Srinagar: Donations during Ramadan have shifted to the online mode, mostly, as various Islamic organisations and welfare trusts have been unable to collect donations in the traditional way from mosques, public places, and homes.
The donations collected during Ramadan range from Sadqaat, Zakaat, and Khairaat, among others. Almost all the Islamic organisations spread across various parts of Kashmir valley during Ramadan to collect donations, but this year they are all locked in their homes or institutions.
The welfare trusts which take care of the needy and the orphans are also constrained by this pandemic. Despite having branches everywhere in the valley, they have been unable to collect donations in the way they used to every year. Typically, the welfare trusts would set up a canopy in main markets to catch the attention of people.
An official of Jammu Kashmir Yateem Trust told Kashmir Reader, “The donations for different purposes like Sadqaat, Zakaat and Khairaat are being made online due to the current pandemic and lockdown. We have made our bank account numbers public, and people are donating steadily. Due to the present circumstances, it has been impossible for us to collect donations in mosques and public places.”
Moulana Abdul Rasheed Dawoodi, head of the Tehreek E Soutul Awliya, an organisation that runs hundreds of Islamic institutions, has also asked people to pay their donations online. People have been asked to pay directly into specified bank account numbers.
Mufti Rehmatullah Qasmi, head of the Darul Uloom Rehimiyaa in Bandipora, told Kashmir Reader that “every dimension of our lives has been affected by this pandemic.”
“We, too, have asked people to pay donations online this Ramadan. Our bank account numbers are known to everyone,” he said.
Peer Ghulam Jeelani, head of Darul Uloom Hamdaniya in Dooru Shahabad, said, “Our men have been unable to go to door-to-door to collect donations. The mosques are shut and so are the public places. We have requested people to put all types of donations directly in our bank accounts. We sincerely hope that people will donate generously.”
In Islam, giving donations is mandatory for everyone except the poor and needy during the holy month of Ramadan.

KALEEM GEELANI