Charitable Intentions

I have recently been having a nagging feeling inside me that I need to give/do more for charity.  I was at loss as where to start – this may sound silly but I live in the UK (though we have pur problems) it’s hardly a war zone what can I do to help my ignorant mind told me, but my heart and my conscious keep telling me that if I look in the right place I can do plenty to help, I dont have to actually be there in the midst of a tragic event to do a charitable act.

The best of you is he (or she) who is of most benefit to others- Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Like many people I try to give to charity whenever I can I make a monitory donation whether that be to a Islamic channel that is doing a water project or a charity that is collecting to build houses for people who have suffered a loss through a natural disaster. I always wish even at that point that, if only I could do more.  However by just giving a donation I am not satisfying that need, this time I want to do something more, maybe it’s because I want to give something more personal like my time. Hence why my desire to help is not been quenched by donating money as I am not actually putting any effort in via my physical self and we all are aware that there are many forms of charity.

As I was contemplating what I wanted to do once again I came across a blog, with a interview of an author Suma Din she was been asked about her writing and they mentioned her book titled Dr Hany El Banna – A servant to the world’s poorest people, she mentioned that he was the founder of Islamic Relief. Islamic Relief is such a well-known charitable organization and one I donate to regularly.  I have often wondered about the people behind these charities and how they get recognition that they do and how they reach the heights they do and what is the motivation behind them.

 I may also need to mention at this point that I love reading autobiography’s so I went and bought the book the following day. It was a fascinating read a huge insight in to a man who was touched by people suffering and who did whatever he could by going the extra mile at times at the expense of his own career and family, it portrayed Dr Hany as such a selfless and hardworking man who believes if you put your mind to it and your trust in Allah (swt) you can achieve great things.

They ask you as to what they should spend. Say: Whatever wealth you spend, it is for the parents and the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, and whatever good you do, Allah surely knows it Qur’an chapter 2, verse 215 

A little about the man in the book Dr Hany Abdel Gawad El-Banna OBE  is the co-founder of Islamic Relief, the largest Western- based international Muslim relief and development (Non Government Organistaion), that was established in 1984 in Birmingham, UK.

Dr Hany El-Banna’s main aim was to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the world’s poorest people, he is a  pathologist by education, Dr. Hany attended a medical conference in Sudan in 1983 during a time of famine in the region. The poverty and desperation he witnessed compelled him to return to the UK and set up Islamic Relief  an organisation to help people in need. He was born in Egypt and completed his MBBCH Medicine at Al Azhar University, Cairo, where he also obtained a Diploma in Islamic Studies in 1976. Dr Hany El Banna was awarded the Hamilton Bailey Prize in Medicine at City hospital 1981, Birmingham UK. He then went on to further his medical training and completed a Doctorate of Medicine (MD) in foetal pathology from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 1991. Dr El-Banna was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 2004. However he has stepped down as president of Islamic Relief but still is actively involved in humanitarian work.

it is a well written book and I would highly recommend anyone who is intrested to read it, it is very thought provoking snapshot of the work Dr Hany has done , it certainly inspired me to email Islamic Relief to become a volunteer.