Islam lays a great emphasis on the virtue of neighborliness. It also stresses on Muslims’ individual duty to contribute to the feeding of the poor and helping the needy.
Allah Says in the Qur’an, “And they give food, out of love for Him, to the poor and the orphan and the captive, [saying] “We feed you, for Allah’s pleasure only — We desire from you neither reward nor thanks. Surely we fear from our Lord a stern, distressful day.” (76: 8-
Seeking reward from Allah, Muslim volunteers gathered this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, to pack 15,000 meals for malnourished kids around the world.
The event, a result of cooperation between Islamic Relief USA and Rise Against Hunger, was held at Islamic Center of Omaha on Saturday, 6 News WOWT reported.
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“In our database, we only had two volunteers for the entire state of Nebraska, but then we reached out to the local mosque and the local MSAs (Muslim Student Associations) from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, University (of Nebraska) Lincoln,” said Wsmah Siddiqui, the midwest volunteer engagement specialist for Islamic Relief USA.
“So they were able to recruit volunteers for the community.”
The packed meals will feed 70 hungry kids for an entire school year. Most of the packs will go to kids in schools facing malnutrition regardless of religion.
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“It’s my duty as a believer, as a Muslim, to make sure my neighbor is eating as I’m eating,” said Ismail Moussa, one of the volunteers who has been a member of the Islamic Center of Omaha for 13 years.
“It makes me feel really great that we’re able to do something like that,” he added.
Last January, Islamic Relief partnered with LFC Foundation to distribute 500 essential food packs to vulnerable people across the city.