How Aaqil’s search to repay his mama beyond the grave quenched a sunken village in Pakistan

After his beloved mother passed away, Aaqil Ahmed, a loyal donor and former trustee of Muslim Aid, knew he needed to do something in her name.

He watched the way floods in Pakistan ironically left its people without water and vowed to intervene in her name.

He ran the London marathon pleading to build something with Muslim Aid in his mother's name. Having raised £5000, both Aaqil and Muslim Aid looked for the right thing to spend his hard-won donations on.

Aaqil like many of us watched the way floods in Pakistan ironically left its people without water and knew this would be the perfect fit for the charity and for what his mum would have appreciated.

“Mum was herself a child refugee and let us all know the value and importance of helping others. Whenever and wherever there was a disaster, she would understand the impact this would have not just on individuals, but on whole communities”, he said.

“When Muslim Aid told me about a project to deliver clean water to those so desperately in need, I knew this was exactly what she would have wanted.”

People all over the province of Sindh faced a critical shortage of clean drinking water, which Muslim Aid has been responding to since the floods began.

Aaqil got in touch with us and said he wanted to get involved, so we built a water point in his mother’s name in the village of Faqeer Ghulam Ali Lagari, District Mirpurkhas.

Thanks to his donations, together, we built a solar-powered water point using state-of-the-art technology that can provide residents with clean water as they navigate the trauma of loss from the natural disaster they faced.

This means the locals of Faqeer Ghulam Ali Lagari won’t be left thirsty and will be safe from waterborne illnesses that can ravage their bodies and kill them in a matter of days.

The well will support 120 households in the village, meaning Aqeel’s mother will have the constant sadaqah jaariyah of providing water to 600 people – an act that is specifically loved by Allah (SWT) and part of our Sunnah.

Saad bin ’Ubadah went to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and after his mother died and asked him which form of charity is best in her name.

The Prophet (SAW) replied, ‘[Providing] water’, so ‘So Saad dug a well and said, “This well is for Umm Saad” [Abu Dawud].

Providing water is also known to be one of the best ways to gain forgiveness and it is a deed that has been recorded to provide a space for a servant in paradise.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said: “A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that” [Bukhari].