Prologue: And  the robbers struck!

After the publication of the first part of this article on  the 24^th of  January I  was gathering  the materials for the  second and  concluding  part which I  intended  to  publish exactly one week after. However, and  unfortunately as  it  is  often said “man  proposes  God  disposes” I got  the  rudest  shock of  my  life  on the  28^th. I was  sleeping  soundly in  my  house  when  at  about  3am I  heard unusual noises  and  commotion  in  my  compound. I  suddenly jerked to  life  and  opened  my  window. There  stood  a  member of  a  5-man gang  who  barked  orders at me “we  are armed  robbers, open your door  or  else …”

I froze.  And  before  I  knew  what  was  happening  three of them forcefully  gained  access into  my  room  brandishing dangerous weapons and torchlight.  One was detailed to beat me with an object which  I  do  not  know  and  the  others were  busy  ransacking  my  threadbare  room. My plea  to them that  they  should  leave  me  alone as  I  am  a struggling  Nigerian  with  little  or  no  wealth  meant  nothing  to  them. Instead the  guy  continued  to beat  and  threaten me and eventually hit  me  on the head.  Blood gushed  out  instantly and  before  I  knew  what  was  happening,  they  left  with  some  of  my possessions  including  my  purse which  contained  my  atm, id card  and other  items.

I was dumbfounded.  It  never  occurred  to  me  prior  to  this  incident that  I  could  be  the  target of  physical  assault  of  this  magnitude. What  do  I  have?  I  have  always stood for  accountability and  honesty in  all  my  dealings with  people  and  institutions. I  have  always  guarded  my  integrity  and  steered clear  of  “deals”. I have  always been  fair  and  concerned  about  the  welfare of  the down  trodden. After they  had departed a nurse in  the  neighbourhood assisted  with  first  aid and  by  9am I  was  already in  the hospital  where  the  gash on  my  head  was  stitched and  bandaged. The bandage was  removed  on the  31^st but  up  till  now  I  do not enjoy my  night  sleep  anymore;  I  have  suddenly  become a  symbol  for  defining  the  word trauma. My  mind  keeps  wandering  and  I  keep  asking  myself:  who  did I  offend?

Charity and Alms  Giving

One other way  by  which  one  can  examine  this  topic with  a  view  to  properly  understanding what  is  being  discussed is  to  consider charity. According to  the  English  dictionary, charity is an attitude of kindness and understanding towards others.

It therefore  presupposes  that  charity is  a  relationship  between a  giver  and  a  receiver (who  may  not  necessarily  be  a  beggar).  Some  countries with  “beggar-my-neighbour”  policies also  receive  charities  in  one  form  or  the  other from  donor  agencies.

The concept  of  charity  and its  attendant  benefits  to  the  giver and society also provides  a  perfect  explanation to  the  perceived  conflicting  interpretations of the position of  Islam  on  begging.

Charity  is  universally accepted  as  good  and  no  one  will  contest its  desirability.

So  as  the Yorubas  will  say “ti a ba  tori isu  je epo,  a tori  epo je  isu”  (the love we  have for yam  inextricably leads to the consumption of  palm oil)

Charity ,  in  a  way  resolves  the  riddle and  brings out  very  vividly  the  lie  in  the  argument that  beggars  should  be  treated  with  scorn or  disrespect.

I  wish to  state  very  clearly  at  this  stage  that  this  issue  can  best  be examined  by  recourse  to  religion and  the social  science referred to as  sociology.

On  charity The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

`If any Muslim clothes a Muslim when he is naked (in this world), Allah will clothe him with green garments of Paradise in the Hereafter;

if any Muslim feeds a Muslim when he is hungry (in this world), Allah will feed him with some of the fruits of Paradise in the Hereafter;

and if any Muslim gives a Muslim drink when he is thirsty (in this world), Allah will give him some of the pure wine which is sealed to drink in the Hereafter.`

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 167 8  Narrated by Abu Sa`id al-Khudri

Abu Hurayrah (Radhi Allahu Anhu) narrated the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)  also said,

“A man said, "Tonight, I shall give charity.'' He went out with his charity and (unknowingly) gave it to an adulteress. The next morning the people said that alms were given to an adulteress. The man said, "O Allah! All the praises are for You. (I gave my alms) to an adulteress. Tonight, I shall give alms again.'' He went out with his charity and (unknowingly) gave it to a rich person. The next morning (the people) said, "Last night, a wealthy person was given alms.'' He said, "O Allah! All the praises are for You. (I gave alms) to a wealthy man. Tonight, I shall again give charity.'' So he went out with his charity and (unknowingly) gave it to a thief. The next morning (the people) said, "Last night, a thief was given alms.'' He said, "O Allah! All the praises are for You. (I have given alms) to an adulteress, a wealthy man and a thief.'' Then, someone came to him and said, "The alms that you gave away were accepted. As for the adulteress, the alms might make her abstain from adultery. As for the wealthy man, it might make him take a lesson and spend his wealth that Allah has given him. As for the thief, it might make him abstain from stealing.''”( Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

The  hadiths  quoted  above  certainly  encourage  the  giving of  alms  and  stipulate  the  rewards  for  one  who  gives  alms.

The Triumph

The  greatest  inspiration  for  writing  this  article  came  from  my  a passage  in  the  Quran  which reads  thus : What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships,- belongs to Allah,- to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; in order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from what he prohibits you. And fear Allah: for Allah is strict in Punishment. (Chapter 59 verse7)

I have discovered that   the  underlined  words  were repeated  in  several  verses and  chapters   of  the  Quran.  This discovery filled  me  with awe and     I  began  to  wonder  if  indeed God loves  the  beggar more than the  rest  of  us.

The  Quran  is very  clear  on  the issue  of  the  status  of  men.  All men  are not  equal in  ranks,  position,  dispositions, wealth, the  acquisition of knowledge,  etc.

This  in  conjunction  with  the  vicisitudes of life (often reinforced in our own case by our  recklessness, wickedness, heartlessness  avarice and greed) which make  some  to  be  weak  while  others are  strong  and  vice-versa are  stark  realities  and so  the  holy  books  provide  very  clear guidelines  on  how  we  should  treat  the  weak,  the poor, the  wayfarer,  the  orphan  etc.  These  titles  are  not  meant  for  just  one  set  of  people  as  anyone within  a  life cycle  can  bear one or   several of  these  titles  at  one  period or  the  other.

The  elevation  of  the  status  of  the  indigent  and  the  special  love  that  God  has  for  them  can  be  seen  in  chapters  2  and  107 of  the  glorious Quran.

Of  particular  interest  is  Chapter 107 verses  1-7  which  reads:

1 Seest thou one who denies the Judgment (to come)?

2 Then such is the (one) who repulses the orphan,

3 And encourages not the feeding of the indigent.

4 So woe to the worshippers

5 Who are neglectful of their prayers,

6 Those who (want but) to be seen,

7 But refuse (to supply) (even) neighborly needs.

Chapter 2  verse 177 :  It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and give Zakat (regular charity); to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God fearing.

In  these  two  chapters of  the  Quran  lie  the  triumph of  the  beggar  in  the  sense  that  until  those  in  authority,  those  who  are blessed with  wealth and  those  who  stole  from  the  commonwealth  realize that  it  is  in their  own  interest  to  take  proper  care  of  the  weak,  the  beggar,  the  wayfarer,  the  indigent,  all  their  acts of  worship  are  in  vain.  They  are  not  better  than  unbelievers  and  their  ill gotten  wealth  will not  be  anything  other  than  torment  and  trial  for  them both  in this  world  and  in the  hereafter.

And  until  we  put  in  place  social  structures to  take  care  of  the  needy and  the  weak  in our  society,  the  population of  beggars  will  continue  to increase.  Instead of  chasing  them  off  the  streets  and  treating  them  with  scorn  they  should  continue  to  serve  as  reminders  of  our  wickedness,  greed, failures  etc.  Their  eyes,  unkempt  appearance  and unceasing cries are a  constant  reminder of  who  we  are  as  opposed  to  who  we  think  we  are.  In other  words  they  mirror  our  realities  which  we  often times  want to  run  away  from.

It is  time  we  moved  away  from these pseudo  “poverty eradication” programmes which do  not  emphasise  production  but  consumption and  the  enrichment  of  the  managers of  such  programmes.

Closely  related  to this  is  the  story  of  Lazarus  in the  bible  which  goes  thus:

In the Gospel of Luke 16:19–31, Lazarus is a beggar who lay outside the gate of a rich man, whom later tradition has given the name Dives, who dressed in fine clothing and dined sumptuously every day, but gave nothing to Lazarus. Both men died, and the beggar received his reward in the Hereafter, in Abraham's bosom at the everlasting banquet, while the rich man craved a drop of water from Lazarus' finger to cool his tongue as he was tormented in the fires of Hell. Lazarus is the only person in a New Testament parable given a name; the rich man of the parable has been named Dives by tradition, although the name does not appear in Luke.

For the last century, "Catholic exegetes now commonly accept the story as a parable... The purpose of the parable is to teach the evil result of the neglect of others. Lazarus was rewarded, not because he was poor, but for his virtuous acceptance of poverty; the rich man was punished, not because he was rich, but for vicious neglect of the opportunities given him by his wealth."[3]

A Fundamentalist Protestant belief is that the passage is not a parable at all, but a factual report, as it is the only story told by Jesus where there is no mention of it being a parable.[4] Another reason they believe that it is a true account is the fact the beggar's name is given (Lazarus), something not done in any of Jesus' parables. The meaning of this story is twofold; first, as noted above, the rewards according to the state of repentance of a man's life[5], but also the concept that if one will not listen to the Bible or those preaching it[6], that they would not listen, even if someone was raised from the dead. This passage is key to the doctrine of the power of Scripture to save.[7] (wikipedia)

In the  case of  those who  would  rather  consider  the  foregoing  scriptural  references  as  trash and  unbelievable,  let  us  go  a  bit  philosophical  by  taking  a  look  at  Death the Leveller written  by  James Shirley

Some men with swords may reap the field,

And plant fresh laurels where they kill:

But their strong nerves at last must yield;

They tame but one another still:

Early or late

They stoop to fate,

And must give up their murmuring breath

When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,

Then boast no more your mighty deeds!

Upon Death's purple altar now

See where the victor-victim bleeds.

Your heads must come

To the cold tomb:

Only the actions of the just

Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

-    James Shirley  1596–1666

Conclusion 

Perhaps  it  is  difficult  to  conclude  on  an  issue  such as  this  but  I  sincerely  hope  that  I  have  been  able  to convince you  that  though  Islam  does  not  implicitly  support  begging  it  supports  very  strongly the  acts of  charity  emphasising the  need for  the  strong  to  support the  weak  and  especially “ibn sebil” (the needy, those who ask)

I also  hope  that  I have  succeeded in  bringing  to  the  fore  the  social inequalities in  our  country  and the  consequent  increase  in  the  number of  beggars.

We  have  no  choice  but  to  strive  to be our  “brother’s keepers).

My  message to  all and sundry is  “reach  out  and  touch  somebody’s  hand,  make  this  world  a  better place  if  you  can”  (Diana  Ross)

Thanks for  having  read  this  article and  I  thank  God  that  I  am  still  alive to  celebrate  another birthday inspite of  the threat to my life.

Taslim  Anibaba (FCA)                    20^th February,  2008

Robot  Villager

# 1 The concept of charity and its attendant benefits to the giver and society also provides a ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.02.2008 11:10

Uche Nworah  Villager

# 2 Taslim my brother Sorry for went you went through. I have been there and know quite well what you are talking about. I thank God for sparing your life. Take care and God bless you. Posted by Uche Nworah| 19.02.2008 12:10

crimsonbabe  Villager

# 3 Taslim Thanks to God for sparing your life. Whatever possessions that the armed robbers got away with, I know you will be able to replace.. Be strong CB Posted by crimsonbabe| 19.02.2008 16:15

dele26  Villager

# 4 Taslim, pele Posted by dele26| 19.02.2008 16:24

yashuaib1  Villager

# 5 I intend to read the lat episode of your well-researched piece on the above only to be confronted with the sad news of the attack on you. We thank God for sparing your life to be able to narrate the gory encouter with the underworld. Not many are lucky in giving detailed account on such incidence. I also apprecite your above piece on beggars as you conspicuously quoted from the holy-scriptures. Congrta once again. YAShuaib Posted by yashuaib1| 19.02.2008 17:35

denker  Villager

# 6 Taslim Anibaba, my dear: ..foremost, without hesitation of mind on my part, pls, accept my sincere wholehearty-felt sympathy for the tribulation you suffered at the hands of usual-occuring-malaise of armed banditry in nigeria...dat's why i do not visit nigeria, anymore! moving on..... My mind keeps wandering and I keep asking myself: who did I offend? ...of course nobody, but against the truth, nature, rationality and logic. think about - ignorable glorification of pro-pedophile activism....discuss it here===>>> On charity The Prophet.....mohammed, (emphasis mine!) ...have just opened a new thread...i stay in anticipation dat you'll agree to argue to disgree or agree with me, there! pls,..take dis Link====>>>> Posted by denker| 20.02.2008 07:39

Sapele Man  Villager

# 7 =denker;4294990204>Taslim Anibaba, my dear: ..foremost, without hesitation of mind on my part, pls, accept my sincere wholehearty-felt sympathy for the tribulation you suffered at the hands of usual-occuring-malaise of armed banditry in nigeria...dat's why i do not visit nigeria, anymore! moving on..... denker ....moving on why you don't visit Nigeria anymore? Rubbish!! I wouldn't want to speculate on whether you can afford the travel ticket to Nigeria. But NVS might be able to raise funds for you!! Posted by Sapele Man| 20.02.2008 08:17

tanibaba  Villager

# 8 @Uche, dele26,crimsonbabe,yashuaib1 I want to thank you all for your kind words and show of sympathy. I appreciate it.\\ @yashuaib1: i am looking forward to your comments on the article please. thanks @denker It is pointless, indeed a waste of time to argue with you whether Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) is a prophet of God or whether he represents what you have described. It is not for me to defend Prophet Muhammed (I am too insignificant to do that) or to convince you to accept my views about him ( la iqra fii deen - no compulsion in religion.\ There is a publication which rated Muhammed (SAWS) as the greatest human being that ever lived. Perhaps you want to read that. Then read the Quran to know more about the prophet. After read the hadeeths (his sayings and reported actions). It is only then that you can be in a position to discuss him.\\Once again thank you for your kind words and the invitation. taslim Posted by tanibaba| 20.02.2008 08:23

denker  Villager

# 9 =Sapele Man;4294990213>denker ....moving on why you don't visit Nigeria anymore? Rubbish!! I wouldn't want to speculate on whether you can afford the travel ticket to Nigeria. But NVS might be able to raise funds for you!! ..hi, my dear, even your millions of dollars wouldn't make me to visit naija...i spend alot of time in ghana and namibia...dat,s ok with me...merci!:D:cool: Posted by denker| 20.02.2008 08:27

Hakeem Babalola  JJC

# 10 Anyone who survived armed robbery attack is a hero to me, and please don't ask me why because I'd never tell you why. Taslim, I'm glad you survived. Like I said when it happened to Uche some time ago in Abuja, one experience of armed robbery attack is more than enough in one's lifetime. Taslim, it shall never happen to you again, Amin...You too have gbekude Regrds Posted by Hakeem Babalola| 20.02.2008 10:57

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