October 4, 2003

In one of the incidents of human tragedy Abdul Sattar Edhi, with his pajamas rolled knee high, entered the pool of blood surrounded by dead bodies and hysterical people shouting “Edhi Sahib, they haven’t found my son”. “My father will die if you don’t take him to the hospital”. “Edhi Sahib, thank God you’re here, they say my child is dead but I know he’s not..” “Take my mother to hospital”, “please find my babies.. Where are they? Where are they?” Such were the expectations people seemed to have tied with the name “EDHI”. They were 100 per cent sure that in this chaos and confusion painted with blood, a man with whom they shared no equation except humanity would come for their rescue.

Abdul Sattar Edhi who has spent his entire life in the service of mankind, without any personal gain is undoubtedly compassion personified. He has bathed and buried over a thousand unclaimed bodies in a time when selfishness and greed are at their peak and nobody seems to know the meaning of words like altruism and selflessness. His achievements in the field of charity are bound to make one think that his name is synonymous to nobility and humanity.

Passing through the humble streets and shops of Boulton market in Karachi, which don’t seem to have changed much since the last 100 years, comes the Edhi Foundation Trust office where Mr Compassion sits in a very small and simple room. His dress is as simple as his language and working style. He unfolds the reality of his life and goes down memory lane when he was a small child in the Gujrati village of Bantva in India. The seeds of charity were sown in him at a very early age in this village.

The Edhi family from which he descended was vigilant and hard working with a spirit of humanitarianism although Edhi in Gujrati means lazy. His grandfather Haji Rehmatullah did not believe in making surplus money and his father also inherited the same quality. But Maulana Sahib recalls that it was actually the influence of his mother more than his father which dragged him towards social work.

His mother was very sensitive, quite and gentle. She religiously believed in giving the poor their right share. When she would receive eatables such as dry fruits from his father, who usually stayed outside town for business, she would divide these equally into packets and would ask him to distribute it amongst the poor. Not only this but she would urge Abdul Sattar not to let any opportunity of helping the poor go by. He also distributed medicine, food and clothes to the people of his village through the proper guidance of his generous mother. His noble deeds earned him the nickname of Roti ever since he started helping the needy in his village.

Each day his mother would give him two paees (paisas) for school and would advice him to give one to a poor and spend the other on himself. She would say “Always find out if the person is really in need. It is poisonous to give charity to useless people, or to embarrass those who do not need it”.

When he would return from school she always asked him about the money she gave him and if he hadn’t used the money as she had instructed him she would start taunting him, “You have a selfish heart, one that has nothing to give”. In order to escape her anger he would eat his meal faster than usual but the pace of her words would also increase at the same rate. “What kind of a human being are you? Look at the greed in your eyes. You have started to rob the poor already. How much will you rob from them in your lifetime?” His mother’s disgust would leave him blushing with shame and he would try never to repeat this act again. This was the simple lesson that he never forgot.

As most of the women’s husbands were away in the village his mother would deal with the affairs of the women. She would help in childbirth and encourage women to work to become self-reliant. In the holy month of Ramazan she would gather other Memon ladies to prepare bundles of foodstuff and would order Abdul Sattar to drop them to the windows of poor and needy. During the process she would whisper “It is charity only when your left hand does not know what the right hand has given. When the respect of the receiver is foremost.” Again on Eid she would put money in brown envelopes and Edhi Sahib would drop them in the windows after knocking and would run before anyone could spot him.

After the creation of Pakistan Edhi Sahib migrated to Karachi in September of the same year. He says that the Memons feared that the rights of the Muslims would not be protected in India so 25 to 30 thousand Memons shifted to Pakistan on the insistence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was 21 at that time. He started working as a street hawker selling pencils, matchboxes and cloth. In 1951 he set up a small dispensary at Mithadar. Since then the Edhi network sprouted like mushrooms throughout the landscape of Pakistan. Now Edhi Foundation Trust is present even in the remotest areas across Pakistan. Edhi Foundation also expanded its horizons internationally with its offices located in USA, UK, Canada, Japan and Australia at present. This long journey was a result of Edhi Sahib’s daily struggle, which was impossible without the Faith and determination in his heart.

He recalls in his autobiography “I began at Mithadar and brought back drowned bodies from the sea. Black bodies that crumbled with one touch. I picked them up from rivers, from inside wells, from roadsides, accident sites and hospitals. I picked them up from manholes and gutters, from under bridges, from railway bogies, from tracks, water sheds and drains. When families forsook them and authorities threw them away, I picked them up and brought them home”.

He still possesses the same zest with which he used to work 65 years ago and feels that Allah Almighty has rewarded him unconditionally for his deeds. Now his wife Bilquis Edhi and all of his five children have joined him in his venture and according to him due to their help they are able of work more efficiently. “The joy of having them at work with him is inexplicable,” he says.

He is fond of destitute children and loves them like his own kin. Finding those rare occasions to associate him with them is a matter of immense pleasure for Edhi. He looks for such moments and whenever he gets an opportunity to have their company he fully enjoys it.

Women volunteers act as a vital force in achieving Edhi’s objectives. Edhi believes that women are more honest, hardworking and dutiful. “Edhi ladies homes” which is a permanent home for teenage girls, provides education and vocational training within its compound. The concept of self-reliance is truly evident at the Edhi organization at every level.

According to Edhi Sahib the concept of giving charity is almost extinct in our society at present. People are just interested in accumulating wealth for themselves and increasing the levels of their luxuries from every angle while forgetting about the unfortunate souls who are present in abundance around them. They do come across many opportunities where they can help the needy but they let those occasions pass by. He terms such people as mere hypocrites. He further says that people waste so much time in jealousy and personal enmity rather than investing the same time and energy in serving the poor.

Although Edhi Sahib is a self-educated person, he is able to solve complex problems easily by producing practical solutions. He lists down four simple qualities, which can make a person successful in his life to a great extent. They are truthfulness, simplicity, punctuality and the ability to work hard. No matter how well educated the person is, with the absence of these qualities and the desire to help the poor he cannot be classified as a decent human being. According to him a person should be a good human being first, education comes afterwards.

In his early 70’s he retains his good health and is ready for any kind of emergency round the clock. He is no doubt an institution in himself and is an example of devotion, which will be remembered for a long time. This living legend does not like to publicize his deeds much. All he wants is to bring a change in the society.

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