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“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain God-consciousness.” (Quran 2:183)
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| Reach out in Faith: |
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reach out to them in matters of faith.How can I serve my faith in the course of my daily life? What contribution can I make as I go about my normal business? This is a question that many of us ask ourselves and it is a very good question. The Prophet said, “Every person goes forth in the morning trading in his own self. He either earns its freedom or consigns it to misery.” Therefore, we ask ourselves: Should I focus on enjoining people to what is right? Should I forbid them from what is wrong? Is it best for me to gather together the children and help them to commit the Qur’an to memory? Should I rather get involved in some charity work? The ways that we as Muslims can serve our faith are too numerous to count. If each one of us only tries to count the ways that he or she can personally serve Islam, the possibilities will still be endless. Each of us must take into account his individual abilities as well as his inclinations and his personality in deciding what he should do. Nevertheless, there are some general guidelines that apply to everyone and some contributions that we can all start making immediately. To begin with, we can try to set a good example for others. We can do this in our worship, in our dealings with others, and in our moral conduct. We can strive to always be considerate and just. We can give priority to the rights of others even if it means doing so at the expense of our own. This is the starting point of all of our service and indeed it is the most critical. The next level of activity concerns our dealings with our family and with those who are close to us. We must nurture our good relationships with our relatives by honouring them doing good for them. It is our duty to call our family to Islam and to encourage them to do what is right. This duty starts with our parents and children, then with our siblings and spouses, and extends outwards. Allah says, addressing the Prophet: “And admonish your nearest kinsmen.” A L - Q U R’A N 42:214 After this verse was revealed, the Prophet gathered his kinfolk together and said: “O assembly of Quraysh! Purchase your own souls, for I can avail you naught with Allah. O tribe of Banu `Abd Manaaf! I can avail you naught with Allah! O Safiyyah, aunt of Allah’s Messenger! I can avail you naught with Allah! O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad! I can avail you naught with Allah. Ask me of my wealth what you wish, but I can avail you naught with Allah!” We must then turn our attentions to our colleagues and our classmates. We should always be willing to lend them our assistance. By letting them know that they can count on us, we win their friendship and their trust. In turn, we can reach out to them and even get them involved with us in our good works. They will be more responsive to us when we offer them literature or a cassette or ask them to go with us to a lecture. We must also attend to our neighbours and the communities in which we live. Our neighbours have rights over us simply by virtue of their being our neighbours. We must honour those rights. We should cultivate goodwill between ourselves and those who live in our neighbourhood. This makes it easier for us to reach out to them in matters of faith.
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