By Nazira Zahri
Community service is basically volunteerism work carried out by people to help others in need. People all over the country are very much aware in doing this kind of work as there are many societies, clubs or non-governmental organisations has this kind of mission that they stressed on.
In Malaysia, for example, Kindness Malaysia and Dapur Jalanan are very active in helping the homeless people all around Kuala Lumpur. Giving them food, as well as doing some activities with them are what they do. Funds are raised by their own and also the founder and its members took full responsibility in getting the money to help the needy as they are not under any organisations’ help. Seeing this, volunteers who participate are all aware of the willingness of all to sacrifice their time and money without getting any external rewards.
Students specifically are also very famous in doing such work. There are many societies or clubs been created in all universities with the aim of doing community service work for the society. The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) for example, has a centre called Censerve that has all kinds of societies that have different ways of doing things but all with the same objective, to help people in need.
Among the volunteerism work that are famous among students are giving aids to places that have been affected by flood, giving homeless people foods and stuffs, visiting the Orang Asli villages and organising activities with them, and so many others. This kind of co-curricular activities are being of much help to students to enhance their soft skills as well as to develop the awareness of the realities of our environment.
Among recent volunteerism work that I had experienced myself was doing community service programme in Satun, Thailand. the “Road to Satun: Blooming Humanity” is a programme in collaboration with Mahallah Farouq and Mahallah Ruqayyah. This programme aimed to help the people at Ban Soy Pet village by doing four projects which are the mosque project, school project, hygiene project as well as the cultural engagement project.
A total of 78 participants with two staffs participated in this programme. We managed to engage with people in the village and help them to renovate the school, helping with the mosque project as well as teaching the kids on proper way of brushing their teeth. The sponsor team managed to collect a large amount of money for the programme so we managed to give the donstion in aid of those villagers in need.
Islam very much encourages Muslims to do good deeds and helping those in need. There are many verses in Al-Quran as well as Hadiths that encourage Muslims to help any people regardless of their status.
A hadith ‘From Abu Huraira Allaah anhu, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said, “He who enlarges the predicament the world from a believer, Allah will relieve him of the distress in the Day of Judgment. Whoever it is easier for (business) people having trouble (the debt problems), then Allah Almighty makes it easy for him (of trouble) in the world and the hereafter. Whoever conceals (disgrace) a Muslim, Allah will cover (disgrace) him in this world and hereafter.
Allah always helps a servant for the servant helps his brother. Whatever the path to seek knowledge, Allah will make it easy for him the way to Heaven. It is not people gathered in one house of Allah (mosques) in order to read the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, but peace will descend upon them, mercy covers them, angels surround them and Allah praises them in the middle of the Angels who are in His, anyone who slowed by charitable (to achieve a high degree-red), then his line cannot speed it up.”
This hadith shows how Islam encourages us to help people in need and all can definitely get the internal rewards by Allah s.w.t. The rewards might not be seen physically but Allah has promised us that He will make it easy for us in our daily lives and to the way of Heaven.***