THE MIRACLE OF SERVICE
In Reader’s Digest (June 1989), a striking report was published. It was written by an Indian journalist, Mr. Ashok Mahadevan, who traveled from India to Karachi. After closely studying the situation, he compiled a detailed report that appeared in that issue of the magazine.
The report tells the story of a man from Karachi named Abdul Sattar Edhi. Over forty years of service, he earned extraordinary respect and affection in his community. In Mr. Mahadevan’s words, even Karachi’s criminals respect him. Once, when a gunfight broke out between the police and a gang of bandits on the city’s outskirts, Edhi immediately drove to the scene in an ambulance. As soon as he arrived, the bandits stopped firing. Edhi quickly lifted the body of a sub-inspector and placed it in his vehicle. The bandits waited impatiently for him to leave, signaling with their hands for him to go back. Once he had departed, they resumed firing at the police.
How did a man reach such a position, where even criminals lowered their guns at his presence? The reason was not his name, Abdul Sattar. Nor was it because of protests, demands, rallies, or speeches. There was only one reason: service to humanity. Through forty years of selfless work, Abdul Sattar Edhi won a place where even outlaws bowed before him.
Abdul Sattar Edhi, aged 55, was a Pakistani migrant. In 1947, he left Gujarat and moved to Karachi. At first, he worked in a shop that sold clothes and medicines. He often witnessed situations where a patient or accident victim desperately needed an ambulance, but because no ambulance arrived on time, the person died in agony. This gave him the idea of starting a charitable ambulance service.
In 1950, using donated funds, he bought a second-hand truck, converted it into a simple ambulance, and began serving the sick and injured. His work expanded. Today, he has a fleet of 245 ambulances. He provides free services to the poor and disabled, both within and outside Karachi. His welfare organization serves thousands of Pakistanis every day. In addition to ambulances, he runs maternity homes, blood banks, X-ray clinics, laboratories, nursing schools, orphanages, and homes for the disabled. He has also sent aid abroad—for example, $53,000 to Ethiopia, $66,000 to Palestine, $10,000 to Bangladesh, and help to other countries in need. He now plans to launch an air ambulance service and establish other major institutions, such as a modern hospital and even an animal hospital.
His annual budget is about 100 million rupees, entirely raised through public donations. Once, former President Zia-ul-Haq sent him a check for 500,000 rupees. Edhi returned it, saying that this work was for the people and should be funded by the people. He lives very simply in a two-room flat. People trust him so deeply that they donate large sums without being asked. They say, “We are certain that any money given to him will be used properly.”
In 1986, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. Until then, Abdul Sattar Edhi had been known as a local figure. This award gave him international recognition. He thus joined the distinguished list of great humanitarians, in which, until then, only Mother Teresa was widely known. Although Mother Teresa’s work is vast and she has even received the Nobel Prize, Abdul Sattar Edhi is probably the first Muslim who gave such remarkable proof of humanitarian service that he was acknowledged worldwide.
Such work cannot be done as a profession. It requires a deep compassion for God’s creation. This is what Mother Teresa and Abdul Sattar Edhi share. Mother Teresa has said:
“I see God in every human being.”
The same was true for Abdul Sattar Edhi. In reply to a question by Mr. Mahadevan, Edhi said:
“I see God in them.”
The Blessing of Service
The reward for helping others is gaining the love of people. This rule isn’t limited to any one country—it applies everywhere. Those who dedicate themselves to serving humanity find great inner peace and earn a place of respect and love in people’s hearts. Their sincerity is so strong that even enemies become friends, and even the most dangerous criminals put down their weapons when they see them.
