Hyderabad: (O Prophet!) Tell those of My servants who believe that they should establish Prayer and spend out of what We have provided them with, both secretly and openly, before there arrives the Day when there will be no bargaining, nor any mutual befriending. (14:31)
Give to the near of kin his due, and also to the needy and the wayfarers. Do not squander your wealth wastefully; for those who squander wastefully are Satan’s brothers, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord. (17:26 – 27).
Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? He it is who drives away the orphan and does not urge giving away the food of the poor. (107:1 – 3)
The above are just few of the lines taken from the Holy Quran where God Almighty urges man to take care of fellow human beings, feed the needy, provide for the poor and do not be miserly nor go over-board in spending to look after the needy for the sake of earning the pleasure of Allah Taala and for lessening the suffering of fellow human beings.
Lockdown to contain spread of COVID-19
Since the lockdown began to contain the spread of Covid-19 in our country in the month of March 2020, that fateful night only a few hours’ notice was given to the public for gathering food and essential commodities to last them throughout the lockdown. Those who had the means and resources were able to buy and stock food items to meet with their requirement and to have some more in store to last for a longer period. The worst hit were the daily wage earners, the low-income group people, the sick and the poor, the widows and the orphans. Suddenly they were staring at poverty as due to the necessary harsh lockdown measures, people were rendered jobless and penniless. From the next day onwards, there was no food in millions of homes for the family; children, adults and the old were going hungry without any way of getting supplies nor hope of going out to knock at a door seeking succor for the needy. There was simply no way of letting others know of their need and neither was there any hope of anyone reaching out to them with much needed food for the hungry.
Under such dire circumstances, a kind hearted kindred soul awakened to the need of the hour; he visualized the pain of the poor and realized that unless something is done urgently, hundreds of people in the neighbourhood will go hungry for the day without food and water.
Food, water distributed among daily wagers
This kind-hearted soul is Mr. Taqiuddin Shajee, a builder and businessman of the city who was the first person to initiate urgent steps in putting together his team of workers, and spending out of his pocket, he arranged for the cooking of vegetarian curries and rice, packing the same and distributing it, without discrimination of caste and creed, to those attending to the sick at hospitals, daily wage earners, widows and orphans silently suffering in the alleys of various localities of the city. People were extremely grateful to receive cooked food for the day, when they had lost all hope of finding any means to satisfy hunger. This task is being carried out by Team Shajee from the day one of the Lockdown, disregarding threat to their own health and well-being under this life-endangering Covid-19 Pandemic Those who know Mr. Taqiuddin Shajee are aware of his services in providing help to the needy under dire situations since long.
With the duration of the lock down getting extended after every stage, the suffering of the needy and the poor is getting compounded. Other kind souls got word that some good work for the poor is being carried out by Team Shajee, and they realized that it was impossible for a person to carry out this onerous task single-handedly, so they too came forward with generous contributions in this feeding the poor campaign. Their funding enabled Team Shajee to increase production of food packets and reach out to more poverty-stricken areas where the needy were hardly able to eat even once a day.
Front-line warriors
The team distributed food in many areas, hospitals including Osmania Hospital, Govt. Maternity Hospital.
During the entire lockdown, the team were involved in helping poor in battling two enemies, coronavirus and hunger.
These are the front-line warriors who, without seeking any worldly gain or publicity, are setting an example of selfless service for the immediate need of satisfying hunger of the masses. The days of 1908 Hyderabad Floods are long gone by, but the tale of magnanimity, kindness and humanity of the ruling class in mitigating the suffering of the masses is written in golden words in the annals of history. Continuing in the same vein and tradition, much work for the poor is being carried out by several good Samaritans of the city of Hyderabad. Other charitable organizations of the city like the Siasat Millat Fund, the Faiz e Aam Trust and trust managed by the Babu Khans are all doing yeoman service during this lockdown period in their own way to mitigate the suffering of the poor and provide succor to the needy. These are the unsung front line warriors who, without any vested interests, are continuing to provide for the poor and earn the pleasure of the Almighty by satisfying the hunger of His Creatures.
