Pars Today

The topic of this episode is the significance of work in Islam with a focus on the views of Ayatollah Khamenei.

It is narrated that the Messenger of mercy, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) once said, “The prayer of a few groups of my ummah won’t be accepted; one of them is the man who sits at home and doesn’t go out and just says, ‘O God, Grant me with sustenance!’”

Islam attaches much importance to work and effort. It describes work as man’s essence and man who works and makes effort enjoys a high status. Laziness and idling are loathed in this religion. Leader of the Islamic Revolution says, “In Islam work is a righteous act per se. The [ayah]: ‘Indeed man is in loss except those who have faith and do righteous deeds’; this righteous deed that brings the man out of loss is not just performing daily prayers, fasting, going to pilgrimage and saying zikr. These are righteous deeds but the duty of running life well is also a righteous deed and one of the most important one of them is work.”

Ayatollah Khamenei then refers to a narration on the Prophet saying, “Once the Prophet saw a youth. He was fond of this youth. He called him. Maybe He asked his name. Then he said, ‘What is your job?’ The youth said, ‘I am jobless.’ The Prophet said, ‘He lost my favour.’ This is work.”

Work means an activity which leads to making a commodity and product and receives some salary in return. According to the religious culture the type of work is not important but it should be ethical and legitimate. It is a matter of great regret that most of the youths of the developing countries do not like productive jobs and just look for jobs at offices. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says, “Work in the broad meaning of the word, including manual work, physical work, intellectual work, scientific work, managerial work, is indeed the axis of continuous progress, movement and life of the society. We all should know this. If there is no work the asset, materials, energy and information; none of these will be useful. It is work that, sort of, breathes spirit in the capital, energy and raw materials and turns them into a consumable being so that human beings can use it. These are the value of work.”

Dear listeners, the divine messengers would always emphasize on work and activity and would be engaged in working themselves. The Prophet of Islam used to take the sheep to the pasture and do business with the property and capital of Khadijah. Prophet Moses was also a shepherd. Prophet Abraham was engaged in herding cattle and masonry, too. Prophet Idris (Enoch) was a tailor and Prophet Noah was a carpenter. No prophet was given the divine mission unless he did his personal affairs himself.

On the importance of work and labour Ayatollah Khamenei has said elsewhere in his remarks, “You have heard that upon seeing the coarse hands of one of his companions, the Prophet said, ‘Why are your hands such?’ He said, ‘O Messenger of God! I work with these hands.’ The Prophet took his hand and kissed it, saying, ‘The fire of hell will not touch this hand.’ It means when we work we make an obstacle and a curtain between us and the fire. This is a very important issue. This is the view of Islam on work.”

The leader of the Islamic Revolution elaborates on this narration, “That the grand Prophet of Islam raises the hand of the labourer and kisses it this is not a mere reverence of a person. This is setting values. This is a lesson; telling us that the hand of a labourer, a producer and manpower is so valuable that a being as sacred as the Prophet- to whom the whole creation is in debt- bows down and kisses his hand. This is lesson for us.”

Ayatollah Khamenei believes that if the dignity of labourers and skilled manpower is observed in a society that society will advance. Once a man called Ma’az bin Kathir went to Imam Ja’afar Sadeq (AS) and consulted with him on continuing his work or giving up working and being content with the amount of money he had. The 6^th infallible successor of the Prophet of Islam answered him, “If you give up working you will lose your face and you won’t be sought for help in any affair.”

A hadith reads, “If a man takes a rope and goes up a mountain to gather woods it is better than extending his hands before others.”

Ayatollah Khamenei says, “If the importance of the work one is doing is revealed to him, there won’t be nonchalance, frustration and despair. When we understand how much important the work we are doing is for the life of the society and country this will create an energy inside us which will overcome all the external disturbances. Thus, our first recommendation to all is that they should do the work ceded to them with interest and enthusiasm. They should appreciate it, respect it and deem it as important. We have repeatedly said this statement of the Prophet, ‘May God bless the man who when doing something does it firmly and perfectly.’ This is true about me, you, each and every laborer, teacher, nurse and other jobs, vocations and responsibilities. We should do firmly and perfectly the work we have taken over.”

RM/ME