Theme
الخدمة
Service
al-Khidmah
Many Companions are remembered for service: carrying bricks for the mosque, setting out water for wudu, nursing the wounded, washing the dead, waking others for prayer. It was practical, often unseen work that held the community together.
These practices are invitations to be useful to someone today, in whatever skill you have.
قَالَ خَدَمْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَشْرَ سِنِينَ، فَمَا قَالَ لِي أُفٍّ. وَلاَ لِمَ صَنَعْتَ وَلاَ أَلاَّ صَنَعْتَ.
“I served the Prophet (ﷺ) for ten years, and he never said to me, "Uf" (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed”
41 practices from 32 companions
Open any practice to read it in full on the Companion's page, with the Arabic and English text of every source.
Abdullah ibn Abbasعبد الله بن عباس
Serving quietly without being asked
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Do a small, unrequested kindness today for someone you learn from.
Sit with this What small, unrequested kindness could you do for a teacher today?
Abdullah ibn Mas'udعبد الله بن مسعود
Using knowledge for others
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Teach one thing you know, today, to someone who will benefit.
Sit with this What one thing you know could you teach someone today?
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktumعبد الله بن أم مكتوم
Giving the dawn adhan with precision
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Do your duty accurately, with help if you need it.
Sit with this What duty do you carry that would be better done with someone's help?
Abu Ayyub al-Ansariأبو أيوب الأنصاري
Never leaving off striving for Allah
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Do not let worldly comfort become an excuse to abandon good work.
Sit with this Has comfort become a reason to stop a good work you once did?
Abu Musa al-Ash'ariأبو موسى الأشعري
Serving and passing on the Prophet's blessings
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Stay beside the people of knowledge and take from their manners as well as their words.
Sit with this Whose manners, not just words, are you learning from right now?
Abu Talhah al-Ansariأبو طلحة الأنصاري
Standing by the Prophet in danger
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Be the one who stays when others leave, when someone needs you.
Sit with this When someone you love is in difficulty, are you the one who stays?
Abu Talhah al-Ansariأبو طلحة الأنصاري
Feeding the Prophet and his guests
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Feed someone who is hungry before you worry about whether you have enough.
Sit with this Is there someone you could feed before you are sure you have enough?
Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrahأبو عبيدة بن الجراح
Delivering public funds and responsibilities honestly
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If you handle money for others, deliver it exactly and on time, and keep your own heart free of it.
Sit with this If you handle others' money or time, would they find every part of it in place?
al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswadالمقداد بن الأسود
Standing with the Prophet whatever the odds
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Be reliably present for your principles and the people you serve.
Sit with this Whom have you promised to stand with, whatever the odds?
al-Shifa bint Abdullahالشفاء بنت عبد الله
Teaching literacy to others
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Share what you know, starting with reading and writing.
Sit with this Who could you teach to read, write or learn something new?
al-Shifa bint Abdullahالشفاء بنت عبد الله
Teaching a ruqya at the Prophet's request
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Pass on beneficial knowledge freely.
Sit with this What beneficial knowledge are you keeping to yourself?
al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwamالزبير بن العوام
Volunteering when the community needs someone
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Raise your hand first when there is a hard but necessary task.
Sit with this When a hard task needs a volunteer, are you the first hand raised?
Working with his hands for the masjid
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Volunteer physical effort for your masjid, and carry more than your share.
Sit with this What could you carry for your local masjid this month?
Serving with patience and not expecting thanks
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Serve without keeping score, and be gentle with those who serve you.
Sit with this Can you serve today without keeping score?
Serving at home and on journeys
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Take on service early in life.
Sit with this Where could a young person in your life learn by serving alongside you?
Asma bint Abi Bakrأسماء بنت أبي بكر
Ingenuity and loyalty in service
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Use what you have, immediately, in a worthwhile cause.
Sit with this What do you already have that could solve someone's problem now?
Calling the adhan before dawn
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Set a reliable alarm for tahajjud or fajr and wake someone else for it.
Sit with this Who could you help wake for Fajr or tahajjud tomorrow?
Serving the Prophet at prayer
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Be the one who helps the prayer happen: set out the mats, open the door, arrive early.
Sit with this How could you help the prayer happen for others this week?
Helping people give in charity
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Help others give: collect for a cause, or hand someone a way to donate.
Sit with this Who could you help to give, by making giving easy for them?
Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalibحمزة بن عبد المطلب
Family ties that outlived him
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Look after the orphans and families of those who have passed.
Sit with this Which orphan or family of the departed could you look in on?
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamanحذيفة بن اليمان
Completing an assigned task quietly
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Do exactly what you were asked, however tempting another course appears.
Sit with this Can you do exactly what was asked of you, even when another course tempts you?
Ja'far ibn Abi Talibجعفر بن أبي طالب
Holding the community together under hardship
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Offer shelter and company to newcomers and travellers.
Sit with this Who is new around you and needs shelter, company or a meal?
Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajaliجرير بن عبد الله البجلي
Acting on the Prophet's mission with energy
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When asked to do a task for a good cause, do it fully and report back.
Sit with this What good task, once accepted, could you finish fully and report back on?
Khadijah bint Khuwaylidخديجة بنت خويلد
Looking after him with food, in person
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Small daily service to the people you love is noticed by Allah.
Sit with this What small daily service do you give to the people you love?
Khalid ibn al-Walidخالد بن الوليد
Taking responsibility in a crisis
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Step forward when a need is clear and nobody is leading, and then report back honestly.
Sit with this Where is a clear need with nobody leading, and could you step forward?
Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyahرفيدة الأسلمية
Caring for the wounded in a place of mercy
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Be someone whose home or space is open for people in need of care.
Sit with this Could your home or time be open to someone who needs care?
Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyahرفيدة الأسلمية
Women of the Ansar treating the wounded
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Offer practical help in whatever skill you have, whether medical, logistical or comfort.
Sit with this What skill do you have that could serve people in need?
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqasسعد بن أبي وقاص
Courage in defence of the community
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Stand in your place when the community needs you.
Sit with this Where does your community need you to stand in your place?
Absolute loyalty to the Prophet's call
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Make your loyalty to the right cause clear in words and in actions.
Sit with this Is your loyalty to the right cause clear in what you do as well as what you say?
Reviving dead land
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Put effort into making something useful grow, and do not take from others unjustly.
Sit with this What could you make grow, honestly, that others would benefit from?
Keeping watch for the community's safety
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Guard something that others rely on: a duty, a neighbour, a family member.
Sit with this What do others rely on you to guard?
Talha ibn Ubaydullahطلحة بن عبيد الله
Making himself a step for the Prophet
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Put your own strength under someone who needs to get higher.
Sit with this Whom could you lift up today, even at a cost to yourself?
Talha ibn Ubaydullahطلحة بن عبيد الله
Bringing his own sacrificial animal to Hajj
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Prepare your acts of worship in advance rather than hoping for them.
Sit with this Which act of worship could you prepare for in advance rather than leave to chance?
Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyahأم عطية الأنصارية
Caring for the wounded and cooking for fighters
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Put your practical skills in service of people who are struggling.
Sit with this What practical skill could you offer people who are struggling?
Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyahأم عطية الأنصارية
Washing and shrouding the dead with care
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Learn how to wash and shroud the dead; it is a service to the community.
Sit with this Do you know how to wash and shroud the dead?
Umm Sulaym bint Milhanأم سليم بنت ملحان
Taking part in the community's struggle
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Help where you can, whether with food, water or care.
Sit with this Where could you bring water, food or care to people under strain?
Umm Waraqah bint Abdullahأم ورقة بنت عبد الله
Offering service in the hardest hour
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Volunteer your skills where they are needed, and be content when the answer is to serve from home.
Sit with this Can you be content when the answer is to serve from where you are?
Serving the Prophet on the road
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Serve those you travel with; do small tasks without being asked.
Sit with this Whom do you travel with that you could quietly serve?
Obeying and leading in the cause of Allah
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Take responsibility when asked, and prepare others to take your place.
Sit with this Are you preparing others to take your place?
Walking with the Prophet and serving him
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Be someone people can count on to walk beside them in good and difficult times.
Sit with this Can people count on you to walk beside them in good times and hard?
Learning what the community needs
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Learn a skill your community actually needs, such as a language or writing, and put it to use for the good.
Sit with this What skill does your community need that you could learn?
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