Levels of Participation in Islamic Work

[Atlantic]

Here's an article i really think is worthwhile reading, i learned something...thought to share it, so we all could benefit from it.

| Dr. `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî |


The field of Islamic work – and the scope for doing good deeds – is a broad one, and we find that people are at different levels with respect to their participation in it. We can identify four distinct levels of participation.

Some people are the source of strength and vitality for the initiation and completion of good works. They represent the highest level of participation. These people are an inspiration to those around them and they are the one's whose presence makes things get done. When they are not on the scene, activities grind to a crawl. They are like the rain when it falls on parched land and causes it to bloom. These are the ones who take the initiatives and capitalize on opportunities. They are the one's who expand into new frontiers.

These motivated people are on different levels among themselves. Some of them have the ability to mobilize entire peoples. Others can inspire the fellow citizens of their own countries. Some can mobilize their communities and neighborhoods. What unites these people is that they are self-motivated and proactive. The people of influence in the history of peoples and nations are of this caliber. The generation of the Companions was full of people like this. Muslim history attests to many luminaries who possessed these qualities, the likes of Ibn al-Mubârak, al-Thawrî, al-Shâfi`î, Ahmad b. Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyah, and Ibn `Abd al-Wahhâb. Such people are among the best examples of this group

Allah says: " It is these who hasten in every good work, and they are foremost in (attaining) them." [Sûrah al-Mu'minûn: 61]

People at this level are the one's the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke about when he said: “Whoever starts in Islam a good practice (sunnah hasanah) and is emulated by others will get the reward of his deed as well as that of all those who follow suit, without their rewards being diminished in the least." [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]

Then there are people who make sure to get involved in all manner of good work. These people represent the second level of participation. These people do not possess the initiative of the first group, nor do they have the same ability to create opportunities and capitalize on those that are already available. However, they are willing to work hard and throw themselves wholeheartedly into whatever projects for doing good they find available to them. People on this second level of participation are always found in the company of people on the first. They are willing to work with others and reduce the workload. Though people on the second level are not as lower in ranking than those on the first, they are nevertheless the backbone of Islamic work and its workforce. It is through their combined efforts that the job gets done.

They are the righteous people who go uncelebrated. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If he is engaged in guard duty, then that is what he is engaged in. If he is providing refreshments, then that is what he is doing. Yet, if he were to seek an audience, no one would give him one and if he sought to intercede, his intercession would not be acknowledged. Such people are blessed." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (2887)]

Among their ranks were the people who were mentioned among the martyrs to the Caliph `Umar. The people said to `Umar: "O Commander of the Faithful! You do not know them?"

The Caliph replied with tears in his eyes: "What harm is it to them if `Umar does not know them? For Allah knows them."

Such people may not inspire others to act, but they are the ones who act along with them. Though they do not preside over great works, those works would never be accomplished without them. They are upon goodness.

Then there are those good, solid, pious people who are not easily inspired. These represent the third level. They cannot muster a firm and long-lasting resolve to action. No matter how much others try to motivate them, they remain unmotivated. In spite of their goodness, they remain in their place. They offer their prayers, pay their required charity, engage in what is lawful and avoid what is sinful. They do nothing more than that.

Whatever might be done to inspire them to action is to no avail. The coldness of their spirits simply absorbs the heat of motivation. Any fleeting moment of inspiration quickly passes by. The efforts that should be taken with them should rather focus on safeguarding them from discouraging good works or belittling their importance. As for going forward and actually doing something, that is something that rarely takes place.

Though they are lower in ranking when it comes to their participation in Islamic work than those on the levels above them, they are nevertheless to be praised for upholding the rites and teachings of their faith and for the righteousness they exhibit in their own lives. Such righteous people are also to be acknowledged for the fact that they do not cause injury for others. These are the Muslims who do not injure or abuse others with their words and deeds. They are the believers whom the people can trust. They are the emigrants who emigrated from what Allah has forbidden. They are upon goodness.

Finally there are those who are to some extent affiliated to good deeds, but they are incapable of maintaining a full commitment to it. They represent the fourth level of commitment. They do not have enough of a desire to do good, and they have an improper conceptualization of things. Though they like to affiliate themselves with good works, you never see them when it is time to do any work. You never find them doing anything productive.

In spite of their incapacity, they do not remain passive. They are always present, but not in a way that they are wanted. They are ever ready to abuse those who work and to provide debilitating criticism. They are taken by surprise with the successes of others and their insufficiencies keep them away from participating and sharing in that success.

Not only are they unable to achieve anything on their own, they are loathe to see others achieving things. Therefore, they busy themselves with tearing down what others have built up. Some of them might expend enough efforts in their destructive pursuits to achieve great works if they had employed their energies productively. Alas, since these people cannot achieve anything positive with their efforts, they are willing to expend all their strength to ensure that no one else succeeds in doing so.

Such people are always present whenever there are people working to improve things. It is almost as if those people are a necessary consequence of success and an indication of it.

The most charitable thing for them is to be advised to put a stop their harmful conduct. If they stop their bad behavior, they will be giving charity to themselves.

It remains us to take a good look at ourselves and ask: In which category do we fall?

[RAHEN]

If they stop their bad behavior, they will be giving charity to themselves.
so true..

JAzakAllah alf khair...