help in softening the heart -

[IbnAbdulHakim]

assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

for ages i have felt hard hearted, and the only thing i know which can greatly help is:

When a man complained to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) of having a hard heart, the Prophet said: "Stroke orphans' heads and feed the poor."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1295

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A man once came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu`alaihiwasallam, and complained that he feels hardness in his heart. The Messenger of Allah said, what translated means, "Would you like that your heart becomes soft and that you acquire what you need? Be merciful with the orphan, pat his head and feed him from what you eat. This will soften your heart, and enable you to get what you need."
[At-Tabaraanee & As-Silsilah as-Saheehah]

but im asking where can one find orphans and physically go to distribute food amongst the poor here in london?


all input will be greatly appreciated

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

jazakallahu khair. but why dont you go travelling. go to it, instead of it coming to you.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ job responsibilities...

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

dont they give you leave.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ used em up already, got only a few days left... btw i thot that hadith meant u hav to do it regularly, not just once a year kinda thing....

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

yes, thats a good point. do you have a local muslim organization you could get in contact with. :hmm: maybe they will gve you directios. do you know anyone who knows anyone who is an orphan??

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ another good suggestion, i was somehow expecting information of a place filled with poor or orphaned children. lol.


i'll see what information i can find from my masjid

 

[Malaikah]

You can sponsor orphans through Muslim organisations, um well they sometimes send you pics of the kid... that is about all. No patting, sorry.

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

ermm..in a western country. an orphanage full of muslims. :hmm:

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

You can sponsor orphans through Muslim organisations, um well they sometimes send you pics of the kid... that is about all. No patting, sorry.

this doesnt help ukhtee... we need to physically be close to the mentioned poor and orphaned.

i asked around to see if anyone knows any orphanages, no one seems to know any in london...

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

ermm..in a western country. an orphanage full of muslims. :hmm:

it doesnt have to be full of muslims, an orphan be he christian/hindi etc wouldnt bother me, their all innocent until rejection of islam.... orphans are normally young, so by visiting them maybe we can be a means of their guidance towards islam..

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

dont just look in london brother. try going to the nearest town or something.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ another good suggestion.


jizakAllah khair, it would make it a far harder commitment to meet, but worth the try inshaAllah

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

it doesnt have to be full of muslims, an orphan be he christian/hindi etc wouldnt bother me, their all innocent until rejection of islam.... orphans are normally young, so by visiting them maybe we can be a means of their guidance towards islam..

im not sure of the ruling of this. (if there is one). but i'd prefer a muslim (thats not to say that the child of a non-muslim is a kaafir). i dont see why i should worry too much about the kuffaars children, when so many of the children of the muslims are being neglected. once that is sorted out, than maybe i'll look twice to the child of the kaafir. thats just my opinion, and it probably sounds a little harsh. but dont look at it that way. just trying to care for the muslims first.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ i see your point but if we cant find muslim children then inshaAllah the kaafir orphans and poor will help soften our hearts.

lol sounds a bit selfish :X

 

[Camomilla]

thanx for the share, Jazakallah Khair!

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

brother, do you have any relatives that are orphans??

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

no... not that i know of..

i heard that a yateem (orphan) is an orphan as long as there is no father according to either the arab culture or islam??. Is this true?

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

i dont know brother. i tried researching, but was unsuccessful.

 

[Medina83]

Don't we say that every baby is a muslim at birth, just diverted by parents/society etc to other religions or atheism? Therefore, if an orphan was once a muslim and has been led astray unknowingly, I wouldn't regard them as 'children of kaafir' until they make their own choice at a later stage.

by the way if you are looking to feed the poor and you want to do it physically yourself as opposed to just sending money abroad or whatever, and if there turns out to be no muslim organisation in your area you can work with, then I would encourage you to just take a walk some evening down a street in london or your town and if you see a homeless person or a begging person stop and ask them if you can get them something hot to eat.

In my experience it's appreciated by any human soul as most of them are sitting in the cold for hours.