WORKING TOGETHER

Working Together ~ 29 ~ WORKING TOGETHER One particular quality of true believers has been pinpointed in the Qur’an. It is that when they are with the Prophet—or in other words the person responsible for Muslims’ affairs—“on a matter requiring collective action, they do not depart until they have asked for his leave ...” (Qur’an, 24:62). Here collective action means any activity involving a group of people working together. And the “asking of leave” is indicative of the wider spirit in which the work is done—a spirit of deep commitment, like the commitment one feels to some personal work. A high degree of motivation is required for a person to become so deeply involved in a task that he will not leave it until the work in hand has been accomplished. Such motivation is inherent in work involving personal profit: it is in one’s own interest to see the work through to the bitter end, and so one does so. One is moved by a sense of personal responsibility: if one does not accomplish the task oneself, who will do it for one? With work involving a group of people, on the other hand, one