You are part of a huge community, a family with strong bonds.
A family of believers in Allah and Muhammad, a caring family. It’s good to be proactive in finding your place in this community of believers and being of service to others.
Find out where the Muslim communities reside in your area and make it a goal to be in those places.
Our motive for meeting other Muslims is of great benefit.
Check out how you can connect with Muslims in your area by following these steps:
Support Your Muslim Neighbors
Every one of us will, at some point in our lives, experience some type of hardship or pain that hurts us. It is, therefore, important to explore the importance of helping others from an Islamic context.
Helping each other is a way to overcome the grief that we may experience, and it can empower us in our worship of Allah (SWT).
The greatest human being to walk the earth and the best example of compassion and kindness in human form was the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He said:
“Whoever relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. And who alleviates [the situation of] one in dire straits who cannot repay his debt, Allah will alleviate his lot in both this world and in the Hereafter. Also who conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal [his faults] in this life and the Hereafter.”
[Muslim].
It is one of the principles of our faith to help our fellow human beings. We have compiled a list of acts that you can do to help others.
Some are obvious and others are often overlooked, but are of no lesser importance.
Connect with Muslim friends
Friends are an essential part of life, regardless of age. The people we choose to be our friends will define us in one way or another.
We need friends that can help us grow and help us learn about ourselves. These friends are the ones who support you during tough times and celebrate with you during the good.
The proverb, “Choose the friend before choosing the road”, means that a person should choose their companion or friend before walking his road in life.
This is because humans are social beings by nature and we are highly influenced by those in our social circle.
The companion or friend we choose will either make our path easy and simple to trek or make it harsh and rough. A similar proverb to this is, “Choose the neighbor before the home”.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said:
“عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: “الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ
[Hasan Al-Albani]
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (PBUH) said: A man follows the religion of his friend. So, each one should consider whom he makes his friends.
Show hospitality
Generous hospitality extended to family, friends, and strangers is one of the best-known features of Muslim societies, whether pastoral, rural, or urban.
This tradition of hospitality goes back to ancient times in the Middle East, an arid region where trade early became more important than in other regions and where the need for travelers to rely on the kindness of strangers was correspondingly greater.
In Arabia, the pre-Islamic chieftain Hatim al-Tia represents the ideal generous host and has remained a symbol of exuberant hospitality to this day.
Salim bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said:
“I heard my father say: ‘I heard ‘Umar bin Khattab say: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘Eat together and do not eat separately, for the blessing is in being together.”
Reported by [lbn Majah].
In another hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) reportedly said, “When anyone of you is invited to a meal, he should accept it, if he wishes, he may eat; and if he wishes, he may leave the food alone.”
[Muslim].
Give to charity
Islam is about caring and compassion for one’s fellow human beings. When reading the Quran, one cannot help being struck by the number of times charity is mentioned:
Feeding the poor and needy, supporting orphans, relatives, and travelers, spending in the sake of Allah… All of these references emphasize the importance of charity for every Muslim.
One of the greatest ways to give to charity is to get involved in the construction of a mosque or other significant building, such as a school or a hospital.
As with any other form of Sadaqah (charity), you will receive just as much benefit from your generosity and the potential reward is immense.
Every prayer recited, every child educated and every sick or injured person treated is rewarded. We should have faith that a sincere act of giving can only bring abundant rewards. Allah (SWT) says:
(Interpretation of the meaning) “Those who spend their wealth in Allah’s cause are like grains of corn which produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains.”
[Quran 2:261]
Visit the Sick
Islam invites all that is good and warns from all that is bad. From those good and virtuous deeds is the visiting of the ill and afflicted.
When people visit each other in good health, the bonds of brotherhood and friendship are strengthened. How then do people visit each other in times of sickness and poor or failing health? Illustrating the empathy that Muslims are required to feel for each other, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“The parable of the Believers in their mutual love and mercy is like that of a living body: if one part feels pain, the whole body suffers in sleeplessness and fever.”
[Muslim].
Take Time Out to Study Islam
Studying is a lifetime process, ever since a man is born until the day he dies. Thus, the importance of studying Islam is very high.
Studying is also a culture in Islam that should not be abandoned. As we know, Islam has contributed to modern science from the verses in Quran to many of the researches and inventions made by Muslim scholars.
Islam is a religion of advanced knowledge. As we know, much modern science and technology has been revealed inside the Holy Quran. It shows how Islam sees knowledge and studying as important things.
The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Whoever seeks out a path to acquire knowledge (of the deen), Allah (SWT) makes easy a path for them to Jannah!”
[Muslim].
