Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Blessing of Helping

Alhamdulillah, Allah truly works in mysterious ways. I am often reminded of the gift of Islam by the fact that for no reason that I can think of, I am asked to help someone in some small way - whether it be helping a friend get through a trying time, helping a colleague at work, or helping a fellow Muslim make sense of what Allah has created for them. What we often don't realize I think is that blessings come in the opportunities that Allah gives us to serve Him. So it's not only the more 'obvious' blessings of our daily rizq, our families, our health, our means of livelihood and the like, but that Allah would send someone in need to our door. The opportunity of helping a child that calls on us for assistance, whether it be a child of our own or that of someone else, for instance.

I cannot begin to count the number of times I have - may Allah forgive me - rolled my eyes at being 'troubled' by someone coming to me in need of something. What a tragic mistake on my part! Such incidences are wonderful opportunities to truly put our role as 'servant' to the test. We must always see such incidences as blessings -- Allah has honored us by using us as a tool for His mercy and assistance of another of His creatures. How great is that? But if it is so, I wonder, why is it so hard for us to see it that way? Why, for example, would I even consider 'rolling my eyes' at someone in need, no matter how small that need is? These are some of the things that trouble me about me. It is 'the work' that I need to do. Thank God Almighty I am still alive to be able to do it.

1 comment:

  1. I know the feeling but sometimes its the little things we do for people that means so much to them. We tend to forget that Allah tests us each time He sends someone to our door...

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