For the past eleven years since my arrival in Bangladesh, I have watched with profound admiration as people across Bangladesh -- and indeed across the Muslim world and beyond -- have opened their hearts and their wallets for the people of Palestine.
People have donated generously, organized fundraising campaigns, and stood in solidarity with a people enduring unimaginable suffering.
Every contribution has been a testament to the compassion that still exists in humanity. It has reminded us that borders cannot limit mercy and that faith teaches us to feel the pain of others as our own. For this generosity, every donor deserves our heartfelt gratitude and prayers.
Today, however, I write with another appeal-- one that comes from the depths of my heart.
Bangladesh is facing yet another devastating flood. Entire communities have disappeared beneath rising waters. Families have lost their homes, their crops, their livestock, and in far too many cases, their loved ones. Mothers are trying to feed hungry children with almost nothing. Elderly people are stranded without medicine. Students have lost their books and schools. Farmers who spent months cultivating their fields have watched their livelihoods vanish overnight.
What makes this tragedy even more painful is that Bangladesh is among the countries least responsible for the climate crisis, yet it continues to bear one of its heaviest burdens. The excessive emissions and environmental degradation that have fueled global climate change have largely originated elsewhere, but vulnerable nations like Bangladesh continue to pay the highest price through increasingly frequent floods, cyclones, and other climate-related disasters.
This is not merely a humanitarian crisis. It is also a matter of climate justice.
The government of Bangladesh has mobilized its institutions to respond to the emergency. The Armed Forces are working tirelessly in rescue operations, delivering food, medicine, and hope to isolated communities.
Political parties, regardless of their differences, have largely recognized that a national disaster must stand above politics. Volunteers, students, religious organizations, NGOs, local communities, and countless relief workers have risked their own comfort and safety to serve people they may never meet again.
Their dedication deserves our deepest appreciation.
Internationally, members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), especially the Saudi government, have taken a generous initiative to support the people of Bangladesh during this difficult period. Such solidarity reminds us that the bonds of humanity and the bonds of faith remain strong.
But disasters of this magnitude cannot be overcome by governments and institutions alone.
This is why I humbly appeal to those whom Allah has blessed with wealth and abundance. If you have generously stood beside Palestine -- and many of you have done so with extraordinary sincerity -- I ask you today to also stand beside the flood-affected people of Bangladesh.
Compassion is not a limited resource.
Helping one suffering community does not diminish our responsibility to another. Mercy grows when it is shared.
Our faith teaches us that Sadaqah is never a loss.
Allah Almighty says:
"Whatever you spend in His cause, He will compensate it; and He is the Best of Providers." (Qur'an 34:39)
This divine promise is one of hope and certainty.
Allah also promises that those who spend for the poor and the needy will receive rewards multiplied far beyond what they have given. He says:
"Indeed, the men who give Sadaqah and the women who give Sadaqah and [who] have loaned Allah a goodly loan -- it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward." (Qur'an 57:18)
What greater assurance could there be for a believer? Every taka spent to help someone in need is not an expense but an investment with Allah -- an investment whose returns are promised, both in this world and in the Hereafter.
The Qur'an also reminds us of a powerful reality that should give every believer pause. When death approaches, a person wishes for only one thing -- not more wealth, not more status, but another opportunity to give.
Allah says:
"Spend from what We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he says, 'My Lord, if only You would delay me for a short time so I could give charity and be among the righteous.'" (Qur'an 63:10)
Every food package delivered, every blanket distributed, every medicine purchased, every shelter built, and every child fed is more than humanitarian assistance -- it is an act of worship.
The floodwaters will eventually recede. Homes can be rebuilt. Roads can be repaired. Crops can be replanted. But the compassion we show today will remain recorded -- with those we help, in the conscience of this nation, and, above all, with Allah.
I therefore make this humble appeal to everyone who has the ability to give.
Please come forward. Support the relief efforts.
Strengthen the work already being carried out. Every additional contribution means more food for a hungry child, more medicine for the sick, more shelter for a displaced family, and more hope for those who feel they have lost everything.
Yousef Ramadan is Ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh.
