Orphan Sponsorship

By Bint Ali

Bismillah

This article is an encouragement to sponsor an orphan, with some practical tips to help one save money towards a sponsorship, and links to reputed websites that support Muslim orphans.

Starting An Orphan Sponsorship

Before a person moves to a new house, among the many things they check for are the neighbors. In this temporary life of ours, we may come across differing neighbors. Some individuals will help us, look out for our house when we are away, and even befriend us. Others will make us want to move away, pronto!

Consider that even though this life is temporary, and no residence here is permanent, we place value on living among good neighbors. What of the Hereafter, our final abode? Have we considered the neighborhood we would like to live in there? After all, that is the real life, if only we knew.

But you prefer the worldly life,
While the Hereafter is better and more enduring.

(Quran 87: 16-17 Sahih International)

Through the mercy of Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala, we can end up in the wonderful "neighborhood" of Jannah. But what about when we get there - who will we be with? Every Muslim would like to think that they will live near RasulAllah sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam. Wishful thinking right? How righteous do we think we are, to deserve to be near him in Jannah (that is if we make it there in the first place?)

I have got great news for you. You DO have the opportunity to live near RasulAllah sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salaam. It will take some sacrifice and dedication though, but the rewards are priceless. You can sponsor an orphan!

The Messenger of Allah, sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam said:

"I and the person who looks after an orphan will be in Paradise together like this..." - then he raised his forefinger and middle finger together.
(Hadith Bukhari)

In Islam, a child below the age of puberty is considered an orphan, if their father passes away. In most societies, the father is the breadwinner of the family. Without a regular source of income, the family will suffer. What this means is that when a father dies, often the source of income the family was living off of is gone too. Picture the situation: the father has died, and the family is grieved. Not only have they lost the beloved man of the house, they are also left to fend for themselves. In many cases, this means the mother has to leave her children and do menial tasks for the most minimum of wages or, God forbid, do the unspeakable in order to feed her children. In some cases, the loss of a father means the child is out working in order to support their family, instead of being at school gaining an education.

At the risk of sounding like an ad from television, let me say that you can make a difference in the lives of these vulnerable children! Not only will you be helping out an orphan and their family, you also gain VIP access to the neighborhood of RasulAllah sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, inshaa'Allah.

Sponsorships are usually done through an AID organization. These organizations have many orphans documented in their system. When the orphans are sponsored, they or their guardian are usually called in to the organization’s office, in their country of residence, to collect their monthly sponsorship (usually between $40-$60 USD). Some organizations have a direct debit system (whereby they automatically take the money from your bank account), which is convenient if you have a bad memory!

But I cannot really afford it?

Many of us are students, working minimum-wage jobs, or just generally having a hard time with finances. If you can commit even $2 day (less than a cup of coffee), you can still sponsor an orphan, and hopefully see the barakah come flowing in to your money.

Some practical tips you can implement to save the money -

- Aim to take lunch to work/school as often as you can, and save the money to contribute to your sponsorship.

- Make your own coffee at home!

- Save a portion of your wages and intend that it is solely for your orphan sponsorship.

- Abandon sins and make plenty of istighfaar, as seeking forgiveness assists with increasing the barakah in your money.

Some words of encouragement from orphan sponsors:

“I've been sponsoring a little Palestinian boy for around two years now. I tell my children he is their 'other brother' and encourage them to send him some of their pocket money. It teaches them to care for the less fortunate in the Ummah. I feel helpless enough as it is when it comes to the tragic state of the Ummah. I have to do something. Sponsoring an orphan is at least something I can do for my own aakhirah, so I'm not so helpless when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala asks me what I did for the weak and needy.” - Um Zain, Australia.

"Alhamdulilah I've been sponsoring a Somali girl for over three years now. I started the sponsorship when I was going through some hard times, Alhamdulilah. The orphan I sponsor is memorizing the Quran, and I hope she becomes a Hafizah soon, inshaAllah. My hope is that she will be a witness for me on Judgement Day, as someone who did something, even though what I'll give is not nearly enough. I feel honored to be supporting a student of the Quran.” - Nuh, Melbourne.

"I visited the refugee camps in Kenya and I can honestly say, when the orphans find out that someone half way across the globe wants to help them out, a look of utter glee comes across their faces - its like they are shocked that somebody really does care.” - Sister Rose, SODA.

.....

You do not have to take their word for IT. Find out for yourself what a difference you can make, not only for an orphan but for yourself. If the thought of a hungry child haunts you - do something about it.

They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, "Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler. And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it."
(Sahih International, Quran 2:215)


Websites that offer Orphan Sponsorship:

World Orphan Trust:
http://wot.org.au/

Muslims Hands:
http://muslimhands.org.uk/our-work/orphans/

Islamic Relief
http://www.irusa.org/campaigns/orphans/



I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  Please post in the comments section below :)

Posted in: Bint Ali,Charity,orphan,sponsor,zakat