Floods, Umera & Hajj

Mr. Zahid Maqbool president Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the intending Umera performers to instead donate the money to the flood relief funds. I endorse his views strongly. The funds thus diverted would help a great deal in alleviating the sufferings of the millions of flood victims which is the direst need of the hour in Pakistan.

I would go a step further and request the intending Hajees this year to transform their ordinary Hajj into Hajj e Akbar by donating the money to rehabilitate the flood victims who have lost their all belongings including homes and hearths. The number of Hajees this year would be around one lac. Each Hajee is likely to spend an average of Rs. 4 lacs. That makes a total of Rs. 40,000,000,000. A staggering 40 billion rupees, that could go a long long way in helping the countrymen in distress. Would Allah (SWT) not be pleased by such a noble gesture of self sacrifice and reward the donors with rewards still higher than Hajj?

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)