(This article was written by Br. Saeed Muhammed Lawan, may Allah reward him).
Are you wealthy, and you have enough? Are you living in a big country
or a big city? This will not be a reason for you to throw away food.
It will not be an excuse for you to cook food in excess and to eat some and
throw the rest away. People are dying and suffering in many parts of
the world. If you are watching the news, Syria, Palestine, Myanmar, Mali,
Nigeria, Malawi and many other countries’ children will come to your
mind. You will remember those children who spend days without eating.
Even if they eat they are eating grass and drinking polluted water. I
thought of all this after I heard this story. I’ll share a story with
you–the story that Khalid Latif shared that happened to him.
One night I left for a meal and there was a homeless man asking people
for money outside our center. I approached the man, and I said “I
have some sandwiches, if you want I’ll give them to you.” “No I don’t
want your sandwiches,” the man replied. After hearing this, I felt bad. I
thought in my mind that these are the people who ask people for money
to drink alcohol and buy drugs; he is not even hungry. I walked
away but I decided not to judge him. I was thinking, “Why doesn’t he
want my food?” Then I thought, “The only person who can answer my
question is him.” I turned back and walked to him. I asked
him, “Why don’t you want my sandwiches?” The man didn’t talk to me. He
went to his shopping cart, brought out a bag, and said, “I already
have food. If I was to take your food in addition to the food that I
have, there is no way that I’ll be able to eat it all, and some of it
will get thrown away.” He added, “Me living the life that I live, I’ll
never throw away food.” I said thank you to him.
Indeed this is a great reminder for all; many people waste a lot of
food while many are looking for it. A morsel that
you are throwing away, someone needs it to put into his/her mouth.
Nowadays people who are satisfied with food and have great wealth
forget that someone somewhere needs the food that they are throwing.
“And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allâh)
likes not Al-Musrifûn (those who waste by extravagance)”
[al-A‘raaf 7:31].
It’s OK to buy a lot of food stuff in your home, but it’s an act of
extravagance to cook too much, to cook the food that your family alone
cannot eat. Some throw it away which is not good. Try to cook the food that you can eat and preserve
the food that will keep for a long time without getting rotten or spoiled.
I’ll never throw food away.