That's Not My Job!

Here Hazrat Shaykh (نور الله مرقده) explains the attitude that he, the other teachers, and the students of the madressa had towards work pertaining to the madressa, and laments the current attitudes toward madressa duties. This scribe would like to add that if we try to apply this attitude towards our masaajid and towards duties in our home lives, there will be a very positive impact, Inshallah.

In those days this used to be my golden rule and that of practically every teacher, employee and official of the madressa. The madressa was not our property and whatever we received from or through it was firstly looked upon as a favour from Allah's side and secondly as a favor from the madressa, not a right. We have no right due upon the madressa. And we did not feel ashamed of any task that had to be done for the madressa, no matter how small and insignificant, like sweeping the classroom.

I cannot remember if in those days it was ever necessary to call an employee to bring the clay stones for use during “istinja” in the toilets or to bring the wood for lighting the fire which heated the water. I told the gate-keeper to inform me in my class when the wagon bringing the clay bricks arrived. Then I would send a message to Maulana Abdur Rahman with a student to inform him that I was going downstairs. He too would then come downstairs and seeing us go down both classes would come running along to reach the wagon before us. We then would hardly be able to carry even one block of clay as the students would grab that fro our hands as we off-loaded the clay. Within a few minutes the wagon would be empty. Some students would carry one block while others, eager to show their strength would carry two at a time. There were many other tasks like these. But nowadays, if an employee or official of the madressa is being asked to pick up a hand fan, he will first consider and ponder as to whether this is his work or not, is he getting paid for it or not?

Aap Beti, Page 126