Helping People
Islam encourages Muslims to help and serve people. To help someone in difficult times, to save someone from disaster, to protect someone from the enemy, to help the poor and the needy are all different forms of serving and helping people.
The Holy Prophet(sal lal la ho alai he wasalam) helped people in need and told his followers to do the same. He spent all his life in poverty but he never refused help to a needy person. Often there was no food to cook in his house, yet he never turned away a beggar empty handed.
The companions, too followed the example of the Holy Prophet(sal lal la ho alai he wasalam), and often helped poor Muslims.
When the Muhajirin migrated to Madinah, they had no belongings with them. The Ansars helped them and shared everything with them. This is a good example of helping people in need.
There are many people who do not have food to eat. There are others who do not have clothes to wear. We can help them by giving them food and clothes or money to buy food and clothes. The Holy Prophet(sal lal la ho alai he wasalam) is reported to have said that a person who tries to help a widow and the poor is like a warrior in the way of Allah.
Allah has promised that He will help and reward all people who devote themselves to the service of humanity. He considers whatever help and service we do for others as done to Himself. Therefore, He will reward us many times for it.
Etiquettes of a Gathering
A gathering is a group of people sitting together. There are some rules and regulations that are to be observed when sitting in a group of people.
The first thing to be kept in mind is that the people with whom we associate are of good character. This is important because we are influenced by the people we meet and socialize with. If we meet with virtuous people who have good morals and values in life, we will learn good things from them…
When meeting other Muslims, greetings should be offered in the Islamic way by saying Assalam Alaikum. It means ‘peace be upon you’, and the response is Wa Alaikum Assalam meaning ‘and upon you be peace’. Every Muslim should be greeted, whether you know him or not.
People who are walking should greet those who are sitting. People in a smaller group should greet the people of a larger group.
When you go to meet somebody, or arrive at a meeting, greet on arrival as well as when taking leave. After greeting, sit wherever you find an empty space. Try to sit with people of your own age group. When people are sitting in a gathering, we should also sit down. When everybody is standing, we should also stand with them. When the meeting is over, try to leave as soon as possible.
We should wait for our turn to speak and not interrupt other people. We should try to be brief. We should talk slowly and clearly so that it is easy for people to understand us. Our voices should not be too low nor too loud.
We should avoid abusing and making fun of people. Backbiting, passing remarks or complaining against people is also forbidden. The Holy Prophet(sal lal la ho alai he wasalam) said that whoever believes in Allah and His Prophet should speak in a polite and pleasant manner otherwise, he should keep quiet.
