Islamic Teachings on Serving and Treating Human Beings Well [Khidmat-e-Khalq]
By
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
17
September 2021
Significance
of Service to Mankind in Islam
Main
Points
1. All the
human beings are the ‘family’ [i.e. the People] of Allah.
2. Islam
encourages its adherents to serve all people, regardless of religious, caste,
cultural, or race distinctions.
3. Allah does
not have mercy on those who do not show mercy to others.
4. We will be
able to remove the market of hatred in our society if we follow the Sufi
teachings of serving humanity.
....
Islam
encourages its believers to treat all people with morality and affection, as
well as to serve them whenever they are in need. All beings, according to
Islam, are Allah’s "family" [here, the metaphorical use of
"family" refers to Allah's people]. This is why service to humanity
is elevated to the level of divine obedience. The Sufis embraced and lived by
this concept of Islam for the rest of their lives. Differences in belief,
thought, and religion should not, in their judgement, get in the way of serving
the people. As a result, assisting those in need, regardless of religion,
faith, caste, or culture, is a religious and moral imperative.
Some
believe that people should only be treated decently and served after they
accept faith and become believers. This viewpoint is incorrect. The reason for
this is because the issue of faith is in Allah Almighty's power and will. Allah
Almighty exalts whoever has honesty and real desire in him with the richness of
faith. Therefore, prepare to serve the people, regardless of faith or nation,
and serve the people solely for Allah's pleasure.
From
studying the Prophet's biography, we must learn about service to human beings.
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “All creatures are Allah’s
"family" and he is Allah's most-loved who offers the most benefit to
His family”, according to Hazrat Anas and Abdullah Ibn Mas'ood. (Mishkat
al-Masabih/Al-Tayseer bi Sharhil Jami’ al-Sagheer, Chapter on Mercy and
Affection on Creatures)
“Allah does
not have pity on a person who does not have mercy on human beings,” the Prophet
(peace be upon him) remarked, according to Hazrat Jarir bin Abdullah. (Sahih
Muslim and Sahih Bukhari)
“The
Messenger of Allah said to me: 'Have Taqwa of Allah wherever you are, and
follow a bad deed with a good deed to wipe it out, and treat people with decent
behaviour," Abu Dharr remarked. [Jami at-Tirmidhi: Hadith 93, Book 27]
According
to Abu Ad-Dardah, Allah's Messenger said: "On the Day of Judgment, nothing
weighs more heavily on the believer's Scale than good character [towards all
human beings]...” [Jami at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 108, Book 27]
Abdullah
ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “The
merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the
earth and God Almighty will have mercy upon you.” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 27,
Hadith 30]
Abdullah
Ibn Masood narrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “You will never
be a believer unless you have mercy.” The narrator said, ‘O Messenger of Allah!
Every one of us has mercy, so he replied, "It does not imply the kindness
and compassion that any one of you has for the person close to him, rather it
contains the common mercy that should be for all human beings”. [Recorded by
Tabarani]
The Sufis
were able to capture the hearts of the people by following the teachings of the
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). People of many religions and nationalities
came to him and adored him as a result of his wonderful manners. Even today, if
we follow these Sufi principles of helping the people, we will be able to
eradicate the market of hatred that exists in our society. Take a look at some
of the incidents below!
According
to Hazrat Thabit, Hazrat Salman Farsi was the ruler and governor of Madaain. A
man from Shaam [the traditional name for Syria] came to Madaain with some
belongings and found Hazrat Salman dressed in a robe, blanketed, and holding a
thick rope in his hand. He regarded Hazrat Salman as a common labourer and
asked him to grab his luggage. Hazrat Salman Farsi took his luggage and carried
it away. When the people spotted him strolling with this man and carrying his
luggage, they said, “Hey! This is the governor of this city. Then the man said
to Hazrat Salman in an apologetic tone, “Excuse me, I did not know you” Then
Hazrat Salman said, "I can't dump your luggage in the middle of the road
unless I deliver it to the destination. Then Hazrat Salman came back after
delivering his luggage to the destination. [Ibnul Jawzi, Safwat al-Safwa 1/247]
Hazrat
Sheikh Khawaja Usman Haruni says: “When a person gives water to a thirsty
person, all his sins are forgiven, he becomes as if he has just been born from
his mother's womb. If he dies, he will be counted among the martyrs. Then he
said, "Whoever feeds the hungry, Allah will meet his thousand needs and
free him from the fire of Hell and reserve a place for him in Paradise."
[Anees al-Arwah, Discourse 10]
Sheikh
Sharafuddin Yahya Maneri says, “There are great benefits of serving [creatures]
and there are some qualities that are not found in any other form of worship.
One of the benefits of this is that the rebellious Nafs dies and the
pride of arrogance disappears from the mind, humility and modesty are created,
good morals, civility and manners come, the teachings of Sunnah and Tareeqah
are taught, the Nafs The soul becomes lighter and more delicate, the
outward and inward appearance of man becomes clear and enlightened. All these
benefits are obtained through the service of the people only”.
When an
elder was questioned, "How many ways are there to approach God?"
Hazrat Yahya Maneri responded that every atom in the universe is a pathway to
God. But there is no greater way to get closer to God than to help God's
creation. We arrived at this goal by following this route, which we now pass on
to our disciples....and that no obedience to God is better or more helpful than
public service.” [Letter 71 of the Maktoobat-e-Sadi]
Darweshi [i.e. Tasawwuf and Tariqat],
according to Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri, indicates that if a
hungry person comes to you, he should be fed; if he is not dressed, he should
be provided nice garments; and he should not return empty in any manner.
Instead, he should be consoled by inquiring about his health.”
[Dalil-ul-Aarifeen)
These are
only a few samples. Aside from this, there are hundreds of guidelines that
teach us about public service and good manners. However, we must regretfully
state that the spirit of service to the creatures and decent behaviour is
vanishing from our midst. People nowadays consider it unethical to serve others
based on religious differences. Even their own religionists are not served by
them. Sufis who were well-versed in Shari'ah and Tareeqah established
a model of service to mankind that is unquestionably a lighthouse for us and an
awakening for the dead heart and soul. May God bless us with the ability to
provide good service to others!
----
A
regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a
Classical Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-spiritualism/serving-treating-human-being-khidmat/d/125376
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