Islam is indeed a religion of mercy. It asks its followers to be compassionate to the creatures of Allah Almighty, to render service to mankind sincerely and to adopt welfare work as their mission. The message of the Qur’an, “and do good as Allah has done good to you” (Al-Qasas: 28/77) is very significant in this regard. The ayah gives us the lesson that the talents and blessings Allah has bestowed upon us should be used for the benefits of our own and of others and particularly of those who are deprived and underprivileged.
Service to mankind is a noble act earning great reward from Allah and is, of course, a practical gratitude to the Real Benefactor. In the Qur’an, “Kalimah-i- Tayyibah” (meaning “there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet”) is likened to a ‘good tree’ that always gives fruits (Ibrahim: 14/24). This is well-known that the recitation of this Kalimah is essential at the time of embracing Islam. The main objective of giving this example is actually to highlight the significance of the Kalimah-i- Tayyibah and to draw the attention of the Believers that their conduct should be beneficial for others and that they should never be uncaring of creatures of Allah.
Defining the characteristics of the Believers, the Qur’an says: “They give preference to others over themselves, even though they are in need. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul – it is those who will be successful.” (Al-Hashr: 59/9) In fact, the Qur’an moulds the mind of its followers in a way that they would not discriminate between Muslims and non-Muslims, friends and enemies, and relatives and strangers while doing service to mankind. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) says: “The best among you is he who benefits others.” (Muntakhab Kanz al-Ummal, 6/305)
The modes of service to mankind given in the Qur’an may be mentioned as: financial support to those who are poor and needy, providing food and water for the thirsty and hungry, imparting knowledge to the seekers of the same, inviting one to goodness or guiding one to the right path and helping one who is in need of something else.
The Qur’anic concept of worship (Ibadat) has a distinction. According to it, along with worshipping Allah, helping His servants and doing good deeds, all are included in worship. The ayah 77 of Surah Al-Hajj states that for the real success worship (Ibadat) is not enough; other good deeds are also required to be done. We also come to know through other ayaat of the Qur’an that the scope of good deeds which fetch Divine rewards is vast and is not confined to worship. In other words, all those sayings and actions come under good deeds which Allah likes or with which Allah is pleased. The Qur’an exhorts its followers to fulfil the rights of Allah and that of His servants. The link between the rights of Allah and doing the welfare work for mankind is very close. Actually, worshipping Allah impels the Believers to do service to His creatures.
The fact is that those whose hearts are filled with the love for Allah, an essential component of faith (Iman), will always have love and sympathy for His creatures. Rather, they will be to the fore in doing good acts and rendering service to mankind. It is mentioned at various places in the Qur’an that “Allah likes those who do good.” (Al-Baqarah: 2/195, Aal-i- Imran: 3/134, and Al-Mai’dah:5/13, 93) In another ayah, the Qur’an says that “Allah’s mercy is near to good doers.” (Al-A’raf:7/56) The gist of the various ayaat of the Qur’an is that believers should not be satisfied only with worship, but they must do other good deeds also, and make themselves beneficial to people. They are required to pass their day and night in a such a way that their every act and movement (such as sitting, standing, moving, walking, eating, drinking, speaking, writing, working, farming and trading, etc.) should become a source of benefit for others.
This is also important to note that good doers are beloved of Allah Almighty. In several ayaat, it is declared that Allah loves “muhsinin” (good doers), as it is stated in this ayah/195 of Surah al-Baqarah: “And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good (muhsinun)”. The word “muhsinin” is derived from “Ihsan” which has various meanings: to do good things, to behave well, to help others, and to remain busy in good deeds for the pleasure of Allah. It is remarkable that wherever the word “muhsinun” is used in the Qur’an, in most of these places it signifies those persons who are engaged in human welfare activities. Indeed, the best form of Ihsan (doing good) is to prefer others’ needs to one’s own and to use his resources generously for the help of poor and deprived ones and to give needy persons more than their rights. It is apt to mention in this context the noble saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him): “The perfect person in his faith among the believers is the one whose behaviour is excellent.” (Sunan Abu Daud, Kitab al-Sunnah, Bab al- Dalil ala Ziyadat al-Iman wa Nuqsaanehi). What is important to see in this Hadith is that acquiring excellent behaviour is a sign of the perfectness of faith. And no one can deny the fact that one’s excellent behaviour benefits others and those who are adorned with good behaviour bring goodness for the servants of Allah in general. And there is also no doubt that the good behaviour and every sort of help to the people will earn Allah’s reward. But it cannot be overlooked that the poor, helpless, and needy persons deserve more attention, good treatment and sympathy than others. And that is why fulfilling their needs and benefitting them are considered acts of special reward from Allah Almighty, as is evident from ayaat of the Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet.
This also seems necessary to point out that in view of the Qur’an, protection of someone from harm and saving one from troubling or distressing things is also an important way of service to mankind. This is quite clear from the fact that the Holy Qur’an strictly prohibits using foul language, jeering, deriding, humiliating, mocking, suspecting, accusing, backbiting, cursing, stealing, encroaching, looting, and murdering.
In various ayaat, the followers of the Qur’an are required to lead their life in such a way that their speech and acts should not harm anyone. In ayah 11 of the Surah al- Hujuraat, the Qur’an says: “O you, who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be not better than them nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames.” The ayah clearly shows that the Qur’an forbids men and women both to harm anyone physically or psychologically, because it is a cardinal sin and to avoid these evils is a noble act earning Divine reward.
In the present days, it is painful to see that many people easily utter such words as can hurt people or cause mental distress to them. More distressing fact is that while indulging in such things, they, sometimes, even do not realise that their sayings or utterances may cause harm to someone. The Qur’anic message in this regard is quite clear and loud, as stated above. (Further details may be seen in my book “Qur’an and Service to Mankind”, published by the Brown Books Publications, New Delhi).
Moreover, inviting one to goodness or guiding to right path is, of course, a way of service to humanity. The benefits received through this source are more precious and long-standing than material ones, because it brings reform in people’s life and leads one towards piety and goodness that will ensure success in the everlasting world. The following ayah makes the same point very clear: “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and acts righteously and says, ‘Indeed, I am of the Muslims’?”(Haa. Mim al- Sajdah: 41/33)
At the end, it is also necessary to clarify that the significance and rewards of good deeds are known facts, but the acts of goodness or works of human welfare will be source of Divine reward for the doers in case these are done with the sincerely of purpose (only to seek the pleasure of Allah, and not to get name or fame). Otherwise, all would go in vain. This point is emphasised in various ayaat of the Qur’an.
In brief, in the light of teachings of the Qur’an it may be said without any hesitation that Islam is a metaphor for the fulfilment of the rights of Allah and that of His servants. Therefore, Islam demands from their followers to be sincere in fulfilling both kinds of rights, as their real success and pleasant and comfortable life in the Eternal World depends on fulfilling this duty faithfully.
Besides, it cannot be denied that the work of human welfare or service to mankind is also an effective way of winning the hearts of people and of turning enmity and hatred into love and friendship. In the present scenario of enmity and hostility, intolerance and jingoism, friction and split in families and society, teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith about service to mankind can play an effective role in the transformation of the fragmented society into a loving and caring one.
May Allah Almighty bless us with Taufiq to cement our relationship with the Qur’an and Sunnah in our daily life.
[Zafarul Islam Islahi, is former Professor and Chairman of Department of Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh India and a member of Management Committee of Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy, Azamgarh India.]