THEME: SUSTAINING COMMUNITY WORK: THE ROLE OF VALUES ORIENTATION AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

1. THEME: SUSTAINING COMMUNITY WORK: THE ROLE OF VALUES ORIENTATION AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT LECTURE:THE COMMUNITY WORKER: BETWEEN HIS TASKS AND HIS SURVIVAL

2. INTRODUCTION • As-SalamunAlaykumWarahmatullahWabarakatuh. • All praise and gratitude are due to Allah (SWT), the Lord of Infinite Majesty. May His peace and blessings be on the noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his household, his companions, and those who continue to follow in his footsteps till the Day of Judgement. Amin.

3. "Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily, to them will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions." - An-Nahl 16:97

5. A. THE COMMUNITY WORKER AND HIS TASKS • A-1: THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY WORK • * Da'wah is a duty on every Muslim in every age, and in our age and time, Da'wah is particularly important in light of the vicious attacks from all quarters in order to remove the importance of Da'wah from the hearts of Muslims.

6. * Da'wah is a great honour for those who practise it. Allah says in the Quran: "Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, works righteousness, and says: ‘I am of those who bow in submission’?" • * Da'wah promises great reward for those who practise it, and the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) confirms the reward. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: "For Allah to guide one man through you is better for you than all that the sun has shone over."

7. * Da'wah and the call to the straight path is the way of moderation amidst different calls, ideas, confusion, and ignorance. • * Da'wah is an important step in serious Islamic work. It serves the purpose of spreading Islamic ideas which proceeds from the establishment of organized Islamic work and the moral, spiritual, and physical training of individuals and groups.

8. Allah (SWT) says: “Let there arise from among you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. Such are they who attain the true success.” (Al-`Imran 3:104) • “The believers men and women are loyal and helpers to one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.” (At-Tawbah 9:71)

9. “It is not for all the Believers to go forth together, so why not a group go forth from amongst every party to seek deeper knowledge of their religion in order to warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware.” (At-Tawbah 9:122) • The collective Ummah’s role in Da`wah is the most effective way to spread Islam. That is why, Allah (SWT) warned this Ummah that if it turns away from Allah’s path and fails to promote Da`wah, Da`wah will not fail. Allah has promised to bring a better Ummah to take its place and uphold the banner of Da`wah.

10. In Suratul Muhammad Allah says: “And if you turn away, He will exchange you for another people and they will not be the likes of you.” (Muhammad 47:38) • These verses are promoting Muslims to work together and be helpers to one another, men and women, and form groups to carry out the tasks of Da’wah by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and inviting people to the path of the true success.

11. The Verse, “It is not for all the Believers to go forth together, so why not a group go forth from amongst every party to seek deeper knowledge of their religion in order to warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware.” (At-Tawbah 9:122) indicates that it is fardkifayah (a collective obligation) on the Muslim Ummah to train groups of specialized people to give Da’wah on behalf of all other Muslims.

12. In other words, there has to be qualified professional groups from among Muslims to bear the responsibilities of Da’wah, such as scholars, Imams, teachers, reformers, social workers, and all types of leaders. They should carry out their duties through institutes such as mosques, universities, Da’wah centres and organizations.

13. The responsibility, in addition to delivering Da’wah, includes teaching Da’wah techniques, conducting Da’wah research, preparing programmes, making framework for Da’wah activities, removing misconceptions about Islam, defending Islam’s and Muslims’ interests, communicating with other Muslims and non-Muslim groups and dealing with the media.

14. The responsibility includes being references for workers in Da`wah, being always ready to give guidance, advice, consultation, and recommendations in Da`wah matters as the Qur’an says: “Ask people of knowledge and understanding if you do not know.” (An-Nahl 16:43)

15. These tasks are key factors in the success of the Da’wah movement because they provide the Muslim community with well trained, qualified, skilful da`iahs (callers to Islam) who are capable of taking responsibility, can handle the challenges, and deliver the Da’wah effectively. They also help in improving Da`wah practices and methodologies and thereby making them more efficient by providing corrections, as well as good planning and organization.

16. B. THE COMMUNITY WORKER AND HIS SURVIVAL • “If anyone is going to stop you from achieving • what you want – please don’t let it be you.” • - Saiyyidah Zaidi

17. BALANCING COMMUNITY WORK AND SURVIVAL • Getting enough finance, staying healthy and being physically fit are very important. It is therefore essential that we must find the right balance between our tasks as community workers and being able to survive in the immediate, short-term and the long-term. Our survival will, of course, determine the quality and longevity of the community work we are doing.

18. B-1A: HOW TO MANAGE THE HOUSEHOLD FINANCE • The wealth in Islam was a mandate, and a right of a person. The authority to use it was tightly connected to the ability (competence) and suitability (integrity) in managing the asset or in another term, the prudential principle. The Islamic principle taught us that “The best of wealth is the one that is managed by a righteous man (a trusted and professional man).”

19. The right to work in the sense of freedom to start a business, trade, produce goods and services, in order to seek for Allah’s sustenance, was the right of every human being without any discrimination between men and women. If we knew that women were also given the rights of property and freedom to own things by Allah, then they should also get the rights to work and seek for sustenance.

20. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) praised someone who consumed the result of his own work, by saying, “A man doesn’t consume a better food than the one he obtained from the result of his own work, because Daud, the Prophet of Allah, ate the result of his own work.” (Bukhari) The Messenger (SAW) also said, “May Allah have mercy on someone who earns his living decently, spends his wealth wisely, and spares some for the savings as preparation to anticipate the time of his lacking and need.” (Muttafaq ‘Alaih)

21. It indicated that Islam wanted every Muslim to be able to manage his business and work properly, maintain and manage his wealth efficiently and proportionally, and to have a spirit and habit of saving some of his income for the future and to anticipate the coming needs. This principle was actually the basis for the worship of Allah in order to be acceptable (Mabrur), because the means, intention, and process were all decent. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Truly, Allah is good, and accepts only the good things.” (Muslim)

22. This awareness of accountability (ma’uliyah) in the financial sector, that comprised the aspects of income and expense management, arose from the belief that Allah (SWT) would surely supervise and audit it, as said by the Prophet (SAW), “The soles (feet) of a slave wouldn’t move from the place where he was resurrected in the Last Day, before he was asked about four things, amongst which was about his wealth; where did he get it and how did he spend it.” (Tirmidhi)

23. Regarding the Family Living • Basically, the responsibility of providing the living of the family lied on the husbands, thus they ought to work properly to provide it, through legal ways, and the women as the wives, were responsible to manage and maintain the family’s assets. Allah (SAW) decreed, which can be translated as, “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has made one of them excel over the other, and because they spend out of their possessions (to support them)…” (An-Nisa:34).

24. Hence, the position as the head of the family for the husbands was parallel to the consequence of providing the living and appropriate cares for their family. Therefore, the Prophet (SAW) had proportionally divided the roles of husband and wife in his saying, “Every one of you is a protector, and each protector will be asked for his responsibility towards what he protected. A husband is a protector for his family, and he is responsible for the family members he protected. A wife is a protector of her husband’s household, and she will be asked of her responsibility towards the assets of the household that she protected…” (Bukhari).

26. When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) married his daughter to Ali (RAA), he advised his son in-law, “You are obliged to work and make efforts while she is obliged to take care (to manage) the household.” (Muttafaq ‘Alaih). • Thus, a sharing between husband and wife in the financial aspect of the family, was a form of responsibilities of the husband in providing the lawful living, and the wife in taking care, managing, nurturing, and maintaining the household finances.

27. However, it didn’t mean that a husband couldn’t assist in managing the assets and the household finances, if the wife was not fully capable of it or if she needed some help. And vice-versa, there was no prohibition in Shari’a of a wife to help her husband - moreover if he was incapable in fulfilling the family needs - through a lawful and decent way that didn’t harm the harmony and happiness of the family, as long as her husband permitted her to do so. Even, her help could be valued as righteous deed for her. Wasn’t Khadija (RAA) also participating in fulfilling the needs of the Prophet’s family (SAW), as a form of good relationship and mutual assistance in good? (Al-Maidah:2)

28. The principle of justice in Islam guaranteed a woman her rights in seeking for Allah’s sustenance according to her nature and Shari’a laws, with the intention of sufficing herself and her family’s needs, in order to perform the worshipping activities devotedly. However, a wife should have a belief that her main task in the family was to arrange the household affairs and manage the family finances, and not to provide the living.

29. The experts of Qur’an interpretation concluded from the chapter, The Women (An-Nisa) Verse 32 that, “Men shall have a share according to what they have earned, and women shall have a share according to what they have earned…,” about the basic principle of woman’s right and freedom in seeking for the sustenance. The history of Islam during the time of the Prophet had proven that the women did play their social roles in battles, by providing medication and taking care of the logistics. Beside that, they were also involved in trading activities and in helping their husbands in the agricultural sector.

30. Management of Family Finance in Islam should be based on the belief that the One Who divides and bestows the sustenance is Allah, together with attempts intended to fulfil the family needs, so that the family could perform their worshipping activities devotedly. Thus, it would prompt the family to be committed in prioritizing the lawful earning that would bring blessings to them, and to avoid the unlawful earning that would bring disaster to them. The Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever works the unlawful work, then donates the result, would get no reward and still have the sin.”

31. In another narration, it is mentioned that: “By Allah Who has my soul in His hand, a slave wouldn’t get any blessing from the income that he earned and spent from an unlawful source. If he donated it, it wouldn’t be accepted. He didn’t spare any of that unlawful income, but it would be prepared for him in hell. Indeed, Allah wouldn’t erase evil with evil, but would erase evil with good, because evil couldn’t be erased with another evil.” (Ahmad). At another time, the Prophet said, “A flesh that was grown from illicit wealth, would not flourish, instead, it deserved to be burned in hell.” (Tirmidhi)

32. A pious woman would always advise her husband, when he was about to go out to earn their living, “Fear you the unlawful job, because we can stand to be patient with starvation, but we can’t be patient of the hellfire.” Likewise, a husband would advise his wife to keep the mandate of Allah in managing the wealth that He bestowed upon them, so that she would spend it wisely, and not extravagantly, nor niggardly or spend it on unlawful things. Allah decreed, praising His righteous slaves, “(The true servants of the Merciful One are) those who are neither extravagant nor niggardly in their spending but keep the golden mean between the two..” (Al-Furqan:67)

33. In earning the living, Islam didn’t allow anyone to work overly, means that he outworked his ability and was too much obsessed with it, thus he sacrificed or neglected the rights of others, be it of Allah, himself, or his family, such as giving education and attention to his children and family. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Indeed, yourself, your family, and your body have rights that you should fulfil, thus give each of those owners of rights its right.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

34. Allah has affirmed that working should be done according to the limits of human ability as stated in Chapter 2 (Al-Baqara) verse 286. But if the needs were overwhelming, or the expense was more than the income, then there should be a good cooperation and mutual assistance between husband and wife in increasing the family income, and in skimping it, thus their income would be greater than their expenses. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Don’t you burden them with anything that they couldn’t bear. And if you have to burden them beyond ability, help them.” (Ibn Maja).

35. Management of family finances was inseparable from optimization of the family potentials, including the children, in seeking for Allah’s sustenance. Islam always paid great attention to the growth of the children, by suggesting that the children should be trained to be independent and earn their own income since they were teenagers, in addition to economizing it, so that the economic growth in a Muslim household could run smoothly, which was a real proof of a blessed wealth in quantitative terms.

36. Thus, Islam prohibited the parents to spoil their children in order not to grow up as parasites and becoming dependent on others. The decree of Allah (SWT) in the beginning of Chapter An-Nisa (The Women) indicated that we must educate and get our children used to skilfully maintaining, managing, and developing the wealth so they are able to live independently.

37. Later, the boys will be the heads of the family, and the girls will be the financial managers of the family. Beside that, it would make the children to be accustomed to work and reducing the burden on their parents.

38. B-1B: 10 HABITS TO DEVELOP FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY AND SUCCESS • Just like any other thing we would like to do, getting your finances stable and becoming financially successful requires the development of good financial habits. These habits will help to eliminate debt, increase savings and increase financial security for the family.

39. 1. Make savings automatically. • This should be your top priority, especially if you don’t have any emergency fund that you can fall back on. Make it the first deduction you make when you receive your salary each month. Set aside an amount that is automatically transferred to your savings account. Just make sure it happens, each and every time you receive your salary. It is not true that you spend first and then save what is left. What you do is to save first and then spend what is left.

40. 2. Control your impulse spending. • One of the biggest problems many of us face is Impulse spending. This happens at the workplace, when we eat out or when we shop in a big supermarket. This becomes a big drain on our finances and renders our budget useless.

41. 3. Evaluate your expenses and live frugally. • Always try to have a means of monitoring your expenses so that you do not overspend or spend money on what is not important to you or your family. Always look for expenses that are not necessary so that you can reduce them or cut them out entirely. Decide if each expense is absolutely necessary before you spend your money.

42. Invest in your future. • You really need to save or invest for the long-term especially if you are a business person or employee without a pension. Or you might just wish to augment the pension you already have by doing something extra. There are many Takaful Investments that are secure where you can put your money for the long-term. There are many non-interest financial products that will serve your needs at old age when you no longer have the strength to run around doing difficult jobs. The fact is you have to start now if you have not started before. No one is too young to start. In fact, the younger you start, the better for you.

43. 5. Keep your family secure. • You can do this by saving for an emergency fund, so that if anything happens, you at least have some money to get some actions started. The idea of insurance for your wife, children and parents is not a bad idea. Do that as soon as possible. Also make a will with reference to Islamic dictates.

44. 6. Eliminate and avoid debt. • If you are already in debt due to personal loans or goods bought on credit, you need to start a debt elimination plan. List your debts and arrange them in order from the smallest at the top to the largest at the bottom. Focus on the debt at the top and try as much as possible to commit a part of your salary towards paying the debt. Once you are through with that, move on to the next largest debt. Continue this process until you are able to pay off all your debts. This could take several years but it is a very rewarding process that is very necessary.

45. As Muslims, we have every obligation to pay our debts. As you are paying off these debts, make sure you are not getting into new debts. Be frugal and careful with your money.

46. 7. Use the envelope system. • This is a simple system to keep track of how much money you have for spending. If you set aside three amounts in your budget when you receive your salary - one can be for cooking gas, one for foodstuffs, and another for transport. Collect the amounts and put them in the three separate envelopes. This way, you can easily know how much you have spent and how much is left for each of these expenses.

47. You can easily know when you run out of money. This will help you not to overspend in any one of these categories. If you regularly run out of money too fast, it simply means you to re-evaluate your budget.

48. 8. Pay bills immediately they are incurred. • Develop a good habit of paying bills as soon as they are incurred. This will ensure that you focus on your budget. Anticipate payment for services that you are using or the foodstuffs and goods that your family uses regularly and make payments as soon as they are due. This will prevent you from running into debts that later build up to become a burden.

49. 9. Read about personal finances. • The more you educate yourself, the better your finances will be. As human beings, we have to keep on learning. Through reading about personal finances, we will be able to get new ideas about how to manage our money better. We will also be aware of new opportunities for investments that are more secure and more profitable. Just keep on learning.

50. 10. Look to grow your net worth. • Do what you can to improve your net worth. You can do this either by reducing your debt, increasing your savings, or increasing your income, or all of the above. Look for new ways to make more money, or to get paid more for what you are already doing.