Dedicated to the service of mankind, the believers keep the doors
of the Rububiyyah Order open to all. They sincerely rejoice at the
progress of others:
Those who spend their wealth in accordance with the Laws of Allah
(for the benefit of mankind) and afterwards make not reproach and
injury to follow that which they have spent: their reward is with their
Rabb and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve
(2:262).
They are happy in serving others, seeking neither wealth nor fame:
O ye who believe! Render not vain what you spend for the cause
prescribed by Allah by reproach and injury, like him who spends his
wealth only to be seen of men and believe not in Allah and the last day
(2:264).
So the Rasool, whose mission it was to summon men to the
Rububiyyah Order, declared:
And I ask of you no reward for it; my reward is only with the Rabb of all
the worlds (26:109).
We must now face the crucial question, whether it is really
possible for man to sacrifice his interests for the sake of the general
good. No doubt, man is endowed with altruistic as well as egoistic
impulses. But the egoistic impulse which impels man to appropriate
all good things for himself, is far more powerful than the social
impulse. Moreover, worldly wisdom too lends its support to the
egoistic impulse. Few can resist the powerful appeal of immediate
personal gain. Mysticism seeks to strengthen the altruistic motive by
inculcating into man ideas such as that the body is utterly worthless,
that all sensual pleasures are sinful and that the world is shot through
with evil. It is believed that if man is fully convinced that the body is
an obstacle to his "spiritual" progress, he would cease to care for
things that minister to its needs. The Qur'an, however, does not
approve of this kind of other-worldliness. It treats the body and the
world with the respect due to them. It tells us that there is nothing
sinful in possessing worldly goods and in gratifying bodily needs. It
fully recognizes the fact that it is possible to have value experience
through the body:
Beautiful for mankind is love of the joys (that come) from women and
children, and stored up treasures of gold and silver, and horses
branded (with their mark) and cattle and land. That is comfort of the
life of the world. Allah! with Him is a more excellent abode (3:13).
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 184