Brothers and sisters! My khutba today is on the topic: “Volunteering for the Sake of Allah,” which means being involved in any activity or project or cause that is initiated with the sole purpose of gaining Allah’s pleasure. Allah has enabled and created each one of us uniquely. Our sole purpose in this life is to gain His pleasure and use all the means He has blessed us with to do so. Allah has chosen Muslims to be role models for the whole of humanity. There is an ayah in the Qur’an that sums up the role and position Allah (SWT) expects every Muslim to live up to:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
“You are the best community brought forth for the good of mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah. “(Aal ‘Imran, 3:110)
Allah has blessed us with the beautiful gift of Islam. He has also blessed us all with a lot of free time. If we are really honest with ourselves, and analyze how we spend our time everyday and how we could have spent it better, we’ll be amazed to find out how much free time we actually have every day and how much of it we have been wasting.
When we decide to work for Allah’s sake, full-time or part-time, we should be constantly asking ourselves, “Is what I am doing for His sake and to gain His pleasure?” There are some useful guidelines that we may follow when we embark upon the journey of working for the sake of Allah.
First of all, it is important that we purify our intentions. We are well aware of the famous hadith, “Verily actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended.” We should be very cautious and careful not to fall into Riya’ or showing off. You may be remembering the hadith in which we learn how Allah throws the martyr, the scholar and the wealthy generous person into hellfire because of their insincere intentions and because of their desire to show off their deeds. So sincerity is the key. It’s ok if what we do is shown to the community around us, to encourage and motivate others, but we should make sure that we do good deeds in private as well.
We should start simple and remain consistent. It is good to be among those who work behind the stage; without whom the event, the project or the program wouldn’t have happened the way it did. No one talks about them expect perhaps a few. They talk less and work more. They fear showing off and they fear hypocrisy. We should keep reminding ourselves about the beautiful dua taught to us in the Qur’an.
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Say, my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds” (Al-An-am, 6:162). This will help us to remain focused in what we do.
Also, we have to discover our potential. There are innumerable ways to work for Allah’s sake, numerous doors of opportunities to reach out to the world with our talents, skills and abilities. We have to find out what we are made up of and contribute accordingly. Each one of us has something special about us. Each one of us is created specially with some means to serve Allah (SWT). We should constantly make dua to Allah to guide us to our maximum potential so as to be able to serve His cause. Allah says,
وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ
“And everyone has a direction to that which he turns to; so compete with one another in doing good deeds.” (al-Baqarah, 2:148)
Once we’ve planned to volunteer for a cause in addition to our normal day-to-day routine work, we should start organizing our life and be clear about our priorities. We should not take on more tasks than we can handle. Every responsibility we take up is a trust that we must fulfill, so we should take up only as much as we can deliver with excellence. Before signing up for a volunteering position, we should ask ourselves: “What am I going to learn from this?” Through every volunteering opportunity, there is learning. We have to keep on learning and enriching ourselves while we plan to give to others. No matter how religious we may think we are, Shaytan traps us in different ways, mainly through doubts and desires. We have to keep seeking Allah’s refuge from Shaytan. Volunteering for the sake of Allah is not about achieving the desired results. It is about contributing towards making a positive change. The effort is in your hand, the result is with Allah (SWT). And the only goal is to gain His pleasure.
Brothers and sisters! How can we reap maximum benefit and reward while working as a volunteer? To begin with, we have to be passionate in whatever we do. As mentioned before, each one of us is uniquely created to serve Allah’s deen in our own ways. Every single thing He created serves a unique and different purpose. If our presence in this world didn’t have any significant purpose, we wouldn’t have been created. Our spirituality is driven by understanding and living our purpose. Living our purpose is what drives our closeness to Allah (SWT) in the form of making a worthwhile contribution in whatever way we can.
In addition to discovering our potential, we should find out what the need of the hour is for those around us by identifying the problems the community around us is facing and what we can do about it based on our skills and resources. If we need people with certain expertise that we don’t have, then we should form a team of passionate people with potential to do the job. If there are projects and organizations already doing that job, then we should try to be a part of them in whichever way we can.
It’s also very important that whatever we do the sake of Allah (SWT), we do it very seriously, and we do it to the best of our capability, and we do it to the point of perfection. According to a hadith, “Indeed Allah loves one who when he does a work, he does it with itqan.” In other words, Allah is pleased with the person who when he performs a deed, he executes it with perfection. Itqan in this hadith refers to the attitude of being careful, meticulous, diligent and excellent in carrying out responsibilities and tasks. Islam requires; rather it demands that whatever we undertake to do, we do it really well. There are no half-hearted measures in Islam. No sloppy, shoddy work. If you are a Muslim, and you do something, you have to do it well. But unfortunately this is something many of us have forgotten.
This is one of those important lessons of our culture and history that we need to re-learn. When we do something, whatever it may be, those looking at our work should be able to say: “Ah! a Muslim must have done it!” That is how our predecessors used to be, and that is what we need to become. Our dedication and commitment to our work will not only let us progress further in work, but will earn for us the blessings and mercy from Allah (SWT). The Prophet (SAW) said in a hadith, “Allah is good and accepts only that which is good.” This hadith encourages us to work carefully and responsibly to earn the pleasure of Allah (SWT). As a community, we must always look for ways to improve our situation. We must discard any poor image of ourselves, and our work ethics. The Qur’an tells us that our situation will not change for the better, if we do not put in any effort to change it ourselves.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ
“Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in themselves.” (Ar-R’ad, 13:11)
We should make dua seeking refuge from laziness and helplessness. A Prophetic dua teaches us to say,
اللّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعْوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الهَـمِّ وَ الْحُـزْنِ، والعَجْـزِ والكَسَلِ والبُخْـلِ والجُـبْنِ، و أَعْوذُ بِكَ مِن غَلَبَةِ الدَّيْنِ وَقَهْرِ الرِّجَالِ
“O Allah! I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, and I seek refuge in You from the burden of debts and from being over powered by men.” We are also taught to say,
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ
“O Allah! Help me to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You in the best of manners.” May Allah bless us all and give us all a deep understanding of the deen that He has ordained for us.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! Respecting differences of opinion is a trait every volunteer should have, to avoid becoming self-righteous and arrogant. Another important point to note is that we should conduct shura or consultation when working in a team. Allah says:
وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
“And those who respond to their Lord, pray regularly, conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and give of what We have provided for them” (Ash-Shura, 42:38). Shura is to take sincere opinions into consideration seriously. In other words, you are open to other ideas and haven’t yet made up your mind. It also involves exchanging thoughts with the knowledge that maybe what you had in mind isn’t the best and what others offer may be better or a combination of the two can be worked out.
Doing voluntary work for the sake of Allah (SWT) is a highly dignified and honorable deed. We don’t want to demoralize it with unacceptable behavior. We have to exhibit good character (akhlaq). According to a hadith, “Nothing is placed on the Scale that is heavier than good character. Indeed the person with good character will have attained the rank of the person of fasting and prayer.” Therefore, we must keep purifying our spiritual hearts with the remembrance of Allah (SWT). Let me conclude by saying that any Islamic project can only be successful if it is run according to Islamic guidelines. Volunteering allows us to follow our passion while contributing to a cause that’s important to us. We’re all in this together. It is a great way to meet and get to know others in our community. Always remind yourself of what an honor you are carrying on your shoulders by working for the sake of Allah (SWT). May Allah give us the tawfiq to do voluntary work for His sake and may He accept it from us.
