The Motivation for
Social Service
According to Islam when someone helps anyone, he becomes deserving of divine succour. Whatever good he has done to others, he will receive from God on a larger scale.
According to a tradition of the Prophet: “One who helped in removing the pain and trouble of another in this world shall have his trouble and pain removed by God on the Day of Judgment. One who has helped someone in difficulty shall have his difficulty eased by God in this world as well as in the Hereafter. One who kept another’s defects and negative points a secret shall have such negative points of his own kept secret by God in this world and as well as in the Hereafter. God helps people so long as they help their brothers.” (Sunan Abu Dawood 4946)
This teaching of Islam has made human service, a matter of personal interest for everyone. Accordingly, when someone helps anyone, he immediately makes himself deserving of divine succour. Whatever good he has done to others, he will receive from God on a large scale.
This teaching produces an extraordinary willingness to serve others. When a person sees someone in pain, he feels that precious moment has come when by removing that person’s difficulties he can make himself deserving of God’s mercy. Similarly, when he sees that someone is in trouble, he rushes to solve his problem, for he is convinced that by removing his difficulty, he can help himself in having his own difficulty removed at some critical point. Whenever a person’s failing or flaw comes to his knowledge, instead of making it public, he keeps it secret. In this way he makes himself deserving of having his flaws or failings kept secret by God.
The system of the world is such that sometimes someone is in need of something and another person is in a position to fulfil his need. Such circumstances exist so that one who he is able to fulfil another’s need by helping him may make himself deserving of God’s succour. And the person who has been helped should express his gratitude and acknowledgement. These feelings of gratitude and acknowledgement should come naturally to him.
