Soul Talk

Our job would be from 9 to 5 and we would say, oh, I’m too tired to go to a lecture in the masjid.


At some point, we have all felt burdened by our professions, whether it may be because of that demanding boss or what we perceive to be low pay. No matter what our line of work may be… teaching a class of energetic children, organising files in a hospital administration or sifting through lines of programming code to spot the bug in the software-we have all had our days when we have had it with the idiosyncrasy and labour of the very career we eagerly chose when young.


Through it all, rarely do we think about other professions…jobs we consider menial, workers we consider blue-collar, people we consider inferior. They are around us, live among us, earn much, much less and work way, way more. Ever thought twice about that garbage man who wakes up early mornings to haul away the trash of thousands of people he has never met? What about the construction worker, breathing in cement, sand and concrete, working underground and in the sky, putting brick after brick? And the maid who cooks, scrubs, washes and essentially runs the house and takes care of the family, with no love, thanks or respect in return, save for a minimal pay-cheque?


It seems so unfair, and tragic even to know that so many are content with whatever portion fate has decreed for them and yet, here we are, living more comfortably than them, complaining about every aspect of the job that we have.


And these people, who spend day and night as work-horses, would look at you and smile, laugh and talk, treating you with the respect they deem you to deserve. But, do we really? Among us exist those who look down on them, mistreat, overwork and under-pay them; we don’t even afford to smile or say a nice word, as if doing that would take away from our wealth or status.


Our job would keep us in a position that demands respect from fellow employees, and we would treat that hard-working waiter in the restaurant as dirt.


“Your servants are your brothers and your stewards. Compel them not to do work which will overpower them, and if you do compel them to any such work, then assist them in doing the same.” (Bukhari and Muslim)


1 once read that the poor will form the majority of the inhabitants of Paradise (Bukhari); I instantly knew why. For among these workers is the janitor who sweeps the floors of the shopping mall and says ‘Subhan Allah’; he takes another step and says ‘Alhamdulillah’; every step of his is spent in serving his Lord and then his employer. Among such workers is the housekeeper who wakes up at dawn and sleeps at midnight, between which she does everything asked of her of cleaning and cooking, even though she fasts on Mondays and Thursdays.


Us? Our job would be from 9 to 5 and we would say, oh, I’m too tired to go to a lecture in the masjid. Our job would be to manage the office, and we would say, sorry, I can’t perform my obligatory salah here. Our job would pay us more than enough to sustain our family, and we would still hanker after more money, withhold from charity and spend extravagantly. Our job would keep us in a position that demands respect from fellow employees, and we would treat that hard-working waiter in the restaurant as dirt.


Don’t we even stop to think that if these people did not accept these jobs…cleaning public bathrooms, cooking greasy food, bagging our groceries…life, as we know it, could not go on? We need them more than they do, for our opulence and lethargy could not exist if they did not agree to do our dirty work for us. Who, then, is the lower one? Who, then, is weak?


I dedicate this piece to all of them… the ones who work hard in this world, earn much less than they deserve, are belittled by all, oppressed by many and forgotten by most. May they teach us contentment, worship of Allah, good character and brotherhood, and most of all, may they forgive us.


(Source Courtesy: Al-Jumuah-Volume 18, Issue 07)