Chapter 6. And Allah Will Continue To Aid The Servant As Long As The Servant Aids His Brother

And similarly in the narration of Ibn Umar  that has already been mentioned:

 

“Whoever remains in the service of his brother, Allah remains in his service.”

 

The virtues of fulfilling someone’s needs and helping them have previously been shown in the explanations of the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth Ahadith.

 

Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq  used to milk sheep or goats for a particular neighborhood. When he was appointed as the successor and leader of the Muslims, one of their maids said, “Now, he will not milk them for us.” Abu Bakr  said, “No. Indeed, I hope the current situation I have entered will not change anything I used to do.” – or he said something similar to this.

 

They used to assist others in milking because, among the Arabs, it used to be considered improper for their women to have to milk their animals. So when the men were absent, they (the remaining women) needed someone who would milk the animals for them.

 

Umar Ibn al-Khattaab used to care for the widows and fetch water for them at night. One night, Talhah  saw him entering a woman’s house, so Talhah visited her the next day. He discovered she was elderly, crippled, and blind. He asked her, “What does that man (‘Umar) do for you?” She replied, “This man, since such and such time, he has cared for me. He comes to me with whatever I need and he removes any difficulties from me.” Talhah then said (to himself), “May your mother lose you, Talhah! You were actually seeking to discover some faults of ‘Umar?!”

 

Mujahid said, “I once accompanied Ibn Umar on a journey in order to serve him but instead, he ended up serving me.”

 

Many righteous people used to make it a condition that they would only allow their companions to accompany them if they agreed to be served by them.

 

And recorded in the two authentic collections, Anas  said: We were with the Prophet  on a journey. Some of us were fasting and others were not. We stopped at a place to rest during a very hot day. Most of us had (sufficient) clothing to shade ourselves, yet some people had only their hands to protect them against the sun. Those who were fasting were unable to do anything (from the heat, fasting, exhaustion, etc.). So those who were not fasting had to establish and provide the shelter and water the riding animals. So Allah’s Messenger said:

 

“Today, those who were not fasting have gone and taken the rewards.”

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