Islam is a welfare religion

Islam and Social work

Islam is not one of those artificial religions or imaginary philosophies of life that consider social work, social services and cooperation with others as merely praiseworthy and commendable; rather, Islam is a welfare religion by its very nature, its very essence is the service of God’s creation and its welfare and well-being.

This is why Islam teaches its followers to think not only of themselves; but also of others, and this thought should not be limited to material comfort; rather, it should also include the satisfaction of spiritual thirst, and in this concept of goodness, he has included not only the mortal world; but also the immortal hereafter; therefore, the Prophet of Islam himself was in such a state that all his energy, all his abilities and tireless struggle were spent on how to reunite the separated creature with its Creator; so that his fate would not be the blazing flames of hell;  Rather, the thought of becoming the breath of Paradise, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made this thought so appealing that he became absorbed in it and even forgot himself. Referring to this, the Quran says:

﴿فَلَعَلَّکَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَکَ عَلٰی آثَارِہِمْ إِنْ لَّمْ یُؤْمِنُوْا بِہٰذَا الْحَدِیْثِ أَسَفًا ﴾․(الکہف:6)

Translation: If they do not believe, will you destroy yourself for their sake?

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How Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spent his days and nights?

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spent his days and nights thinking and working on how to serve the people of Allah and solve their problems. There was no distinction between the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the men and the women, nor was there any distinction between them. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) considered the entire world of humanity as one family in terms of service, in such a way that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) declared all human beings to be the children of Allah and considered every person worthy of respect who serves the children of Allah in any way. So he said:

الخلق کلھم عیال اللہ، وأحب خلقہ إلیہ أنفعھم لعیالہ․“ (مجمع الزوائد:13707).

All creation is the family of Allah, and the most beloved to Allah is that which benefits His family.

When the great Persian general Rustam asked about Islam?

When the great Persian general Rustam asked about Islam and the purpose of his coming, Rabi’ ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) pointed out this fact and said: “We have come to bring mankind out of the slavery of men to the service of their Lord, from the narrowness of this world to the spaciousness of the Hereafter, and from the oppression of religions to the justice of Islam.” (Al-Bidayah and Al-Nihayah: 7)

Translation: We have come to bring mankind out of the slavery of men to the service of their Lord, to make them aware of the spaciousness of the Hereafter in contrast to the narrowness of this world, and to make them aware of the justice of Islam in contrast to the oppression of religions.

Greatness of a person

Islam has stated that the criterion for the greatness and greatness of a person is how much benefit he is getting to people, so the more beneficial he is to others, the better he will be considered.

خَیْرُ النَّاسِ أَنْفَعُھُمْ لِلنَّاسِ(مسند الشہاب:129)

Since the real mission of Islam is to serve the people, it completely changed the traditional concept of servant and servant. It made the leader, chief and responsible person a servant instead of a servant. Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The leader of the people is their servant.” (Jami’ al-Musanid wa al-Marasil: 13103) This teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is not only verbal; it is also practical. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not only invite people to serve the people; he also presented a practical example of it. Hazrat Khabbab was out of Medina on a war campaign.

 There was no man at his house and the women did not know how to milk milk. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to go to his house every day and milk milk.

Similarly, once a mad girl asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for help, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Sit in any street of Medina, I will definitely help you.  Service to the people was a distinctive characteristic of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and its reflection could be seen not only outside the house, but also inside the house. When Hazrat Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), what was the usual routine of the Prophet (peace be upon him) at home? She replied that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stay in the service of his family, and when the time for prayer came, he would go for prayer.

The importance of serving the people

The importance of serving the people to the Prophet (peace be upon him) can be gauged from the fact that he (peace be upon him) used to regularly advise his companions to serve the people along with acts of worship and wanted them to become a source of goodness and well-being for others.

Therefore, when the news of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) mission reached Hazrat Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), he sent his brother to Mecca to find out the situation. On his return from Mecca, he told Abu Dharr al-Ghifari the following details: “I saw you (peace be upon you) enjoining noble morals.” Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam narrates that the first command I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was: Spread greetings, feed people and maintain good relations.

 In another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Feeding the poor is the most beloved thing to Allah Almighty.” (Kanz-ul-A’mal) The result of these teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the training of his companions on this path was that the spirit of serving humanity became so ingrained in the companions that their lives were filled with this spirit, and these things became ingrained in them like the fragrance of flowers, the moonlight in a candle, and the redness in the twilight. The result was that wherever these men lived, helping the poor, helping the afflicted, entertaining guests, and serving the needy were their special occupations. This was their mission.

They did not live their lives for themselves, but for others. The needy did not go out in search of them.  Rather, you used to wander around in search of the needy. The books of history and biography are full of examples of this. It is narrated about Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that when he became the Caliph, a girl from Medina came to him and said with sadness: Now that you have become the Caliph, who will milk our goats? Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) swore: I will continue to do this work as before, my Caliphate will not be an obstacle to it.  The candle of service to humanity that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had lit in the hearts of his companions did not fade even after his death, and the mission of service to humanity continued even after he became the Caliph.

 Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in such a state that he did not call himself the Commander of the Faithful, but rather the Ajir (the hired servant) of the believers, and he was always busy fulfilling the needs of the needy. Hazrat Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him)’s wealth was almost dedicated to public welfare.

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was also so full of the passion for service to humanity that no one who asked for anything would leave his door empty-handed. His famous saying is that Paradise is eager for the person who is busy fulfilling the needs of his brother. It is the grace of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the world became acquainted with social welfare and well-being.

Obtaining food is a major problem for the poor

Among the needs and wants of man, obtaining food is the most important. Obtaining food is a major problem for the poor, the needy, travelers, and even students. Islam has fulfilled this important and basic need of man in various ways. First of all, it has encouraged every person of status and wealth to feed the hungry and has promised great rewards for this act.

﴿فَکُلُوْا مِنْھَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِیْرَ﴾ (الحج:22) .

﴿ وَیُطْعِمُوْنَ الطَّعَامَ عَلٰی حُبِّہ

 مِسْکِیْنًا وَیَتِیْمًا وَأَسِیْرًا ﴾(الدھر:8).

They feed the poor, the orphan and the prisoner out of love for Allah.

This promise of reward and reward is for those who are able to do so, and for those who are not able to do so, it is commanded for them to encourage others and encourage them to do so, in which case they will also share equally in this good deed and they will also be rewarded for it; but if they abandon this action, they will be worthy of punishment, because Allah Almighty has set a share for the poor and the needy in the wealth of the wealthy.

If they do not pay it and the poor are forced to live hungry and naked, then Allah will hold them accountable for it severely: “Indeed, Allah has enjoined upon the poor from the wealth of the rich as much as they can, and if they prevent them from doing so until they become hungry or become intoxicated, Allah will hold them accountable severely.” (Tarikh Baghdad: 873).

The recognition of the greatness of the Creator of the universe

The recognition of the greatness of the Creator of the universe and the compassion and mercy of God towards His creation are the fundamental messages of Islam, which are not only condemned for ignoring; but also warned of severe punishment for doing so.

﴿أَرَأَیْتَ الَّذِیْ یُکَذِّبُ بِالدِّیْنِ،فَذٰلِکَ الَّذِیْ یَدُعُّ الْیَتِیْمَ، وَلَا یَحُضُّ عَلٰی طَعَامِ الْمِسْکِیْنِ﴾․ (الماعون:3-1)

Translation: You have seen the one who denies the reward of the Hereafter, he is the one who pushes away the orphan and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.

﴿وَلَا تَحَاضُّوْنَ عَلٰی طَعَامِ الْمِسْکِیْنِ﴾․ (فجر:18).

Translation: And do not provoke one another to feed the poor.

After food, clothing is the most important and basic need of a human being. Various methods have been adopted in Islam to provide it, and clothing has been formally mentioned along with food.