Writer : Shireen Akhtar

Allah (SWT) mentions in the Qur’an

“ They ask you ( O Muhammad) , what they should spend ( in charity). Say, “ whatever you spend of good is ( to be) for the parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the travellers. And whatever you do of good – indeed, Allah is knowing of it.

Al Baqarah : 215

This verse explains that every orphan has the right to be taken care of. Every individuals especially Muslims shoulder the responsibility to provide for the orphans in need. As an individual even they have the right to respect and dignity. They dwell in Shelters and depend completely on the donations and zakat fund for the fullfilment of their need. Hence the authorities of such institutions that house orphans should be extremely vigilant and carry out their duties uprightly.

In the month of August 2023 for its monthly youth project, Shajar planned a visit to the Calcutta Muslim Orphanage girls section. The project involved an interactive lecture on the lives of some prominent women in the Islamic history. The influential lives of mother Hawwa ,Khadija (RA) Maryam (AS) and Ayesha (RA) were discussed. The meaningful lies that they led and the perfect examples that they had set for the generations to come was narrated poetically.

Our discussion also included the story of creation to make the children understand the basic purpose Of life. In addition to these topics the story of the wife of Lut (AS) was also discussed briefly to address a worrisome and serious issue of the LGBT community gaining acceptance in the society. We considered it necessary to inform the children about the unhealthy impact of such behaviour and the message of Allah (SWT) regarding such virulent development in the human race. Children and teenagers being the most vulnerable have the maximum possibilities to fall for such acts and harm themselves in the process.

The housemates were extremely attentive during the session, they were actively participating in the interaction. Their enthusiasm and interest boosted our effort. We found them well disciplined. To our surprise many of them came forward to recite various surahs to mark the end of the session. The recitations were wonderful and praiseworthy.

We carried out a bookmark making activity everyone participated avidly. They made beautiful bookmarks and they also wrote the name of the role model whom they want to follow in their lives. Some chose to be righteous like Mariam AS) some chose to be knowledge seeker and charitable like Ayesha (RA) and some chose to be zealous, charitable and compassionate like Khadija ( RA). It was an eventful day for both the host and the audience.

Our objective is to restore the knowledge of Deen and guide are blooming generation to lead life in the light of Islam and build a pristine character that will leave a mark in this world and grant them success in the hereafter.

Walking in the path of Islam Shajar made an effort to make the orphans feel special about them and guide them towards a better life.

We also arranged for lunch for the children as well as the staff of the orphanage we gladly took the opportunity to serve lunch to the children. Children were delighted and some of them came to us and shared their views about the session. They were eager to have us again amongst them with another event.

The event was a grand success Alhamdulillah. We left the venue with smiles on our faces and our hearts elated with the joy of spending a precious time with the orphans. May Allah give us more such opportunities to serve the society and walk in the straight path and gain His pleasure. Ameen.