A Wife's Letter in the Shahjalal Shrine Donation Box: Prayers for a Good Job and Peace of Mind for Her Husband
A woman has left a letter in the donation box of the Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet, praying for a good job and peace of mind for her husband. In the anonymous letter, the wife prayed for her husband's employment as well as his mental calm.
On Saturday (24 October) morning, money from the shrine's donation box and dekhchi was counted publicly for the fifth time. Alongside cash and foreign currency, various letters written by devotees were found. In those letters, many people wrote about their personal sorrows, prayers and good wishes.
Among them, one woman's letter drew everyone's attention. She wrote: 'O Shahjalal Rahmatullahi Alaihi, through your intercession, give my husband a good job and grant him peace of mind.'
The woman did not mention her name or address in the letter. No detailed information was available about her husband's identity or his job situation either. As a result, it was not possible to know who this wife is or what circumstances her husband is in.
Yet this nameless letter itself paints a picture of a family's anxiety over employment and mental unrest. The longing for a good job and the prayer for a loved one's peace of mind set the letter apart from the others.
Finding devotees' letters in the shrine's donation box is nothing new. Whenever the donation box and dekhchi are opened, many such letters are found alongside cash and foreign currency, in which devotees write about the various problems, illnesses, family crises and hopes of their lives.
This was the fifth public counting of the money. The counting is being carried out under the supervision of a committee formed to bring transparency to the shrine's financial management, according to related sources.
Earlier, on 23 September, a meeting of the committee formed to bring transparency to the shrine's financial management decided how the donated money would be used. Under the decision of the committee led by Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, 35 percent of the donated money will be spent on the shrine's development work.
Under the committee's decision, the remaining 65 percent will be used for the shrine's daily expenses and for paying staff salaries and allowances. Through this decision, a specific framework has been put in place for the use of donated funds.
The Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine is one of the best-known religious sites in Sylhet. Throughout the year, devotees and visitors come here from across the country, donate, and pray with their wishes. The letters in the donation box are documents of that very faith and longing.
The wife's emotional letter found in this counting is therefore not just a piece of paper — it is also the story of a family's worry over joblessness and its search for peace of mind.
