Opportunity Calling (Qiyāmah Cash)

Source: Emily McCall

I work in a call centre. I work in a call centre and yes, I make outbound calls. I know, I can already hear the groans of 'God, you're one of those!'. And I know it's going to sound like the lamest sales pitch you have ever heard but, when you receive a call from me, I give you an opportunity. I'm not selling a service, I'm not promising to get some of your money back and I'm not trying to convince you that your life would be oh-so-much sweeter if you had a shiny new product in it. What I actually do is give you a chance to donate just a little of the money Allāh blessed you with to ease the burden of someone else in need.

Five months in and it still fascinates me how the reception I get on the phone varies so dramatically. Some people see the opportunity and end the call happy, feeling pleased at the amazing work charities are doing all over the world. Others are totally blind to it and end the call feeling pessimistic, threatened and altogether hard done-by. I've been thanked profusely for the reminder and I've been told how rude and inappropriate it is to call a donor in their own home. You can guess who, in those few minutes speaking to me, secured themselves some currency on the Day of Judgement and who may have made me entitled to a bit of their Qiyāmah Cash.

Each donor is presented with exactly the same situation (with some variability of course, depending on my mood, how clear the line is, how good their English is, etc.). They get the same friendly voice, the same introduction and the same polite enquiry as to whether they have a few minutes to hear about our current emergency appeals. The situation is the same but the way people respond is definitely not. I have been hung up on, I've been listened to attentively, I've had people tell their kids to lie to me, I've had people donate and then get family members to contribute too, I've had people make me feel irritating and forceful and I've had people make du'ā' for my life in this world and the next. And it all rested on whether they saw the call as an open door, or the annoyingly cold draft coming through the gap it created.

Reflecting on this reminded me of a call I once received. One day, while walking home from work, I saw a broken umbrella in the middle of the road. I remembered the ḥadīth about how removing an obstacle from a path is charity and I actually laughed. It was a no-brainer what I needed to do. The stage was set for me to gain a little extra reward; all I had to do was conquer a little embarrassment. It's amazing, it's actually incredibly and fantastically awesomely amazing. Allāh makes it so easy for us to gain reward and save up good deeds. He is so merciful that He gives us opportunities at every turn. How can we not be grateful for that? How can we not take advantage of that?

Think about it... How many chances did Allāh give you to gain reward today? How many people did you see who asked for help? How many Islamic gatherings were you invited to? How many people did you have the chance to just smile at? We need to learn to look out for these chances because they're special gifts from Allāh. They're an occasion to save a little something extra for a Day when we're going to want to desperately grab a-hold of anything we can get.

The donors who recognised the voice of Opportunity calling were more likely to end the call content and thankful for the good in others. If we approached our day in the same way, we'd be more likely to go to sleep at night with a smile on our mouths and nothing but gratitude and love in our hearts. Because really, how can you not love the One who gave Opportunity a phone and the persistence to just keep on ringing?

Source: mwendas

"Every bone of men's fingers and toes must give charity every day the sun rises. If one gives justice between two men it is charity; if one helps a man with his beast, loading or lifting his goods on it, it is charity; a good word is charity; every step one takes towards prayer is charity; and if anyone removes anything injurious from the road it is charity." [Bukhāri & Muslim]