Social Service

Social Service

1990 9 September 5 Social Service (370) “The best person is one who can be of the greatest service to others.”

Service to humanity is one of the highest ideals. Just consider that if a man were to exhibit signs of distress before a statue, there would be no incentive that would induce the statue to help him out of his misery. A human being, however who has a compassionate heart, would be greatly moved to see someone in distress; his first impulse would be to do whatever he could to help. Such positive action is the bedrock of social service.

In the words of the Prophet: “The best person is one who can be of the greatest service to others.” This tells us the criterion, according to Islam, by which to judge a man’s virtue. That is, a man should not live for himself alone, but should try as far as possible to benefit others.

According to the Qur’an, a believer is like a tree. What is a tree? A tree is a living, growing thing which offers man the greatest of advantages. A tree, entirely of its own accord, gives benefits to others.

A tree gives people shade. It gives fruit, it gives wood, it supplies fresh oxygen. It lends beauty to the earth. In fact, there are too many benefits to be enumerated. And all these benefits are reaped by man. Indeed, the highest form of service a man can perform is to give benefit to others, unilaterally, without any hope of return, in exactly the same way as the tree does. In this respect, the tree is the best example a man can have in rendering service to others.

In the case of human beings, the benefits of service do not go only to the recipient. The giver also benefits from his own altruism, for when he helps others without any reward, he raises himself to the highest psychological state; he uplifts his soul to a higher plane, thereby building within himself a superior moral character.

To give is also to receive. Being helpful to others is a form of self-elevation. Giving to others brings its own rewards, but there are very few people who base their actions on this valuable moral principle.