Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him)

served mankind by educating the people, he had more than 6,000
students studying under him from all over the world. They did not just
learn about Islam, but were taught various subjects including
mathematics, astronomy and science. This eventually terminated the
Dark Age in Europe.
We can fulfill our responsibility of serving mankind by educating the
people, laying more emphasis on Islamic education, arranging
educational and awareness campaigns about Islam, helping the people -
especially the youth - understand the true meaning behind the message
brought by Holy Prophet and protected byAhlul Bayt, even at the cost
of their lives. We must encourage them to spread this knowledge among
fellow beings.
A Muslim's responsibility does not end just here. It is our duty to
act as true representatives of Islam and behave in accordance to the
Islamictenets. We are expected to treat our fellow beingswith love and
honesty, torespect them and always be available to them whenever they
are in need, whatever may be the kind of their need.
Some uninformed peopleobject that, "If Islam is a true religion of
God, thenwhy doesn't it help mankind and promote peace and love?"
Islam states that service to humanity is a part of faith. Muslims
should be actively engaged in socialwelfare and educational needs, not
only for fellowMuslims, but also for all the communities where they
reside.
You are the best community that has beenraised for mankind. You enjoin
good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah. [Aal-e-Imran, 3:110]
In this verse, Muslims have been enjoined by Allah (SWT) to serve
mankind and promote goodness. If they fail to achieve this, then they
can not state that they are the "best community". After all, a faith
which is insensitive to the suffering of other human beings and is not
inclined to serve the cause of humanity cannot be described as a good
faith. But Islam teaches that Muslims must be always ready to serve
mankind and have love and kindness for all of God's creation.
And serve Allah and do not associate any thing with Him and be good to
the parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and
the neighbor of (your) kin and the alien neighbor, and the companion
in a journey and the wayfarer and those whom your right hands possess;
surely Allah does not love him who is proud, boastful; [An-Nisa, 4:36]
In this verse, Allah (SWT) very beautifully guides the Muslims to
discharge their duties towards all sections of society. We should
display kindness to everyone whether they are kind to us or not. In
this way by following this teaching we can create peace, loveand
harmony in the society.
Noble Qur'an expressly declares that the human race is one family. All
of us are the children of Adam and Eve, whether our skin is white or
black.At various places it says:"All human beings are a single nation"
(2:213)."All human beings are naught but a single nation and yet they
disagree" (10:19). "And verily this your nation (human beings) is a
single nation" (21:92) and (23:52).

Humanity in Islam: Service to Mankind is Service to God

We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. -
Albert Einstein
Man is born with a heart of compassion which reacts in accordance to
the feelings of fellow humans. Compassion, love, affection and care
are the innate qualities which make a human. These qualities define
man. The development orsuppression of these qualities entirely depends
on man himself. From time to time, philosophers and religious scholars
have tried to encourage people to increase these innate qualities in
themselves. Humanity is one such aspect which has been stressed upon
in all parts of the world."Service to Mankind is service to God" is
the proverb highly prevalent all over the world. Serving and treating
fellow human beings with courtesy and kindness is an essential part of
a good moral conduct. All world religions share and support this
concept.
Humanity is what you sayto someone when you think no one's watching.
It's what you do when you are all by yourself. Humanity is what you
feel when you watch another person suffering and decide to either do
nothing or do something.Humanity is the ability to reach out and hug
someone. Humanity is being grateful for your family, your friends, and
your ability to do something in this world to your society.
Humanity is the ability to trust, the ability to connect, the ability
to touch. To be human means we can move, create, love, share and
laugh. One example to inculcate the ability to serve mankind in
humansis about the "Good Samaritan" who has helped a sick man and did
not even care to reveal his identity to the people.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them
humanity cannot survive. - Dalai Lama
Islamhas put much emphasis on serving humans, but providing merely
food and shelter to fellow humans cannot be considered as a service to
Allah (SWT) on the whole. It is inappropriate to think that we are
serving mankind as a whole by simply spending a huge amount in
charity.
Every human being is a problem in search of a solution. - Ashley Montagu
Service to Allah (SWT) is being obedient to Him in a way that He
expects humans to be. The first stage of this obedience isour
acceptance of Tawhid. Once we give our acceptance of the oneness of
Allah (SWT), we are expected to obey Him in a way that He has
prescribed to us. This is the stage where man fulfills all the
mandatory acts like prayers, charity, pilgrimage etc. It is the stage
where man develops the bondage between himself and Allah (SWT)
directly.
The third stage is serving the family and relations: fulfilling the
rights of his dependents and of people closely related to him. Here
again, man attains further closeness to Allah (SWT) through his
family, by pleasing them.
No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't
look back on having given love and attention to your own family,
whathave you really accomplished? - Lee Iacocca
Then comes the fourth stage, which is about service to human beings.
Man attains closeness to Allah (SWT) by serving hisfellow beings.
But the main question is, in what way should the fellow beings be
served, so that the service could be termed as service to Allah (SWT)
as a whole? Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari in his book, The Perfect Man,
says:"Serving people is fine and we should serve them. But if we
provide them with food and clothes alone, we would be treating them
like animals, especially if we suppose no higher valuesexist for them.
If service is confined to this, what would be the difference between
Abu Dhar and Mu'awiya?" Definitely, mere provision of food and shelter
does not fulfill the purpose. There has to be an additional form of
service. Every Muslim is expected to render his duties towardsthe
society in which he lives. The actual service to human beings lies in
treating them as humans first. We need to help ourfellow human beings
in nurturing and growing their innate qualities which define them as
humans. Man is different from all the creatures of both the worlds and
so are his duties and responsibilities towards his Creator. Surely,
service to this special creature has to be by helping him understand
and render his responsibilities towards his Creator.
Man is born with the innate ability of learning and understanding. He
is capable of multiplying his knowledge through understanding and
analyzing what he has learnt. Man is not pre-programmed to obeyand
pray to Allah (SWT). He does so by his own free will. This makes him
different from the rest of creatures, and therefore heaven and hell
are made to reward and punish him accordingly. The method of serving
man is by grooming and molding him in accordance to the tenets of
Islam. This helps man to distinguish himself and highlight his
superiority towards other creatures. Education and awarenessare the
two methods thatcan be implemented to help man understand himself.
We find in Islamic history the best examples of loveand compassion for
fellow human beings. Sometimes we find the Prophet of Islam (peace be
upon him and his progeny) serving the needy and weak; sometimes we see
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) sitting with the sick and the poor,
attending to their needs affectionately; and sometimes we see other
members from our holy Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them)giving the same
service to needy ones. Islam has laid great stress on helping the poor
and needy ones. Butwe know that man's needs are not confined to just
material aspects oflife; rather, he seeks to fulfill higher needs as
well, like guidance and seeking knowledge. Hence we find that along
with material needs, the Holy Prophet and Ahlul Bayt have quenched
humanity's spiritual thirstas well. Man is a creature who always longs
for company, love and compassion.
If Islam had given the world nothing but this one simple clarion
message, "Read!" (Noble Qur'an, 96:1) - and that too at the dawn of
the Seventh Century - the entire world would still be in its debt
forever. Butthe tragedy is that Non-Muslims don't know and Muslims
won't tell."

Ramadan Articles - Lest We Forget Them…

Ramadancomes this year while the troubles and disasters afflicting
theUmmah)Muslim nation( are greater than the previousRamadan. There
are the homeless, hungry, frightened, imprisoned people and other
poverty-stricken Muslims in various countries of the world.
What is our attitude towards thissituation?
First:One should acknowledge the favors of Allaah The Almighty upon
him. No matter how bad his condition is, there are people whose
conditions are worse; andnever can he be able to thank Allaah The
Almighty enough for His countless favors.
Second: Empathizing with the conditions of one's fellow Muslims drives
the Muslim to adopt a positive attitude towardsthem. Hence, he would
do as much as he could by supplicatingAllaah The Almighty for them
andhelping them either materially ormorally.
This is one of the many wisdoms of fasting: that a Muslim empathizes
with the condition ofhis fellow Muslims.
One of the righteous predecessors was asked why fasting was
legislated. he said,"So that the rich experience hunger. Accordingly,
they will notforget the hungry people."
This is one aspect of the wisdoms and benefits of fasting. In this
way, the principle of brotherhood and loyalty among Muslims would be
achieved. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}The believing men and
believing women are allies of oneanother.{]Quran 9:71[ The Prophet,,
said:"The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy
are just like one body. When one of its organs suffers, the whole body
responds to it with wakefulness and fever."
It should be known thatRamadanis the season of generosity and
benevolence in every means. We have a good example in our Prophet,.
Ibn 'Abbaassaid,"The Messengerof Allaahwas the most generous of people
in charity, but he was generous to the utmost in the month of Ramadan.
Jibreel )Gabriel( would meet him every year during the month of
Ramadan and the Messenger of Allaahrecited to him the Quran. )When
Jibreel met him( the Messenger of Allaahwas more generous in giving
charity than the blowing wind."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Ibn Katheersaid,"This is a very eloquent simile where generosity is
likened to the blowing wind in its generality, succession and
ceaselessness."
An-Nawawisaid,"There are benefits in this Hadeeth: showingthe
greatness of the generosity of the Prophet; the recommendation of
being more generous in Ramadan; and increasing generosity when meeting
the righteous people and after leaving them as an effect of meeting
them."
If not today, then when?
This blessed month, which has the atmosphere of generosity and
benevolence, necessitates that we look into the conditions of each
other and that the rich helps the poor.
It is indeed saddening that there are some prisoners who are deprived
of the joy of gathering around the table to break the fast
ofRamadanwith their families and participating in acts of worship with
their brothers and reaping the spiritual benefitsof this month away
from physicalrestrictions.
We want to ask a general question: where are the well-off people?
Where are the rich? Where are the millionaires?
The rich in our Islamic countries especially those
whoseZakaah)obligatory charity( amounts to millions are requested to
come out of the "prison" of selfishness and to get rid of the
restrictions of stinginess and to pay attention to their distressed
fellows.
Brothers and sisters, it is shameful that one of us remains in prison
because of not paying a mere ten thousand rent for his family home.
It is a shame that one of us is imprisoned for a long time because of
just three thousand, for the value of bread and milk for his children.
It is indeed a great shame. Whereis chivalry? Where is mercy towards each other?
Do those people who put their indebted rivals in prison have no place
in their hearts for mercy or pardon? Whoever pardons, AllaahThe
Almighty would pardon him. Whoever shows leniency for indebted people,
Allaah The Almighty would forgive him especially if the creditor is
rich and is not in need of this money.
I present this marvelous treasurefor the rich and well-off people. The
Prophet,, said:"There was a merchant who used to loan money to the
people and he used to say to his servants: `When an insolvent person
comes to you, show him leniencyso that Allaah The Almighty may pardon
our faults.' So when he met Allaah )i.e., when he died(, Allaah
forgave him."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ In another narration,"Allaah
Says, We are worthier to do this than him, forgive him."
The Prophet,, also said:"He who likes Allaah to deliver him from the
calamities of the Day of Resurrection, let him either give respite to
a debtor or grant him remission )of loans( in straitened
circumstances."]Muslim[
If our rich brothers do not hastento do so today, when would they do it?

Ramadan Articles - Farewell Ramadan

When one ponders over the history of nations, they will realise that
all are in the process of constant change. This is the course destined
for them by Allaah and nothing can change that.
If an honourable guest visits you in your dwellings, showers you with
goodness and loves you – which you reciprocate; then the time for his
departure arrives, how are you going to bid him farewell and how are
you going to feel? What separation is then greater and more emotional
thanthat from the beloved guest of the Muslims, the blessed month of
Ramadan?
Ramadanis the month of righteousness and generosity, the month of
forgiveness and liberation from Hell. It is all but gone now and
nothing remains of it but a few days. Yesterday, we were
congratulating each other on the arrival of the month; today we are
consoling one another over its departure and invoking Allaah to accept
all our acts of worship.
In this noble month, many have done good deeds, while others have done
the opposite. These deeds are going to testify for or against us on
the Day of Reckoning. We do not know whether we are going to live to
witness this glorious month again or not. Therefore, the fortunate
Muslim during this month was the one who was able to perfect their
acts of worship with sincerity and self-examination and end it with
sincere repentance, for acts are judged according to their ends.
Our righteous predecessorsused to exert maximum effort in perfecting
their acts of worship and had grave concerns regarding their
acceptance or rejection. 'Ali ibn Abu Taalibwarned: "Have a greater
concern for the acceptance of your deeds than you do for the amount of
deeds you have performed. Do not you hear the saying of Allaah)which
means(:"Indeed, Allaah accepts only from the righteous."]Quran 5: 27[
Fudhaalah ibn 'Ubaydsaid: "To know that Allaah has accepted a single
act of righteousness from me would bedearer to me than this world
andall that it contains." This is how our diligent predecessorswere.
May the peace of Allaah be upon the month of fasting and night
prayers! May the peace of Allaah be upon the month of the Quran and
the remembrance of Allaah! It has now passed like the twinkling of an
eye, yet while it was here it was an arena for those who race to do
good deeds. We have to endeavour, then, to utilise the remaining hours
of it by performing good deeds for Ramadan can never be substituted by
any other month. It is a month in which hearts are refined and sins
are forgiven. It isa month of security and peace forthe frightened. In
this great month, many hands have been raised in supplication, many a
tear has been shed and many a heart has been struck with the fear of
Allaah. Allaah has showered His Mercy and Favor on many of His slaves
in this month -particularly in the last ten days ofit.
When will one who has not been forgiven his/her sins in this month
ever be forgiven? When will the one whose supplication is rejected
inLaylatul-Qadr)the Night of Decree/Power( ever haveit accepted? Ibn
Rajabnarrated that 'Ali ibn Abu Taalibused to proclaim in the last
night of Ramadan: "I earnestly wish I knew those whose acts of worship
have been accepted so that I could congratulate them; and I earnestly
wish I knew thosewhose acts of worship have beenrejected so that I
could commiserate with them!"
Whose loss is greater than he who missed the blessings of Ramadan?
When will the one who did not reform himself during the month of
Ramadan ever do so? When will the one who was not cured from the
sickness of ignorance and heedlessness in this month ever get cured?
For those among us who have committed great sins, these few remaining
blessed days are an opportunity to repent, for whoever is librated
from Hell has indeed won a great reward. As for those who have been
liberated from Hell by our Lord; they should do their level best not
to indulge in sin again. They should not move closer to Hell after
Allaah Almighty Has pardoned them from it. We musthasten, therefore,
to do more good deeds, for some of us may not live to see the end of
this year. Let the negligent ones among us seize the opportunity of
this outgoing month in doing righteous deeds before it is too late.
Let the heedless ones among us wake up and remember the terrible fate
that awaits them; let them try to spend the rest of their lives
doinggood deeds.
Let us look at our present condition in light of the effects
Ramadanhad on us. Let us compare our condition at the start of Ramadan
to our condition now: Was the advent of Ramadan something that made us
become pious? Did it reform our actions and conduct? Did it unify our
ranks against our enemies? Did it remove the hatred and rancour
between us? Did it eliminate the evil deeds committed by our
communities?
We have responded to the call of our Lord by fasting, so we
shouldrespond to His Command in all other matters and at all times. We
must humble our hearts for the mention of Allaah and be united in
adherence to the Book of Allaah )the Quran( and theSunnah)tradition(
of His Prophet,so that the Muslim nation may be saved from calamities.
Zakaat Al-Fitr:
Allaah has prescribed for us, at the end of Ramadan,a great deed with
which we can make amends for our deficiencies within that month. By
doing this,we can also gain immense rewards; Allaah Says )what
means(:"He wants for you to complete the period and to magnify Allaah
for that )to( which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be
grateful."]Quran 2: 185[
Therefore, Allaah also prescribedZakaat Al-Fitr]end of Ramadan
alms-giving[ for us as a sign of gratitude to Him for facilitating
fasting and night prayers for us, to purify us from any obscenity we
may have uttered and as a feeding for the poor and the needy in order
to promote the brotherhood and unity among the Muslims. The amount to
be given is oneSaa']approximately 3kg[ of wheat, rice or any other
staple food of the land. It is to begiven by every Muslim, be they
young, old, male or female. It is also rewardable if it is given on
behalf of the unborn foetus. It is best given between
theFajrand'Eedprayers )on the day of 'Eed( but there is no harm if it
is given a day or two before''Eed.
It is recommended to give it out in foodstuff as it has been
explicitly explained in theHadeethand in accordance with the practice
of our righteous predecessors. So give this charity out, for Allaah
has only asked you to give a negligible amount of the huge bounty that
He has bestowed upon you.
We should continue in our good deeds even after Ramadan and be
constant in observing the five obligatory prayers and other actsof
worship. We should know thatamong the signs of the acceptance of a
good deed is to continue and be steadfast in performing that deed, and
that itis only the evil people who know and worship Allaah in Ramadan
only.