(1) He honored you by relating things to you
The proceedings of affairs eventually reveals our secrets and our personal interests, so you see certain people who will come to his brothers because he had done some work before them, but ignores the fact that many before him had done the work, and another who had the opportunity to work in the establishment of a certain project, and forgot that it was God who blessed him with the opportunity in the first place.
And on top of that he gathers all his virtues in a nice little bouquet of flowers for all to see and forgets all his mistakes that resemble a dangerous forest that the people come in and out of.
A cocky young man said to his companions: “I’m the one who initiated this work!” so the wise one replied “and who was it that initiated you?”
A small amount of humility will cause our work to be blessed and supported by God, and without it then there will not be guidance to the right way. God says “I will turn those away from My signs who grow arrogant upon the earth…”
And for those who still think they are the favoured ones over his brothers: remind him of the Farooq of the Ummah Omar Ibn Al Khattab may God be pleased with him, while the blood poured from his death wound his son Abdullah may God be pleased with him came to him, and wanted to rest his father’s head on his thigh, so Omar, as he was dying, declined and said to his son, “Put my head on the ground, maybe God will look at me as from this land so He will forgive me”
Have you done for the ummah my brother what Omar did? And do you possess anything from his humility and modesty? Please: for the love of you and for the sake of your work, forget yourself a little and you will see the way.
(2) Makers of victory
When working for a cause the honest worker will put the cause before himself, whereas the one who works for his own ego and his own gain will put himself before the cause, thus criticising others around him also working, holding the view that only he himself holds the right way, which leads to rivalries, the Mercy of God being removed from them, and conflicts (“…and don’t dispute amongst each other lest your power departs from you”…Al-Quran)
The love of leadership and presidency is something dangerous in any work, and the past teachers have said: “the last desire to leave the heart of a righteous person is the love of leadership” and for that reason the wish to gain a high position for yourself is something that needs to be striven deeply against.
When Omar Ibn Al Khattab replaced Khalid Ibn Al Waleed (who was never defeated in a single battle) with Abi Ubaidah Ibn Al Jarrah as the head of the army (may God be pleased with them all), Khalid did not change his attitude towards Abi Ubaidah in any way and said “By Allah if Omar where to place in command of me a woman I would have listened and obeyed”.
And something that can give the true self-sacrificing workers a lot of hope is the story of the an army, whose commander summoned the few men left that he had around him and said to them “there only remains a few of our leaders, so I need each of you to put forward his work”. One of them said “I am fit enough to lead a hundred men!” another said “I am fit to lead a thousand!!” However, one man said “I run a horse stable! And feed the horses and clean up their dung!” So the commander said “God protect you. You are the one! And what is the value of an army with tired horses?”
So oh you who works for Allah and the love of the ummah, maybe in the cleaning of the horses dung there is something that will lead to reward and victory that not even the senior leaders can provide.
(3) Beware of vanity
Are you full of yourself? Are you arrogant, may God forbid? Maybe you haven’t thought of the matter before, and don’t recognise its danger!
Omar In Al Khattab consulted those around him to find a leader for one of his armies, so someone recommended a man whom he thought from his family so Omar didn’t accept him and said “In him is pride and I worry that he will belittle and despise his enemy (underestimating them) so he will be destroyed”
By belittling your enemy you will be destroyed because your assessment of a situation will become like a mirage, so what of the outcome if you belittle your brother? And how will it be if your arrogance overtakes you the extent you no longer have a friend to walk on a good path?
Maybe you think the solution to this is in seminars and lectures for those who work, but this is a delusion. The story of the man is enough, who heard about a great sage and decided to travel a far distance to learn from his wisdom. When he arrived to the great sage, the sage gave him no special attention during his stay, to the man’s surprise. After many tiresome days the man decided to approach the sage and asked him “How are you not interested in me after I have come from a great distance to come and see you?!” So the sage replied “It is not a question of distances! Take one step away from yourself (your ego) and the reality will be clear!”
So oh you who works for God, leave yourself that one step and you will see how much distance God puts between you and the negatives, and how much goodness will flow from your hands.
Translated by Br. Emran mobayed
