The following was sent to us from a local masjid in Texas, where Rodwaan Saleh tells us a heartwarming story of one donor’s generosity.
Rodwaan writes:
McAllen, Texas —a stone’s throw away from the border of Mexico in the Texas Valley, there is a small family masjid, the Alfarouq Islamic center, where I was a guest speaker to a group of taraweeh worshipers.
Dr. Farouqi, from the family that the Islamic Center is named for, ushered me in front of his invited guests – a rainbow of physicians that specialize in a slew of practices from hair restoration to other practices that I could not spell to save my life.
I spoke for three minutes, reciting the East Africa crisis statistics provided to me by Islamic Relief USA, and I also played Islamic Relief USA’s East Africa crisis video from my laptop on one of the walls in the masjid. The sisters huddled in with anticipation and there was a rare, pin-drop silence.
The video barely ended and Dr. Malek, an Egyptian doctor who moved to the Valley two weeks prior, announced his intention to be the first one to donate $8,000 towards the East Africa crisis.
Dr. Malek told us he had been saving this $8,000 to take his wife on a hajj trip this year, to Mecca and back. Instead, he wished that Allah reward him for helping this cause, and for sacrificing his hajj for sadaqah!
Such altruism towards a group of people in a distant land he has never been to, nor will he likely visit in his lifetime, was a pleasant surprise and I felt waves of happiness knowing that someone could be so generous. What touched Dr. Malek’s heart that he would give such a generous gift? Suffice it to say, I was touched by Dr. Malek’s gesture. It was an early Eid gift for me and I wanted to share this beautiful experience with my beloved Islamic Relief USA colleagues.
I am inspired by Dr. Malek, and I hope and pray that Allah (swt) will also give me the same compassion to help my fellow human beings.
Eid mubarak!
If you have a story you’d like to send to us about how you or someone in your community has helped Islamic Relief’s humanitarian efforts around the world, write us.
To find more about out how you can help, visit us at irusa.org.
