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Where there's a will
Shaikh Mohammad Kazim Habib is 75 years old. He is a grandfather of 23 children and great grandfather of 10. Five years ago, Habib suffered a stroke and he's been partially paralysed and bedridden since then.
- By By Ruqya Khan, freelance writer
- Published: 00:18 September 19, 2008
- Image Credit: Asghar Khan/ANM
- Shaikh Mohammad Kazim Habib is 75 years old and continues his fasting in spite of being partially paralysed, having limited eyesight as well as other age-related problems.
Shaikh Mohammad Kazim Habib is 75 years old. He is a grandfather of 23 children and great grandfather of 10. Five years ago, Habib suffered a stroke and he's been partially paralysed and bedridden since then.
He has other age-related problems, like diabetes and high blood pressure. He was taken to Thailand for treatment twice, and intends to travel to India after Ramadan for further treatment. He has lost sight in his right eye and suffers bedsores. But he rises above these limitations to observe the fast during Ramadan year after year.
He not only fasts all through Ramadan but also every Monday, Thursday and the three 'white' days (13th, 14th and 15th) of every Hijri month. He has performed the Haj 18 times, and last July performed Umra to Makkah.
Mohammad holds a master's degree in Islamic Studies and served in the Ministry of Awqaf for 23 years as a senior preacher. He knows that it is not obligatory for him to observe the fast due to his medical condition, but he does so by free will.
"I started fasting when I was seven," he recalls. "To me, it is not just an act of worship to Allah but also a healthy practice. Fasting elevates the soul closer to the divine one, it softens the heart, and it sharpens and disciplines the will. I wish every day of the year was as bountiful as Ramadan."
Despite his illness, he is still coherent and can hold short conversations. He spends his time watching religious programmes on TV. Before he lost sight in one eye he used to recite the entire Quran every three days.
Now he uses a magnifier when he needs to read something. He visits the mosque every Friday, regardless of the difficulty and pain he faces when he is lifted from the bed to the wheelchair and then the vehicle.
"I feel that fasting places you in the same light of hunger and discomfort as the needy. It teaches you to be thoughtful of the poor. In the late 1980s, my wife and I began voluntary work to help destitute women. We would go from door to door offering clothes and rations of food to needy families.
By this time, our own children had grown up and were well settled and I had enough means to live by. That year during Ramadan I gave away 50 per cent of my earnings to charity, and felt a feeling of fulfilment and richness.
"Even now, with the little income I have, I still give generously. I was brought up in a poor family. As a child, I studied under street lamps. I used to save money by not buying new note books every year. I used to write with a pencil and at the end of the year, erase the writing and thus use the same notebook the following year as well. "The hardships I suffered in childhood made me a strong person.
I understand the true value of willpower and the importance of charity, which is why I worked towards founding the Ihsan Charity Center in Ajman," he says.
For many years, his Ramadans were dedicated to seeing that poor families got enough food to last them for a few months after Ramadan ended. He would find great pleasure in delivering the alms himself, and greater pleasure hearing the prayers of the recipients and seeing the joy on their faces. Today, due to health restraints, he misses that.
"Every time I think back to those days, I feel blessed that I allowed myself to make a start on this path. I am fortunate to have been able to reach out to these individuals," he says. "It is their blessings that give me strength to go on and try harder."
– By Ruqya Khan, freelance writer based in Sharjah
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