7. Obedience to God, Helping God
According to the Quran, after believing in God, a man is required in practical life to carry out a two-fold task. One is obedience to God and the other is helping God. Obedience to God means man’s obedience to all the commandments given by God through His revelations to the Prophet, and his refraining from all such acts as have been forbidden by God in His Book or through His Prophet.
Helping God means ‘making effort in His cause’. This is an exceptional honour which is granted only to a true believer. It is the same precept which is mentioned in the Quran as dawah ilallah, or calling people to God. Since it is a task which is seen as desirable by God Himself and is performed by servants of God, it is therefore called ‘helping God’.
The believer of his own accord must follow the commands of God relating to worship, morality and dealing justly with people. With this the believer proves his servitude and becomes eligible for God’s rewards. But the case of dawah is different. According to the Quran, it is performed so that mankind may have no excuse or argument against God. Due to the exigency of putting man to the test, God wants this work to be given special priority. This is a divine mission which is carried out by men, on behalf of God, and they are, therefore, rewarded for it by God in the hereafter. Here are some verses from the Quran to underline this point:
Believers, be God’s helpers. When Jesus, son of Mary, said to the disciples: ‘Who will come with me to the help of God?’ The disciples replied: ‘We shall be God’s helpers.’ Some of the Children of Israel believed in him while others did not. We supported the believers against their enemies and they triumphed over them.’ (61:14)
What is the meaning of helping God or being the helpers of God in this verse? It means giving oneself wholeheartedly to the divine dawah mission. It means joining oneself with the divine plan whole-heartedly in both word and deed so that mankind might have no argument against God on the Day of Judgement.
The noted commentator of the Quran, Ibn Kathir, explained it in thus: ‘Who will help me in the task of calling people to God?’ The followers of Jesus replied: “We are your helpers in the mission with which you have been sent forth, and we will be your helpers in this mission.” For this reason Jesus sent them to Syria to the Israelites and the Romans. In the same way the last Prophet used to go to people during the Hajj season and he would ask: “Who among you will help me so that I may convey the message of God to people, because the Quraysh are stopping me from conveying to people the message of God?”’
