OUTLOOK — By Ahmed Al Falahi — Today there are many voluntary groups that are spreading shadows of mercy on the society. They compete with one another in granting charity and bestowing mercy on the destitute that makes them, God willing, worthwhile of His mercy. On our part, we pray to God to protect the members of these groups from Hellfire and to grant them plenty of mercy and bounty as we are witnessing the last days of Ramadhan, a time when prayers are answerable.
Every day the media comes out with news of voluntary groups all over the country sacrificing their time and money without expecting rewards or words of thanks in return, they are just keen on putting smiles on the lips of the poor and orphaned and wiping the tears from their faces. Their wonderful hands gently touch the orphan’s forehead and put clothes on the naked bodies. Those merciful people aren’t distracted from good deeds by their personal desires nor do they succumb to life’s temptations, on the contrary they are solely preoccupied with the humanitarian dimension and the people’s suffering, thereby applying the teachings the Hadith of Prophet Muhammed (peace and prayer be upon him): Whoever relieves a believer of distress in this world, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Resurrection. Whoever makes things easy for those who are in difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and in the next. Whoever conceals (the faults of) a Muslim in this world, Allah will conceal him (his faults) in this world and in the Hereafter.”
The striking thing is that the volunteering groups are run by young people of both sexes who have felt that some people need them so they gave up their families and job obligations and began looking for the orphaned, the poor, and the disabled to support them. The common observer can see the voluntary work that is done in Oman, which is bustling with charitable activities of different kinds with a single objective of putting smiles on the lips of those less-fortunate.
Undoubtedly, everyone rejoices and feels happy seeing this large number of voluntary groups who are extremely sensitive to the social responsibility, a feeling that stems from the volunteers’ awareness of this important role. Today there are large numbers of such people who seek nothing but God’s satisfaction and the well-being of the society.
The volunteering groups have laid solid foundation of voluntary humanitarian work and they are now begetting more and more organisations aiming at the same sublime goals. Nowadays you rarely find a wilayat that doesn’t have a charitable organisation or support groups. Certainly, such activities will spread mercy and bounty all across the country and bring glad tidings to the needy that augurs paradise to the benevolent and the kind-hearted.
