Ever since Allah created the universe, He has sent down his wali to guide people towards the ultimate prosperity, which is attaining salvation from this world and obtaining everlasting life in jannat.
This guidance can be thought of as a ladder; each subsequent rung of the ladder represents a higher level of spirituality, knowledge, and purity.
As mumineen follow the guidance of their moula and climb this ladder, they are uplifted in every sense.
Spiritual vs Physical
Upliftment doesn’t have to be purely spiritual. In fact, in order to achieve proper spiritual upliftment, there also has to be a degree of physical upliftment.
Some examples of spiritual upliftment are growing love for moula, making an ever-increasing effort for ibadat, and gaining a deeper understanding of our deen and philosophy.
Physical upliftment is making sure that every mumin’s basic necessities are of a certain standard: food, shelter, and clothing. To those of you reading from foreign countries, this may seem like a given, but there are still many families in India and Pakistan that live in unimaginable conditions. Five or more people (A husband, wife, their son, his wife, their kids) live cramped up in one room. There would be a tiny bathroom for each room, and one or two common toilets on the whole floor of any particular building. People living in conditions like these have been relocated to homes that have multiple rooms, dedicated kitchens, and attached bathrooms.
Once the basics are taken care of, things like trade, skills, and businesses are tackled next. Mumineen needing financial aid are helped out so they can get their business off of the ground.
One may object and say that business is the first priority. They may be correct in certain isntances, but some mumineen live in such poor conditions that they can’t even begin to think about opening their own business or finding ways to generate income. Once they can literally sleep peacefully at night, they can start thinking about what comes next.
Moulana’s Dream
Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’sRA dream was that every mumin, no matter who he or she is, have and are able to maintain a certain standard of living.
The dream doesn’t stop there, though. The dream is fully realized when a mumin who used to survive off of help and aid is now in a position to help and aid others. There have been many cases of this dream bearing fruit, and it will continue to do so by the doa mubarak of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS.
This dream was borne out of one thing and one thing only: Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’sRA immense love and dedication for each and every mumin.
Moulana’s efforts
Because of this love, Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA set aside billions of Rupees specifically for the upliftment of mumineen’s living standards. He started many different institutions through which mumineen would be able to receive aid to build their homes, start their business, and pay bills like medical expenses.
Muwasaat
Every Shehre Ramadan, Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA and now Syedna Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS sent a generous sum to each and every town and city where mumineen lived to be distributed among any mumineen who needed it.
This money would be used to help a mumeneen make repairs on their houses, buy supplies for their homes and business, pay off piling medical bills, or pay off debts that hung over their heads.
Marafiq
In 1424H, Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA set aside 1 billion Rupees specifically to be used for relocating mumineen into better housing and helping mumineen who could not afford the whole amount for a home to purchase one.
Some of this money was used to build entire apartment complexes where many needy families could be relocated at once, while some of it was used to settle entire colonies of houses and homes (similar to cul de sacs).
One Third Scheme
For those mumineen who were partially able to afford a home, but were falling short of coming up with the entire amount, Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA initiated the “one-third” scheme. In this, mumineen wanting to buy a home would invest one third of the asking price themselves. One third of the asking price was given to them as Qarzan Hasana (either by Dawat itself or by another mumin), and the remaining third was given to them by Dawat.
Through this scheme, hundreds of families now have their own homes.
SBUT
The most ambitious upliftment project started by Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA, the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust is a plan to completely overhaul Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazar area. In Bhendi Bazar, thousands of mumin families live in very derelict conditions. The plan aims to replace all 200-plus buildings, many of which are old and dilapidated, with a number of high rise buildings constructed with the best materials and with the best facilities and amenities.
May Allah Ta’ala bring Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’sRA vision to fruition at the hands of his successor, Syedna Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS, and may Allah Ta’ala grant him a long and healthy life
