Draw Near to Allah in Ramadan Through Service – Ustadha Umm Umar
Ustadha Umm Umar reminds us to incorporate service in Ramadan as a means of drawing near to Allah Most High. She advises not to make Ramadan just revolve around oneself but to be concerned with others and their needs. Ustadha Umm Umar gives key advice and practical methods to engage in service through Ramadan.
I wanted to talk about another aspect of Ramadan that sometimes we forget. Often, people think of Ramadan as my month. It‘s between me and Allah. Then, they sort of eradicate the idea of doing goodness to others. It’s about me and my time with Allah. About how much time I can put in with the Qur’an. When discussing service, some people get slightly bitter.
Especially the sisters. They’re like, well, why do I have to be the one to do this? Why do I have to cook the iftar? I’d like to spend all day reading the Qur’an. It’s sort of losing sight of what Ramadan is really about. What scholars today talk about and emphasize a lot is the love of Allah Most High—and rectifying the self. Turning to Allah and asking for His forgiveness.
However, these two concepts do not contradict each other. Instead, they run in parallel. Because it’s when we turn help each other, help fellow believers, and it’s all done out of love for Allah, that we manifest that love. That we love to have His creation turned to Him. And if there is anything we can do to help others turn towards Allah, we should run for that opportunity. Whether that be to people in our own family, our children, or members of our community, we should be avid in doing what we can to help others.
Balance Service and Self
That said, it needs to be balanced because you can’t just spend all of your Ramadan serving other people while neglecting yourself. One needs that personal time where you’re turning to Allah and reading the Qur’an with reflection and understanding and spending time reading other beneficial material or listening to beneficial lectures and benefiting the self.
But there are a lot of things, there is a lot of extra time in the day, in which one can do things for other people. And as our teachers say, it’s almost as if there’s a sale during Ramadan because now your actions are multiplied. You do Good actions, even reading the Qur’an – all the good things you can think of doing are born. So it is best to take advantage of this time.
And doing what you can to help other people is also part of making the most of one’s time. It is not that one spends a little time in intensive worship, then closes the book, relaxes, and just vegetates for part of the day. Or one decides to go to sleep for another part of the day. One strives to make the most of every moment as we should every other day of the year.
We should make the most of all parts of our day daily. Even when we get up from this gathering, we should strive to make the most of our lives as believers. To make all of our moments count for us and not against us.
Primary Benefits of Service
There are three primary benefits of service. One is that it erases your past sins. When you do things for other people, these things get erased. So there is nothing better you can ask for. We’ve all made mistakes in the past and would do anything not to face Allah with those on our record. And by His mercy, He can forgive many things when you serve others with that intention.
Another benefit of service now is that you get the dua of fasting people. You’re earning their dua when you’re doing things to benefit them. And Allah knows whose dua is accepted. When you’re doing it for several people, including even small children, know that when you do things for others, they make a dua for you.
The Hidden Secret of Service
Perhaps that single dua from one single person, child or adult, known or stranger, is the reason for your success. It might not be all of these customs that you’ve done in the past or all of these other things. It might be the dua of one elder in the community that you helped in a real time of need. Allah has this knowledge. It is with Allah Most High.
It’s a hidden secret in our service to others that we don’t know where our ultimate success will lie. And with what action and with what person? That leaves us continuously striving to do our best at every moment.
Finally, the third aspect of service is that the deeds are multiplied during Ramadan. So, one might be doing things for other people at other times of the year, but these deeds are multiplied in Ramadan. They weigh heavier on your record. So strive in this regard, and in sha Allah, the reward for your service will be multiplied.
