The "Helpers"

Khidma is Arabic for “service.” I’d like to say a few words about khidma.

Dr Scott Peck describes this world as “a kind of celestial boot camp” (Further Along the Road Less Travelled, p. 226). At boot camp individuals are tasked with traversing an obstacle course which has all sorts of obstacles like crawling through mud, jumping over a barrier, and climbing. If we think of life as a boot camp, the various challenging situations that we encounter are like obstacles. 

In encountering the obstacle course of life people are divided into different categories according to how they fare traversing the obstacles. Some cross the obstacles with ease. Others find difficulty yet still cross the obstacles. Others fail to complete the course because they cannot overcome some of the obstacles. There is another group consisting of only a few members. People in this group are able to traverse obstacles, but they do not do so. Rather, they decide to help those struggling to overcome obstacles. 

Which group do you think is the most successful? 

For me, the most successful group is the one consisting of the helpers. I feel that in God’s view people in this group are also recorded as also having completed the obstacle course. It’s just that their method of completing the course was to help others. This is the method of khidma, which happens to be, in my opinion, the method that God loves best. complete the course. God knows best. 

May God reward the helpers fully for their khidma. God is the best of those who reward. May He make us of the helpers. Aameen.