Do not help homeless people

[M.I.A.]

to even call such an existence "living" is a misnomer - don't share opinions that are likely to change, you stil have years to grow in sha Allah.

Better to read and acquire the knowledge than to "opine" bro.

Scimi

I would agree, some sort of purgatory? with no assurance of anything better..

is not an accurate definition of purgatory.

but you might as well know how it felt like.. in case I ever find something better.

at the moment it's just little pieces of my soul and humanity that they try and slip away.

with little in return..

what happens if I don't play along? is it entirely unreasonable?

maybe one day I will break this place..

and the 4th wall along with it.

more likely the doors close and some peace is finally achieved

 

[Serinity]

I'd love to give in Charity, so that I may have this trial off my back. Have Allah love me, show me the gems. In the face of Injustice, the best way to do dawah is by action and example.

we should never underestimate a word we say.

Allahu alam.

 

[M.I.A.]

I'd love to give in Charity, so that I may have this trial off my back. Have Allah love me, show me the gems. In the face of Injustice, the best way to do dawah is by action and example.

we should never underestimate a word we say.

Allahu alam.

and give zakat so that your belongings are not a burden upon you..

loosely paraphrased.

 

[ardianto]

In my place, beggars usually are not homeless, while homeless usually are not beggars. Those homeless do not beg, although if someone give them money or food they will receive it with grateful. They feed themselves by collecting bottle, plastic, and cartoon box to be sold to the recycle goods terminal.

Here, a photo that taken in Garut, West Java. A homeless man performed salah outside Garut city mosque.

He did not enter the mosque because his clothes was too dirty. But his condition did not prevent him to always close with Allah, to be grateful for what Allah has given to him.

Now lets we ask ourselves. We have home, we have good clean clothes, we have enough foods. But how often we grateful for what Allah has given to us?.

 

[Scimitar]

humbling

 

[M.I.A.]

...I could pray next to him.

although everybody wants something.

...the world is all take and no give.


subhanAllah

we all have to write our tomorrow's on something.. or somebody.


a house is not a home.

 

[Reminder]

:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

(Peace be upon you)

We should all give to homeless people whenever we can and not be concerned about whether they are "deserving" or not. And the reason is based in Islam itself as per the words of Prophet :saws: (peace and blessings be upon him) as he'd said the following:

“A man (from amongst the people before you) said: ‘Indeed! I will give in charity.’

So he took his charity out and (unknowingly) placed it in the hand of a thief.

In the morning people talked (about this incident) and said: ‘Charity was given to a thief last night.’

The man said: ‘O God! Praise be to You. I have given charity to a thief. Indeed, I will give in charity!’

So he took his charity out and he placed it (unknowingly) in a prostitute's hand.

In the morning people talked (about this incident) and said: ‘Charity was given to a prostitute last night.’

On hearing this, the man said: ‘Praise be to You, O God! I gave charity to a prostitute. Indeed, I will give in charity!’

So he took his charity out and placed it in a rich man's hand.

In the morning people talked (about this incident) and said: ‘Charity was given to a rich man last night.’

The man said: ‘O God! Praise be to You (for helping me) give charity to a thief, a prostitute and a rich man.’

Then he had a dream in which he was told that his charity to the thief might result in his refraining from his theft, his charity to the prostitute might help her abstain from her immorality, and his charity to the rich man might help remind him and [motivate him to] spend from what God had bestowed upon him.” (Sahih Bukhari.)

What we learn from this hadith (prophetic tradition) is that if the intention of the person giving something in charity is good, it will be accepted and rewarded by Allah (God) Subhana wa Ta’ala (Glorified and Exalted is God) even though it may have been given to ostensibly an “undeserving” person. This shows God’s generosity towards us and His love for us. Though one can expend thought into having one’s charity reach deserving, pious people, one shouldn't worry about where the charity is ultimately going as all charity is actually given to be God to be taken care of as a matter of God and we should treat the matter as such.

:wa: (And peace be upon you)

However, is there such benefit in knowingly giving to thieves, prostitutes, rich people, etc.?

There is a whole INDUSTRY of fake homeless people. I am not just making this up. Do a simple Google Search.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSewCBL4_GQ

Anyway, it is scientifically proven that over 80% of money given to real homeless people is spent on alcohol and drugs.

The hadith above isn't wrong, just your interpretation.

I know this in my heart, but if you can't see it that's fine. It is your loss, not mine.

 

[Huzaifah ibn Adam]

Why not give to both? The poor people who ask from you as well as donating to reliable charity organisations.

Giving to poor people yourself - especially in the form of actually going to where they live and bringing them some money, groceries, etc - has an additional benefit: it softens the heart (you, as the giver); it is a humbling experience; it makes you more appreciative of what you have, and the people you are giving to (if they are Muslims) will make Du`aa for you as well. This benefit is not found in simply donating to charity organisations. For this reason, I would advise that people do both.

 

[Search]

:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

(Peace be upon you)

Brother Hufaizah, Subhanallah (All Praise is to Allah), thank you for all your awesome posts in this thread, especially the first one! Masha-Allah (as God willed) so beneficial and a great reminder. Barkallahu feek (may Allah bless you).

[...]

:wa: (And peace be upon you)

 

[Search]

:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

(Peace be upon you)

Well, I like to hide my good deeds just as another person in this dunya (world) likes to hide his/her bad deeds. When I do something, if I'm doing it sincerely for Allah, I don't even let my shadow to know what I'm doing.

So, that would not be possible.

That said, you should donate wherever you feel comfortable about donating; however, that said, I do second brother Hufaizah's wonderful posts in this thread; he's given great and beneficial reminders to all of us. The spirit in Islam is always to give, not to check anyone's intentions or background.

Next time you give to someone on the street, message me here.

I will donate an equal amount to Palestine: http://www.islamicboard.com/general...ons-matched-august-islamic-relief-canada.html

We will see which one Allah (SWT) appreciates more on Judgement Day.

:wa: (And peace be upon you)

 

[Reminder]

Why not give to both? The poor people who ask from you as well as donating to reliable charity organisations.

Giving to poor people yourself - especially in the form of actually going to where they live and bringing them some money, groceries, etc - has an additional benefit: it softens the heart (you, as the giver); it is a humbling experience; it makes you more appreciative of what you have, and the people you are giving to (if they are Muslims) will make Du`aa for you as well. This benefit is not found in simply donating to charity organisations. For this reason, I would advise that people do both.

It is scientifically proven that over 80% of money given to homeless on the street is used to buy alcohol and drugs. The rest of them are fake and probably have more money than you. Now you have been warned. If that is where you want your money to go, so be it.

 

[M.I.A.]

ok quick question...

we're historic homeless people of better character or less inclined to be alcoholics/drug abusers?

 

[Reminder]

ok quick question...

we're historic homeless people of better character or less inclined to be alcoholics/drug abusers?

You would think back in the day there would be less alchol produced in Islamic regions therefore the homeless would most liley have just been poor.

As for these days, it has been proven through research that most money given the the homeless (real ones) goes to alcohol and drugs. A simple Google Search will clarify this for you. Don't take my word for it.

This is why I created this thread. I strongly urge you to find reputable charities and donate to them instead of handing your hard earned dollars to someone when it will most likely go towards haram stuff. If you want to help, buy them an unopened snack. If you buy food they will often reject it.

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you Reminder;

As for these days, it has been proven through research that most money given the the homeless (real ones) goes to alcohol and drugs. A simple Google Search will clarify this for you. Don't take my word for it.

The trouble with Google is, it cannot tell you about the circumstances of the next homeless person you meet. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be evicted from my home. When people have been homeless for a while, they become depressed and they suffer, without an address it is difficult to walk into a doctors and get treatment in the UK. Sadly, they can turn to smoking, drinking or drugs, to get them through the day.

Many of the homeless people I meet smoke, and as much as I am against smoking, I have brought them tobacco. I smoked for a number of years, I remember how difficult it was to stop, I have no right to lecture them on the dangers of smoking.

The question is, if I were in their shoes, how would I like to be treated?

We can pray for them, but it is not enough just to pray and put the problem in God's hands, it would be good to do something practical too and pray that our efforts will bring blessings.

In the spirit of praying for justice and compassion.

Eric

 

[Reminder]

Greetings and peace be with you Reminder;



The trouble with Google is, it cannot tell you about the circumstances of the next homeless person you meet. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be evicted from my home. When people have been homeless for a while, they become depressed and they suffer, without an address it is difficult to walk into a doctors and get treatment in the UK. Sadly, they can turn to smoking, drinking or drugs, to get them through the day.

Many of the homeless people I meet smoke, and as much as I am against smoking, I have brought them tobacco. I smoked for a number of years, I remember how difficult it was to stop, I have no right to lecture them on the dangers of smoking.

The question is, if I were in their shoes, how would I like to be treated?

We can pray for them, but it is not enough just to pray and put the problem in God's hands, it would be good to do something practical too and pray that our efforts will bring blessings.

In the spirit of praying for justice and compassion.

Eric

I was homeless. We still disagree.

I am not going to continue with this subject.

You have your way and I will have mine.

 

[kritikvernunft]

If you take the chance to talk and listen to homeless people, you may well be surprised at how they can bless you.

I am quite ok to give to the poor. I am wary, however, of actually just being duped into funding someone's drugs -or alcohol habits. I have noticed that there is a lot of that going on amongst the poor and the destitute, especially in rich countries. I also often wonder: where are their family and relatives? Not all of them are orphans, are they? We may not be the easiest personalities in my own family, but we would not let each other sleep in the streets either. That's why I often think: What exactly are we encouraging here by funding these situations?

A few months ago, I took in a 25-year old homeless Jew from New York with his local girlfriend and let them use our top floor, where we leave our clothes to dry. He had a well-groomed, well-educated upper middle-class accent. He could have dinner with us, whenever he wanted. He came from a millionaire family of Hungarian Jews who had moved to America. However, he said that his parents would never send him one, single cent. His grandfather would help him, but he is over 90 now and suffers from dementia. I somehow think that he had misbehaved towards his parents, and that this is the reason why they had written him off. Not sure, though. That loose cannon of a local girlfriend of his, was the first one to leave. Maybe it is also true that my wife's relatives, also locals, looked down on her quite a bit. I had told them not to do that, but apparently they still did. The locals are merciless on that kind of matters. They really see each other as undesirable competition. Not long after that, he also left. The last time that I saw them, they were both living in the streets again.

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you kritikvernunft;

I also often wonder: where are their family and relatives? Not all of them are orphans, are they?

Sadly in the UK, by the time a child reaches 15, about half of them are not living with both their biological parents. In our small town, we have about 150 sofa surfers, mostly youngsters who have been kicked out of their home for all kinds of reasons, often it can be the new partner does not like them. These kids go from one friend to another, then eventually some of them end up on the streets, the meaning of marriage and family seems to be constantly eroding.

We may not be the easiest personalities in my own family, but we would not let each other sleep in the streets either.

Same here, I would not allow any of my family to be homeless, no matter how we do not get on. Like you we have taken in numerous people over the years. We recently had a drug dealer out from prison live with us for six months, we did lay down a few rules, like no drugs or you are out. He seems to have sorted himself out and has a regular job now, but time will tell.

blessings

Eric

 

[Born_Believer]

well if one is living in a social welfare state, such as the UK (for now) and most of Europe, then I agree, we shouldn't give money to the homeless. There is a reason they haven't signed up for council housing.

Having said that, it is important to remember that we can't paint everyone with the same brush and that not all of them are scam artists/drug addicts/alcoholics etc.

I'll give a personal example:

I was collecting some money for a few charities (mostly medical charities) on the London underground and most people turned away from me until this disheveled woman sort of limped over to where I was talking to a couple of people. She asked me what I was doing and I explained it to her and she took some money out of her own pot and even as I protested, she put it into my bucket.

Just leave you all with that.

 

[Huzaifah ibn Adam]

It is scientifically proven that over 80% of money given to homeless on the street is used to buy alcohol and drugs. The rest of them are fake and probably have more money than you. Now you have been warned. If that is where you want your money to go, so be it.

Those scientists obviously haven't been to Africa. Poverty in Africa is quite a lot worse than any poverty you've seen or know of in places like UK, USA, etc.

 

[Scimitar]

I didn't realise scientists were also working for the census reports

Scimi