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[WhenYouWorkforAllah'sSakePart1]PrerequisitesofBeingaGreatVolunteerProductiveMuslim.com

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Islam & Productivity

[When You Work for Allahs Sake Part 1]

Prerequisites of Being a Great Volunteer
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Sameera Hameed

March 14

Islam & Productivity

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Photo Credit: Belal Khan at flickr[dot]com/photos/albaraa/

Are you volunteering for an Islamic cause and find yourself struggling to maintain sincerity
and balance? Or, have you always wanted to dosomething for the sake of Allah

but feel

you arent good enough or free enough?

This series on working for Allahs sake aims to provide ethical and practical guidelines and
tips to maximize your effectiveness and productivity when you volunteer to serve Allah
and Islam.

In this firstpart of the series, well discuss why and what it means to work for the sake of Allah
and how tofulfillsome of the basic prerequisites of being an effective volunteer.
I really want to do something for the sake of Allah! How often have you said thisto yourself;
or heard someoneelse say it?
Well, to begin with, why work for Allahs sake if were already worshipping Him otherwise?
Allah

has enabled and created each one of us uniquely. Our sole purpose in thislife is to

gain His pleasure and use all themeans He has blessed us with to do so. Allah has chosen
Muslims to be role models for the whole of humanity, and our choice lies in what typeof role

model we want to be, not whether we want to be one!

This powerful verse of the Quran sums up the role and positionAllah

expects every

Muslim to live up to:

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right
and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. [Quran: Chapter 3, Verse 110]
The Prophet

also said:

Convey from me, even if it be an Ayah (verse) [At-Tirmidhi]

Ask yourself: For this beautiful gift of Islam that Allah

over to Allah

gave me, what do I have to hand

on that day when I see Him?

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*A two minute pause while you reflect on this question*

Allah

blessed us all with Islam. He also blessed us all with a lotof free time. If youre really

honest with yourself and analyze how you spend your time everyday and how you couldve
spent it better, youll be amazed to find out how much free time you actually have everyday
and how much of it youve been wasting!
So think about taking one more step in your life. A single little extra step, farther than a normal
student or office worker, to be an extraordinary slave of Allah

Working for Allahs sake means being involved inany event, cause, activity orproject that is
initiated with the sole purpose of gaining Allahs

pleasure. The causecould be catering to

Muslims (like spreading knowledge) as well as non-Muslims (inviting them to Islam) or serving
mankind ingeneral (helping the needy of the community, etc). Itcould be online or onsite, fulltime or part-time.
When you decide to work for Allahs sake,it is crucialto know what youre going to do, and
why youre doing it. Ask yourself why every moment.
Its completely alright if your answer is for the sake of Allah

. That is (and should be) the

basic reason for anything we do in life: to gain His pleasure. Then think of the service you
want to provideand how you can contribute to facilitating this service: throughyour talents,
knowledge, skills, resources, ideas and/or abilities.
Now hereare some guidelinesbefore you embark on this journey of workingfor the sakeof
Allah

1. Purify your intentions

We all know the famous hadith where theProphet

said:

The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according
to his intention [Sahih Bukhari]

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You can either aim to tire yourself with work all day and achieve amazing results, and in some
cases get praised by colleagues and go home to sleep satisfactorily for repeating this another
day; oryou could aim to work with all that you can give,keeping in mindyour scales of good
deeds at all times, hence performing in the best of ways, seeking only Allahs pleasure and
going back home toseek His acceptance. You win either way, except that the latter scenario
earns you eternal success and a deep sense of contentment andinner peace.
Remember: The real purpose is to gain the pleasure of Allah

. Everything else is a

delusion!
Beware of Riyaa
Riyaa (showing off ) is a dangerous thing. We dont know when we fall into it and how we fall
into it. From that brother or sister who you know will watch you work in tomorrows Islamic
event, to your Facebook profile screaming out all your amazing projects, the temptation to

show it off humbly is everywhere! It is crucial to be honest to yourself. Remember howAllah

throws the martyr, the scholar and thewealthygenerous maninto hellfire because of their
insincere intentions? [Riyadhus Saliheen] Imagine! People who were so honored and
admiredin the world for their religiosity beingin the deepest pits of hellfire simply because of
their intentions!
Tip:Sincerityis the key. Its okay if what you do is shown to the community around you. Just
make sure you do more good deeds in private, and keep some beautiful secrets between you

and your Lord in order to tip the balance in your favor! Start with having a list consisting of
doinga deed in private for every publicly associated task. It could be as simple as an added
voluntary prayer to the day, or reading an additional page from the Quran etc. Start simple,
remain consistent.
Aim to Be A Silent Soldier
Yes, I call them silent soldiers. These are the people behind the scenes, behind the stage,
behind those curtains, in the absence of whom, the event/project/program simply wouldnt
have happened the way it did. No one talks about them expect perhaps a few. They talk less
and work more. They fear riyaa (showing off) and hypocrisy. They seek the pleasure of Allah
and seek sincerity to gain His pleasure. They work with such perfection and excellence, it
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marvels you. Aim to be one of them!

Tip:Make it a habit to keep reminding yourself of this beautiful dua Allah

teaches us in the

Quran:
Say, Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah , Lord
of the worlds. [Quran: Chapter 6, Verse 162]
Doing this will help you remain a hundred percent focused on your work, hence achieving
excellent results, without any distractions. Nothing will stop you from achieving your goals, in
sha Allah.

2. Discover Your Potential

Once youve got your intentionsright (even thoughthis will be a constant struggle), begin to
explore and discover your potential.
Whenyou set out to fulfill your purpose in life, even the sky wont be the limit! Yes, there are
innumerable ways to work for Allahs sake,innumerable doors of opportunities to reach out to
the world with your talents, skills and abilities. Find out what you are made up of. It could need
refining, but you can only do that once you start with whatever you are. You could be an
amazing writer who stirs the hearts of people, connecting them to Allah

. You could be a

talented speaker who conveys knowledge powerfully. You could paint, doodle, manage
events, organi

ze charity bazaars, plan food distribution forthe needy and what not!

The key is to discover your potentialfearlessly, and unravel the hidden treasures within you.
And I guarantee you, each one of us has this something special about us. Each one of us is
created specially with some means to serve Allah

Dont belittle your ability to do even alittle. And never underestimate the value of the smallest
possible act: be it printing halaqa notes for the class, or giving away a meal youve prepared
incharity. Ever thought that 10 dollars from the hands of a student to a poor family may weigh
more than 100 dollars from the hands of a well-to-do person?

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Tip:Make it a point to beg Allah

consistently and sincerely to guide you to your maximum

potential to serve His cause. Ask Him to show you what your goals and visions in
lifeshouldbe, and to guide you to and bless you with the resources to fulfill them.

3. Learn to Manage Your Tasks

Once youve planned to volunteer for a causein addition to your normal day-to-day routine,
start with organizing your life!A good productive Muslim is one who is clear of his priorities
and makes the best of the time given to him. Manage your priorities since time cannot be
managed.

Starting from now, build a productive Muslim Lifestyle. Make a list consisting of 3 MITs (Most
Important Tasks) to accomplish the following day. Analyze whats urgent and whats important
and aim to finish that before you do other activities. You can manage your time better by
using this weekly and daily taskinator. Not only will this help you be organized but will also
help you have better focus and buildup your excitement to work for the sake of Allah

Learn To Say No
Say No to anything that comes in your way of achieving the goals youve set for yourself.
Make sure your priorities are settled before you join your friends outside for dinneror accept
another volunteering task. Most people suffer from the inability to say No (Im guilty of this
too!). Do not take on more tasks than you can handle. Every responsibility you take up is a
trust that you must fulfill, so take up only as much as you can fulfill with excellence. Being a
jack of all trades and master of none is unsatisfying and makes you ineffective.
Tip: Make the 5 prayers your top priority, always. Taking breaks toperform the five prayers on
time will add a lot of blessing (barakah)to your volunteering work as well as your day.

4. Charge Yourself First!

Allah

says:

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O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is
people and stones [Quran: Chapter 66, Verse 6]
I love this verse becauseI find immense wisdom in Allah

asking us to save ourselves first,

before we save our families and community.

Clarifying your goals requires clarifying your intentions to achieve that goal. The only way to
do that is to cleanse the heart and connect it to Allah

through dua, consistent prayers and

the night prayer. If you cannot do that, then make tawbah (repentance) repeatedly and ask
Allah

to wake you up for the night prayer (tahajjud).

Personal piety is your charger. If you are not ready to spend time with Allah
you are not ready to work for His cause.
Allah

alone, then

says:

He has succeeded who purifies it (his soul). [Quran: Chapter 91, Verse 9]

5. Aim To Learn
Before you sign up for a volunteering position, ask yourself: what am I going to learn from
this? Through every volunteering opportunity, you will find yourself learning a lot. Learn new
skills and hone your current ones, gainknowledge from the feet of scholarsor throughonline
courses; but keep learning and enriching yourself while you plan to give to others.

6.Fight that Enemy

Lastly, shaytan has made a promise to Allah

that he will make it difficult for us to worship

Him in this world. Our challengeis to battle him every minute of every day.
No matter how religious you think you are, shaytan catches you, either through making you
apprehensive and hopeless bysaying I cant do it or Im not a good enough Muslim to do
anything for Islam or even worse, through making you over confident and self-righteous by
saying I am only talking to this brother/sister for the sake of dawah. Its okay if we talk or
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meet (the opposite gender) or I know better than them! and so on and so forth. The traps of
shaytan are indeed delusional. Keep seeking refuge from him and dont stop fighting him!
Tip: Shaytan traps you in one of two ways: through doubts or desires. Keep a continuous
check on your obligatory deeds and more importantly, your selfs desires. Stay in the
company of those who you know will stop you when they find you straying and who will
motivate you and give you hope when you begin to doubt yourself and your abilities. Seek
continuous help from Allah

when you find it hard to battle the shaytan. Again, dua and

perseverance is the key.

Check Off These Items Before You

Begin
1. Seek Allahs

help in figuring out your purpose

2. Keep renewing your intentions by reminding yourself why you want to volunteer
3. Charge yourself with prayer and tahajjud
4. Learn to manage your priorities before you begin volunteering
5. Ensure youre going to keep learning while you work
6. Aim high and battle that devil!

And remember, its never about bringing change to the 6 billion people around you. Its about
whether you wantto help make a positive changeor not. The effort is in your hand, the result
is with Allah

. And the onlygoal is to gain Allahspleasure alone.

Share your thoughts on how you can effectively begin working for Allahs sake and stay
sincere and committed while youre at it!

About Sameera Hameed

Sameera Hameed works as Specialist Editor for Social Productivity at

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ProductiveMuslim. She actively volunteers for various Islamic

causes alongside her university education. She studies
Architecture at the International Islamic University Malaysia,
and publishes her reflections on her personal blog: Sameera
Hameed: The Meadows. Dawn. And a Pen. From A Soul that
longs for its long lost Abode.

Follow@saamhameed

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