Family Fun for Orphans

AFTER paying the stinking bills, balancing the checkbook, and summarizing my savings, I discovered that my nest egg had hatched and flown the coop.  My financial cushion was down to a pillowcase.  Inside my fat piggybank was a skinny piggy, and he was hungry.  Well, I can’t complain.  I never asked Allah to make me goofy rich.  I always asked Him for just enough money so that I can afford to be generous. 

I think I must be too generous with myself at the supper table.  At only five-foot-three, I tilted the scale at 145.  I told my husband, “Tom, we need to get rid of that bathroom scale; it’s making me fatter and fatter!”  But I decided to keep the scale and get rid of some of my food.  Our family agreed to sponsor an orphan.  Through the Zakat Foundation (ZF), it only costs $30 a month to provide for a child.  I think most families can afford that, and it’s a lot of fun!

ZF offers a choice from a list of countries, but we asked for a girl from any country.  Soon we received a photograph of a beautiful fourteen-year-old girl in Pakistan.  Her name is Aneeqa.  In addition to the monthly sponsorship, we wanted to send her a gift.  We had quality, family time as we shopped to fill a colorful, fabric bag.  We bought Aneeqa a lovely, Hawaiian princess doll with a beautiful face and tan complexion.  At the mall, we found a sparkly, dangly bracelet.  My cat Stinky thought it was for her.  She squalled with excitement and tried to grab it out of my hand.  Darn!  I should have gotten a bracelet for the cats too! 

We also filled the bag with lip-gloss, glitter nail polish, perfumed lotion, and other girly stuff.  We bought mango-scented shampoo and conditioner; Dora toothpaste; a Hello Kitty, battery-operated toothbrush; butterfly hairclips; and a nice hairbrush and comb.  We stuffed the bag so full that we had to tie the handles together to keep everything inside.  We also tied a card to the handles.  We wrote inside the card to tell Aneeqa how delighted we are to be her sponsors.  We can hardly wait to get a letter from her!  It was tons of fun buying all those gifts.  I’m sure she will be thrilled.  We are all feeling good about helping an orphan.

Many times Allah (blessed and exalted is He) has made a point of letting us know of His concern for the orphans.  He has told us that caring for orphans is an important part of our faith.  “They [the truly virtuous] fulfill their vows and dread the day when evil will be widespread. They give food –however be their own desire for it— to the destitute, the orphan, and the captive, [saying,] ‘We feed you for the sake of Allah alone.  We do not want any reimbursement from you or even any thanks.  We fear from our Lord a difficult day of gloom’” (Surah 76: 7-10).  Fearing our Lord means that we realize His perfect and awesome power, and then we are obedient to Him because we adore Him.  Fearing Allah means respect, admiration, and worship.  Our reverence of Allah will protect us when evil becomes widespread.  That will be the time when the world is completely corrupt.  There will be no hope then except for Allah’s power and justice to overwhelm the world.  Until that time, we must do as much as we can to make the world better.  That includes helping orphans.

Prophet Muhammed (peace upon him) was an orphan himself.  He told his followers, “If anyone strokes an orphan’s head, doing so only for Allah’s sake, that person will have blessings for every hair over which his hand passes.  If anyone caring for an orphan girl or boy treats the orphan well, that person and I will be like this in Paradise,” and then the Prophet held up two fingers tightly together.

Maybe your family will consider sponsoring an orphan.  It’s the most fun a family can have without having to wear safety equipment!