Abdul Sattar Edhi: ‘The greatest thing Islam teaches is humanity’

Humble Beginnings

In 1951, Edhi, then 23, used some of his savings to buy an eight foot square run down shop in the poor neighborhood of Mithadar in Karachi. He set up a dispensary open to everyone, rich or poor, Muslim or not. He slept on a cement bench outside so he could be available at all times. A sign outside read, “Those who give charity are blessed, those who do not are also blessed.” His goal was to change people’s attitudes toward the poor and marginalized; “to get rid of man’s disgust towards human suffering,” as he put it in his autobiography “Mirror to the Blind”. He realized that he had to start with himself and show people through his own example. “From this day onwards, there is no difference in what I am, and what the people see. There will be no expenses on my person and therefore, no contradiction. My home will be open, my life will be the life of the people,” he wrote.

And one of his biggest role models was his own mother.