大象传媒

From Sarah Joseph, Editor of a Muslim lifestyle magazine:

I like auctions 鈥� particularly charity ones. The bidding process can get your heart racing if you participate, and with charity auctions you鈥檙e not just winning a bid, you鈥檙e helping people in so many positive ways.

I have vivid memories of a time when I was an auctioneer at a charity event. I鈥檇 primed the audience鈥攔eminding them of all the good that their donation would bring. Telling them they weren鈥檛 just bidding on the beautiful paintings on offer that night, but bidding to build the community organisation and their work.聽

Lot One was an exquisite piece of calligraphy, but no one was prepared to make an opening bid. At that moment I fully understood the Prophetic exhortation on being the first to do good. You鈥檙e a leader in goodness. That night though, no one was raising their hand.

Suddenly a gleaming face from the back of the room started the bidding.

It was my husband.

Oh no! We didn鈥檛 have the money for this!

We鈥檇 recently purchased a house. It needed complete refurbishment. Roof. Kitchen. Bathroom. Toilet. Heating. Rewiring. On top of that, I was pregnant with our second child. There was no spare cash! What was my husband doing?!

He was bidding away with a giant smile on his face, that鈥檚 what he was doing.

Somehow, he had got the ball rolling. Others were bidding too. The auction was up and running. But he wouldn鈥檛 stop. My glares across the room didn鈥檛 stop him, and he wasn鈥檛 to be outbid. Everyone else fell away.

鈥淕oing once. Going twice. Final call... Gone to the man in the corner, who I shall shout at later.聽

The audience laughed. Maybe they took pity on me, or maybe they wanted a piece of the memories created on that night, but from that point on everything turned around, and a lot of money got raised. Different people taking home all manner of beautiful artefacts. Everyone taking home memories.

The Qur鈥檃n says 鈥淐ompete with one another in good deeds鈥�. My husband was certainly a winner that night. We took home a magnificent painting we could ill-afford at the time but which hangs on our wall to this day. It was calligraphy from the Qur鈥檃n. A chapter called Sincerity. And when we have sincerity, so much falls into place.