Man is the Crown of Creation! He has been endowed with the gift of intelligence. He, therefore, has the capacity to discriminate between good and evil, and right and wrong. Again, man is a social animal. He has the feelings of love and sympathy. It is impossible for him to live in loneliness. His life is such a complicated phenomenon that he cannot produce all the things necessary to maintain it. His inner and outer life depends on the labour of other men, living and dead. They work hard in hundred and one ways to help an individual for his life. The farmers, factory labourers, manual workers, technicians, doctors, engineers all work in their spheres to provide him maximum facilities of life. The sense of gratitude and justice demands that he should also live for others and repay them in terms of labour. This is from the point of view of a materialist.
In the Quran, Allah (swt) says: “Help one another in acts of piety and righteousness. And do not assist each other in acts of sinfulness and transgression. And be aware of Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment” (Quran 5:2).
Let us consider this problem purely from the humanitarian point of view. Man was created by Allah to love his fellowmen. We are all bound with the destinies of human beings by the ties of sympathy. We all know the story of Abu Ben Adham whose name did not exist in the list of those who loved God, but when he wished to be included in the list of those who loved their fellow-men. He was blessed by God and his name was written at the top of the list of those who were loved by God. It clearly illustrates that to love one’s fellow-men is to love God.
A casual consideration of our life shows that we are born to live for others. This living for others affords immense pleasure and makes life worth-living. You may consider any stage of life; you will discover this principle in force. The parents live for their children. Friends are out to help each other. We all have some feelings of good for the underdog. If a blind man is to fall into a ditch or stumble against a stone, we rush to help him impulsively. We help a widow, an orphan, an aged person and a neighbor who do need our services. We do not expect any gratitude or reward, for the Virtue is its own Reward.
Our Great Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Anyone who believes in Allah and the last day should not harm his neighbor, and anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet.”
Living for others is also living for oneself. If we live for the state and the society, we are strengthening our own position. We should be prepared to sacrifice our personal and individual interests in the larger in the larger interests of mankind. Men live in deeds, not in years is an ancient proverb. History reminds us not of the people who lilved for long years or who rolled in money but of the people who lived for others, who dedicated their lives to the services of mankind and who suffered for the sake of others
