Eid, the biggest religious festival of the Muslim community, is a rare occasion of the year during which the haves and haves-not interact .Eid means endless joy and happiness. It is for all ages, particularly for children who long for this event since the beginning of Ramzan. It comes to us with unlimited entertainment. But what about the majority of the people who live hand to mouth? Most of them cannot get sufficient food, let alone new clothes and other things that make Eid special. Moreover, most of the rich distribute ‘zakat clothing’ (low quality outfits) to the poor which is rather ludicrous and against the spirit of the holy occasion. Most rich people in our country do not know or do not want to know the proper distribution of the zakat system. Poverty can be reduced a thousand times more effectively by means of zakat only.
We must keep in mind that zakat and fitrana, which is provided on the occasion of Eid, are the rights of the poor. The purpose of Eid is to share everything with others. For this reason, it is the religious and holy duty of every Muslim to pay zakat in an Islamic way to please Allah. We should save at least a minimum portion of our Eid budget for the deprived and poor children so that they can enjoy the colour of Eid as much as our children. Thereby, the real spirit and objective of the Eid can be attained.
ANAM HAYAT
Islamabad