Sunday, February 20, 2011

How Your Good Deed Will Help You In Mysterious Way (4th Chapter - The Charity)

Dear Reader,

How are you? Hope you have read and enjoy all the chapters before, well this will be my forth chapter.. I will tell you another true story that happened to me when we do good things to other without thinking how will we be repaid or be seen by anyone else. This post is about God will always sees what we do in this life either good or bad and everything has their consequences (read my 2nd chapter). It is only in God's power to arrange the world to treat us better because of our good deeds, and it is only in God's power to arrange the world to treat you like hell as a punishment because of our bad deeds. 

Well.. So here is the story..

This story was taken when i still in my last college year just before the graduation. At that time, as a week closer to my final trial graduation i work very hard to finish my thesis. I studied a lot, i didn't sleep very well at night, and it cost me a lot of money to support this activities.. but i thought back then, it was not a problem since this will be my final effort to finish my first academic title anyway. If i remember correctly, there's this Wednesday after the whole exhausting day at my campus when i went back home with intention to took public transport on my way home. What left inside my wallet was only equal to 5 $. In my country that amount of money still can be used for transportation cost or to eat twice in small food vendor. As i walked to the nearest public transport halt i saw a poor old guy with empty can beside him, eating something voraciously at the sidewalk. well at that time I guess he was just a typical homeless poor old guy. I didn't put a lot of attention until when i got nearer to him i saw a box without anything on it other than plain rice. Yup.. that's right only a plain rice and he ate that as if it full of delicious side dishes. So i walked through him.. and like 10 steps ahead of him, i stopped. The thought of him eating nothing else other than rice harassed my conscience dramatically, and so i took my wallet, took what was left of it and walked back towards him.

In Islam, i was taught that the best way to give charity is when no one sees you, better if the receiver didn't saw you and not even your left hand should witnessing your right hand do the good deeds. Remembering that, i pass through him again, until i few meters behind him.. and i walked to him once again and put my last 5 dollar to his can.. i tried not to be seen by him, well eventually he did realized what i did and while still eating with mouth full of rice he said thank you and praise God. So i just ignored him, i don't want too saw his face because i was afraid that the proud that came out in me if its too much it will misleads my original intentions. I just kept walking while kept saying this to my self. "What important is Allah will be happy... What important is Allah will be happy" I kept saying it over and over until i can make sure my mind will not thinking about that event again.. so i can just pretend nothing has happened.

The reason i did that is, in Islam we were guaranteed that all of your charity will be repaid by God multiple times either in the same form of what you have donated or in other form as long as you really sincere with the good intentions, not because of how other people will see you, not because of the receiver will thank you, not even because of the cause that God will repaid your kindness... the only accepted condition is to give because of Allah and that's that. Well that's hard, that is why it needs practices.. And its hard for me too, that's why i kept saying this intention was merely to make Allah happy. So there i goes.. after along walk finally i arrived at home.

The next day morning (Thursday) as usual i did my routines at home and went back to campus.. busy with my preparations, i didn't put any attention to announcement board. Later at the afternoon, a friend told me that there were certain conditions that we have to fulfill on Monday which was academic documents including a copy of high school certificate, photos and trial expense, if we failed to fulfill the requirement by Monday our trial graduation will be pending until the next semester and we have to do the process including the tuitions all over again. I said ."Whaat??? when did they published it? ".. My friend said "Just this morning" . I thought to my self.. Okay this is gonna be a big problem!.

For many students there, the trial expense wouldn't be a problem since the university is for "the have" community (read my 3rd chapter), It is an expensive University. But for me.. it was a huge problem, not to mention i found it out at the afternoon which makes my chance to find the money even slimmer. Not just that, i didn't know if the requested copy of a high school certificate were still available in my house, and so i have to go to my old high school and ask for the documents and only God knows how long its gonna take, if i didn't have it on my archives files. Thus that afternoon with uncertainty and confusion inside my head i proceed preparing my trial with my friends until late at night. Later when i got home, all of my family was already sleeping. So i figured out the plan for tomorrow will be like this.. first told my parents about the trial expense which i know it will make them confuse just like i was, and then second i will look for the documents.. and if it wasn't there i have to go to my old high school and took care of everything since Friday was the last working day for the week.

Friday morning..

Since i was so exhausted last night i ruined my plans and woke up late.. When i woke up the house was empty, all my family was going somewhere and they took the car. So i started to panic, because first my parents didn't know the trial expense issue, and second i can't go to my high school because the car wasn't there.. so i said to my self.. i am ruined.

I started to pray, i said,"Dear Allah, I know You have been always gave me a way and always guide me through everything on my academic journey, so it got me this far.. how come at the almost end of my struggle i have to found a closed gate like this.. Please Ya Allah, give me a way out.. But if You said that this time is not my time to graduate yet.. I will submit, just please makes my parents understand so they will not get sad..". So after that with a bit desperation, i tried to look my archives files. Page by page i screened them over.. I cannot found the document, so i rearranged it and put it back on to the file cabinet. With a heavy breath i just walk away. Suddenly i saw a box full of unimportant paper which contain old papers and old advertisement prints.. i don't know why but that box intrigues me somehow.. so i started to checked the box and screened it page by page with nothing to expect. And.. Guess what?! i found one copy of my high school certificate that almost torned up on its top side. That was so relieving so i said Thank You Allah Thank You.. Okay that's one problem solved but i still have the trial cost issue.

Not long after i found the document my family arrived at home. So with a frowned face i talked to my Mom.. i said "Mom i'm sorry to told you this... but i got this problem about my trial graduation.. i need money which should be paid before this afternoon.." Out of expectation my mother face was smiling.. "how much is it?", I said, " Three million (equal to 300 US dollars)", and she said while smiling "No need to worry i got the money.. we just went to our family gathering and one of our relatives paid his debts more that he owes us.. although we actually already forgot about the debt he owes." my mom said. Alhamdulillah everything is arranged by Allah nicely.. I was very happy and cried to Allah silently inside my room, because this happened beyond human logic.. and I remembered, i was sure this is because of the happiness that i give to the old poor guy, so the world by The Will of Allah makes me happier multiple times, Thank You Allah. Well eventually i transferred the money, submit all the documents and had a successful trial.

Lessons Learned:

1. Do Not Hesitate to Do Good Things to Other, As God Will Always Sees Everything.

As a human, we are a social being. We cannot live by ourselves , therefore to do a good deeds to other people is not only going to make you a better person, but you will received "Bonuses" from Allah as long as you are sincere. I believe the world will rearranged automatically by the Will of Allah when you do a good things to other people. Based on my story.. who knows when on Wednesday i did my donation sincerely, at the same time at the different side of my city one of my relatives earned a lot of money from his business and it will synchronized automatically with my needs at the end? Who knows he intended to pay his forgotten debt to my family? Who knows that the box filled with full of junk papers intrigued me and so i found the copy of my high school certificate.. That what i meant by the world is rearranged automatically by itself in the Will of Allah.

2. Good Deeds is Only Between You And God, Nothing Else Matters

As i quoted from above the best way to give charity is when no one sees you, better if the receiver didn't saw you and not even your left hand should witnessing your right hand do the good deeds. And after all of that if i can add more,  it depends on how will you dealing with yourselves. If you cannot handle the feeling which leads to vanity even if its occur inside your self so.. it is very possible that the cause will just gone. If the receiver feel very thankful to you and someday he repay your kindness, is only part of the world rearranged it automatically by the Will of Allah, it is wise not to think that one day the receiver will do a good things to you while you do a good deeds to them. So sometimes i got confused with those who do charity with all the public attention through media go to them, well i didn't say it will be totally in vain, Allah has mysterious count so i am not in position to judge anything.. but in my opinion..  maybe those attention will reduce the value of the good deeds itself because there are still other best way which is so unfortunate. 

For Moslem, In Islam we have term that we called "infaq". It is a term for charity where Allah is the only cause to do it. There are many type of infaq but the most simplest thing is to donate 2.5 % from whatever you earning, because Allah said that in what we earn there are always part of the poor also, so is not totally ours. So please my fellow moslem, do not forget to share what you earned, remember that what you earn is also belong to them. And the most important thing is.. keep practicing, because to do it on pure intention merely because of Allah is not an easy thing. There's a lot of temptations that will reduce the value of your charity, so that is  why.. let's start from small then go bigger, If you already know how to purify your heart than start bigger. Do not just throw away big donations while you still can't handle the temptations or it might going to be something that makes someone happy but not necessary you =).

Well i guess that's it for my 4th chapter, i hope it can be useful. If God Willing i'll share another more..

With Warmness,

Dee
Mualaf.