Once upon a time there lived a man named Nadir with his beautiful wife called Jugni. Nadir was a rich business man. He could afford everything he wanted. He was very fond of buying good dresses for his wife and for himself too, and also good jewellery for his wife.

One day when Nadir was eating dinner with his wife, a hungry beggar came to the door and earnestly begged for some bread.

Jugni asked Nadir, “Can we part with some bread and meat that we are eating to give the beggar.”

Nadir replied, “Okay, you can give him,” but at the same time very angrily made ill remarks against the beggar. “These people are sluggish they don’t do any hard work, they have become professional beggars. They should not be shown any sympathy and our help and alms encourages them to take up begging as a profession. It makes them more greedy and they leave respectable life.”

The existence of beggars and the philosophy of charity go back a long way. The giving of charity promotes welfare, sanity, rationality in the distribution of wealth, guarantee of safety and security for a person and his belongings. All religions promote welfare and charity. Believers consider its benefits and blessings to be immense both in this world and the world hereinafter.

Islam teaches us that charity is a debt to Allah which He returns by increasing the amount many times (Holy Quran 57:18) and our Holy Prophet (PBUH) has told us about the virtues and rewards of giving charity.

Charity, if given obscurely and by keeping the dignity of the needy person in mind, also wipes away our sins and changes fortunes.

Soon after the rude treatment of the beggar by Nadir, things started to change for the worst for him. First he started facing losses in his business and eventually it was completely ruined. He had to sell his car to pay off loans and meet his household expenses. There came a time when he had to sell his wife’s jewellery and all the valuables he had at throw away prices. But this did not help him in restarting his business and he finally had to mortgage his house.

There was still no respite. It seemed anything he touched turned to dust. He wandered the streets disheveled and disheartened. He could not afford a loaf of bread to eat or to feed his beloved wife Jugni. He decided to leave her at her parents’ house because all his belongings had vanished. Nadir eventually found himself begging on the roadside.

Now let us turn to the tale of the hungry beggar who had knocked Nadir’s door one night. That beggar, Sabir, had to beg out of necessity and hunger. Whatever little money he received from charitable people, he tried to save as much as he could.

He managed to save enough to purchase a shop in the same locality and started the business of grocery. His business started thriving from the first day. In a few months, he became a reasonably well-off man.

One night, when Sabir was eating dinner with his wife, a beggar appeared on their door. Sabir’s wife asked his permission to give some bread to the beggar. He very happily agreed and also took out some money to give too.

When he came to the door, he was shocked to find Nadir begging for something to eat. Sabir felt pity on Nadir’s sufferings and misfortune, but he decided not to embarrass Nadir by reminding him of how badly he had spoken to Sabir long ago and how the situation was reversed now. Instead, Sabir gave Nadir more money with the food and prayed that may Allah forgive Nadir’s sins and bestow His Mercy on Nadir.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 27th, 2017