Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

The High Cost of Living | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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The high cost of living is a fire that burns only the simple people living in mud houses and tents and sleeping on pavements. They struggle on a daily basis to get a loaf of bread, while the extremely rich and absolutely wealthy are indifferent.

The ones who have amassed riches in banks believe that they do not have a moral responsibility towards the needy and poor, because their futures are now secure and their lives have now been planned out. But (For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watchtower). [Koranic verse] And you will see the divine punishments and God’s whips raining on the head of this ungrateful, tightfisted miser who withheld his alms, held back his charity, and refrained from giving handouts and he will suffer massive financial losses and fatal diseases.

Most successful businessmen suffer from diabetes, blood pressure, and anxiety, while addicted to sedatives because they have turned into slaves of money and servants of wealth. On the other hand, we see the poor man eat his loaf of bread and sleep peacefully while there is fire in the heart of the slave of the world and the dollar caused by the fluctuation in prices and the drop in the dollar’s value.

Under this inflation crisis, we need a political decision that balances the scale between the sons of the one homeland, saving the lives of the hungry, deprived, and poor, while setting a special income for the poor and not just an increase in salaries because that only benefits a small minority and the rich are among them.

But a massive number of citizens have no income from their states. There are no salaries, no allowances, no donations, no presents, no bonuses, and no grants. On the contrary, the states take from them taxes and bills and some sell their positions to pay the electricity and telephone bills and others borrow to buy food for their children.

These poor people have complained, cried and shouted, but there was no response. It is the duty of all of us, decision makers, rich people, clerics, and media men to rise as one to save those afflicted people in our country even if we have to mark an open media day to collect contributions as we did with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Chechnya. And the next of kin are worthier of kindness.

During the Ramadah year and time of starvation under Omar Bin-al-Khattab, the defender of Islam, may God be pleased with him, he refused to tip the scale in favor of the rich, issued a political decision from the pulpit, and swore that no one would eat butter or meat until the people became equal. He undertook a relief, rescue, and mobilization operation and ordered the poor from all provinces to come to him to the city’s quarters. He carried the food on his head and entered the tents to distribute it personally to the poor and needy. He sent to Egypt’s governor Amr Bin-al-‘As urging him to help the Muslims and the latter sent him a convoy stretching from Medina to Egypt until God lifted the hardship off the ummah.

What are we waiting for as we see our poor and orphans in terrible conditions that no Shariaa or reason condone? If we do not start by blocking the internal defect, social poverty, and national need then no one will expect honorable international stands from us.