Working for Allah – in the West
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
Allah created us human beings for one reason: to work for him.
There are no ifs or buts about it: that is the plain truth.
The problem is some of us know this fact and many or most of us don’t.
As a result, some of us work for Allah, many or most of us don’t. Most of us work for whomever we think we must work for.
So, it becomes the responsibility of those who know this fact to share it with those who don’t know it.
In the same way, it is the responsibility of those who work for Allah to persuade all others to work for him.
In many ways, Muslims are the ones who are supposed to know this fact – the fact that Allah created us to work for him.
And, by and large, Muslims are supposed to be the ones actually working for him, the way they are supposed to, even though many others also aim and purport to do the same.
So, it becomes the duty of the Muslims, not only to continue to work for Allah, but also to invite everyone everywhere to work for him.
Question: What does it mean to work for Allah?
Answer: It means to dedicate your entire life to love and fear Allah and to love and serve Allah’s creation. That is what it means to work for Allah.
Question: You said Muslims. What about Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and others who may have so dedicated their lives: to love and fear God and to love and serve his creation? Are they also working for Allah?
Answer: Of course they are. Anyone anywhere that loves God and serves his creation is working for Allah.
How can the Jews not be working for Allah, given the fact that it was the same message of “No God but God!” that Abraham and Moses (may God bless them) brought into this world?
And how can the Christians not be working for Allah, when that was also the same message of “No God but God!” that Jesus Christ, son of Virgin Mary (may God bless them both), brought into this world?
And how can the Buddhists and Hindus not be working for Allah when their scriptures too point in the same general direction?
So, no matter how we look at it, it is to work for him that God created us. And it makes no difference what religion, race or denomination we belong to – or what gender, class or social status.
Question: Why should we do it? Why should we all work for Allah?
Answer: Simple! It is his life – God’s I mean. He gave it to us, did he not?
It is then only right and proper that we give our life back to him and then ask:
“Master, here is the life you gave me, I am giving it back to you!
Now please tell me what should I do with my life?
How should I spend my life? Doing what?”
And that is what Prophet Abraham, Alaihis Salam, did – may God bless him – when he made the following declaration to the whole world, as the Qur’an reports.
The Qur’an:
Inna swalaatwee wa nusukee wa mahyaaya wa mamaatee
lillahi rabbil 'aalameen.
Laa shareeka lahu.
Wa bi-dhaalika umirtu wa ana awwalul Muslimeen.
Paraphrase:
“Most assuredly, my worship and my sacrifice, and my life as well as my death, are all for Allah, the Master of the Worlds.
He has no partners or associates.
That is what I am commanded to do. And I am the first to submit.”
Question: Why in the West? Why are you saying we must work for Allah in the West?
Answer: It is obvious, is it not? West is home for many of us, right?
This is where we live. This is where we work and play and raise our families. So, where will we go to work for Allah if not at home – in the West?
Charity does begin at home, right?
That is why we must work for Allah in the West!
Otherwise, we work for Allah wherever we live – whether we live on Mars or in the Antarctic!
END
© 2012 Syed Husain Pasha
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.
