Helping Others (Post #1)

While reading, I was really surprised to see that Ella gave Malcolm all of her money that she had been saving for herself to go on the Hajj to Mecca, and instead gave it to Malcolm. I thought that this was an amazing deed and a great example of sacrifice. Ella must have felt so good to know that she was able to give Malcolm something so special and meaningful to him (especially in a time for Malcolm where he was economically not stable). Below is a link describing the importance of the Hajj (it really helped me to have a better understanding of what kind of spiritual experience Ella gave up for Malcolm): www.observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/1/4/the-importance-of-hajj 

So many people make sacrifices everyday that really change other people's lives. My cousins in Florida have a tough life. My three younger cousins have parents that are constantly fighting (more like at war) all the time, and there is never a peaceful moment in the house between the two. They are always cursing each other (but not in front of my cousins) and NEVER agree on ANYTHING. My cousins'  parents work long hours to support their family. The kids are fairly young. Although the parents hate each other and can never get along, they sacrifice their own well being and their peace of mind to make life better for their kids. If they got divorced, they would have to split up as a family and move to a really low-key home. Their lifestyle would not nearly be the same. Both of them would have to work double the amount of time and would never get to see their kids. They keep it together for their kids so they can have a nice childhood and not have to struggle through life and deal with the after-effects of divorce. My younger cousins are probably not aware of the extremity of the situation, and are probably not aware of the huge sacrifices that their parents make for them, for their well being.  I think what they're doing for my younger cousins is temporarily really great. Below is a link explaining what sacrifice is according to Muslims (what's really weird is that I just typed in 'what is sacrifice' in google and the article i clicked on happened to be about Muslims!)-This article nots on different kinds of sacrifices, what it truly means to sacrifice, and whether all sacrifices are good or not: www.web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/sacrifice_the_making_of_a_muslim/what_is_sacrifice.htm