece of newspaper I understood the meaning of the sentence, because "your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance" and it changed my whole life. You can see the lust for food in the image below in which a man is trying to eat a pile of food without caring poor's share.

A pile of bread before a man, trying to eat without sharing. Image credit To. Brigitte Tohm, unsplash.com/@brigittetohm?

In that composition, a column just so happened to be concealed. The columnist's name is no longer recalled, but what he wrote is still recalled—not word for word, but nonetheless. 

Please continue reading.  

Yesterday I went to my business friend's office for tea and chat, and it was time to go home. While leaving the office, the clerk came and made a complaint that Mr So-and-so is lazy and does not work properly. The driver also agreed with him.

That friend of mine said that if he doesn't work, why did you keep him? Get rid of him.  I immediately intervened and said,"Wouldn't it be better to talk to him once?" "Maybe he has some problems? " It is a common thing that poor people are surrounded by so many problems. Sustenance is their basic requirement to live and "your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance." There is great joy in sharing food. Human beings are also happy with this and Allah Ta'ala is also happy. Allah increases his sustenance.  You can look the happiness on the face of those who are distributing something to poor.

SHEIKH'S STORY

Then I told my friend about the incident which 

happened before me.  The main character of 

this story was Sheikh Sahib, who was 

employed in a modest office in Lahore. The 

days went by in such a way that the owner of 

that office liked him, and thus Sheikh Sahib 

got married to his family.

Nature was kind to Sheikh Sahib. Day turned into night and night into day, and Sheikh Sahib went from one shop to a market and then from one factory to two, four, and then the owner of an unknown number of factories. The wealth continued to increase. The intoxication of wealth got to Sheikh Sahib and people became worthless in his sight. There was no thought in his mind left about sharing and distribution. He always says that this is my wealth and property, I earned it myself without anyone's help. He collected dollars. pounds, rupees and gold etc. 

Two children were born. Sheikh                        

Sahib bought an apartment and shifted there 

from a rented  room  and then purchased a 

two-Kanal house in a very posh area of 

Lahore. When a gardener was needed. Sultan, 

who came from Chakwal, was taken out of the 

factory and employed in his house at the rate 

of fifteen hundred rupees per month.The 

Sultan was a very polite person and kept to 

his work. He never had any quarrel 

with anyone, no enmity, and never 

any complaint. Once Sheikh Sahib returned 

home from some work at 10 o'clock in      

the day, he parked the car at the door 

as he had to go back to the office. God knows 

what happened between the door and the 

entrance of the house. The pipe slipped from 

the hand of the Sultan who was watering 

the plants, and a sharp spray fell on the 

Sheikh Sahib's clothes.

Sheikh got wet. The Sultan fell at his feet, mumbled and apologised that he had made a mistake. But Sheikh Sahib's mind was touching the sky. He removed the Sultan standing there from his job. He said, "Leave this house before evening." but he was not aware that "your sustenance is connected to the poor sustenance"

The Sultan left the house with a bundle of little things and sat by the door so that he might call him back if his anger cools down by the evening. In the evening, the Sheikh came back, saw the Sultan still sitting, and ordered the guards to push him out. He should not be seen here. When the morning came, the Sultan had gone. God knows where he went.

As time went on, Sheikh Sahib's rapidly developing businesses and factories started to come to a standstill. The pace of business growth has gradually slowed. But Sheikh Sahib was very satisfied with life.

Then a fire broke out in one of his factories; the entire factory was burnt to ashes. Some workers were also burnt. Sheikh Sahib got a shock of crores. When the business started to suffer, signs of sorrow started falling on Sheikh Sahib's forehead. The elder son was a university student.

He died on an outing with his friends when an accident occurred on his way back, and he left the world young. Sheikh's back was broken.

Loss after loss. After selling the bungalow of two Kanals, they moved into the public-style neighbourhood of Ten Marla. 

When there was nothing to do with reason, the feet went to the pious persons, hoping that maybe some prayer would help and the ruined life would be restored again. The younger son, after selling the rest of the business and mortgaging some other properties, took a loan from the bank and started a new business. 

His partner's friend cheated and he lost money. Sheikh Sahib at the age of sixty fell sick from the shock.

One day, an old acquaintance came to visit, and he felt very sorry when he saw the situation. Said Sheikh Sahib: An old pious man has come from India. He is a great man of Almighty Allah. He is staying in a house near Data Sahib for a few days. If you request him to pray for you, then Allah may bless you.

Sheikh immediately got ready. He reached that house met, and explained the problem. He closed his eyes, remained in a meditative state for some time, then opened his eyes, saw the Sheikh and said, "Why did you expel the Sultan?"

As if an apocalypse broke over the Sheikh's head.  An unceasing stream of tears flowed from his eyes. The sheikh fell at the feet of the elder pious man and began to ask for forgiveness. The pious man said to him, "Listen to me." Allah is the Sustainer. Allah gives sustenance but does not distribute it.  To whom Allah has given more sustenance are distributing/sharing with poor with an open heart:

He will certainly provide sustenance, but he will make human beings the source of it. The distribution of water coming down from above is the same as the distribution of sustenance. Below is the translation of a Quranic verse.

 [And (would assign) in all that they possessed a due share unto such as might ask {for help} and such as might suffer priva­tion.]

The Quran's directive that the wealthy 

must distribute their money to the 

needy and underprivileged is 

both correct and practical. 

Life's sustenance is erratic. 

It occasionally comes from unknown 

origins and manifests itself in a 

variety of ways. Even the onset of 

grey hair and financial success are 

gifts from Allah. 

Sustenance comes from Allah and 

includes nourishment, 

provision, food, pabulum, blessings, and more. 

In the eyes of the Lord, each of us is a source of someone else's sustenance. If you refuse to be a resource, you will lose the sustenance of your share that you were previously receiving as compensation from this resource.

You used to get lakhs and crores by giving fifteen hundred rupees to the Sultan. You stopped them. The higher-ups(Almighty Allah) terminated your compensation. Now go and find the Sultan. Your days will be gone again if he agrees to forgive you. 

Sheikh's entire world had been turned dark. He came home banging his head and kept looking for old papers to find the address of the Sultan, an identity card, or any other information. 

When nothing was found, Sheikh went madly to Chakwal by sitting on a bus going to Chakwal to find Sultan. Sultan was not found. 

Searching for the father, the younger son,  came to the Chakwal bus stand and brought his father back to Lahore. But the Sheikh's peace of mind was lost. A few days later, the Sheikh disappeared from the house again, so the son knew where to find him.

When he reached Chakwal, he saw his father sitting on the ground, putting ashes on his head and saying, 'Sultan, where are you?' "Sultan, where are you?" Please forgive me.  Please pardon me. The son brought the father back, crying himself. After a few days, the Sheikh died.

The columnist wrote, "I told my friend this whole story and said to him, "Don't snatch the poor man's sustenance." His sustenance is connected to your sustenance. The Lord will give him from somewhere else so that he has someone to make a resource for him. " There is no shortage of things, but lest you lose this compensating blessing. 

 

Thirteen years have passed since I read this episode. Believe me, it changed my life. I became very careful with my finances. If someone is left with ten or twelve, then do not ask that the compensation received from the above be reduced.

Try to get more pieces of information, if you want to increase your sustenance.

I tried to find and be a resource with good intentions; I tried to take care of all the deserving ones in the family. I have never faced a shortage of money in all these thirteen years. More than one resource was found, and I kept moving forward.

CONCLUSION

The notion that our sustenance is connected to poor sustenance underscores the undeniable interdependence of human lives and the global community. Our choices regarding food, consumption, and sustainability ripple outward, affecting the well-being of those who are less fortunate. It is our collective responsibility to address the systemic issues that perpetuate poverty and food insecurity. To strive for a world where everyone has access to adequate sustenance. 

We can help create a more just and nourishing world for everyone by promoting sustainable habits. Encouraging efforts that encourage equitable resource allocation. Also encourages understanding and compassion. A brighter and more equitable future can be built for future generations. Then we should recognize and act upon the fact that the wellbeing of others is intimately connected to our own.

Allah directs in the Quran that the wealthy must distribute their money to the needy and underprivileged. The Holy Quran also highlights that the needy and impoverished deserve this part as a matter of right.

In these difficult times, the rate of poverty is rising rapidly without any sustenance benefits. So, practically everyone is trapped in poverty. People in our culture constantly lament poverty, hunger, unemployment, and a lack of blessings in sustenance, but curiously, they don't properly consider the reasons for these issues.  The main issues are our bad conduct, mis-behaviour, poor dealings, committing sins, wicked activities and lack of religious knowledge. When a person will disobey Allah's orders, will begin to sin often and will always run after desires and requirements.  Then he will ultimately face the consequences. You can read more about Nature distribution in my article.

Writer Rab Nawaz MA, BEd.

 Principal Steps School Rawalpindi Pakistan.

Thanks to the following sites,  consulted for references.

 https://www.islamicity.org/22322/allah-gives-sustenance-but-does-not-distribute/

https://www.dawateislami.net/blog/poverty

https://muslim.sg/articles/the-concept-of-rizq-sustenance-in-islam