CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM AND SOCIAL WORK

Course Description:
This course introduces a proposed Islamic social work practice model. Islam informs
every aspect of life for Muslims, so understanding the Islamic worldview on the nature
of problems, preventing problems and solving problems is essential. The concepts of
helping, problem solving and transformation used in Islamic social work are fully
explored. The behaviours of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) are used to inform social
work practice including the use of non-verbal behaviours to establish relationships,
assessment, interventions, implementation and evaluation. While the similarities in
Islam and social work are used for practice, areas of divergence are also acknowledged.

Course Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Articulate the knowledge, values and skills in Islamic social work practice;
2. Apply Islamic concepts and values to social work practice; and,
3. Access Islamic resources to support social work practice.

SOCIAL WORK: BRIEF DIFINITION

“Social work is defined as a professional service which uses social scientific techniques
to alleviate economic, social and emotional distresses among individual, group and
communities”
Thus from the above defined approaches it is clear that social work is an effort to remove
conditions creating problems for an individual, a family or a group of the society.
Furthermore, the modern concept of social work not only includes material help to
indigent but interacts with concepts, conditions, traditions and practices that germinate
social vices.
Social work is defined as to match the limited resources with the unlimited problems. It
is the scientific body of knowledge which gives a proper understanding and a way to
address the social problems. National Association of Social Workers (NASW) defines
Social Work as,
(None of you will have a faith until he loves me more than his father, his children and all
mankind. (Bukhari)

Therefore, the above mentioned Qur’anic verses and Hadith instructs a Muslim to abide
by Quran and Sunnah completely and also talks about love for Allah and his Messenger.
Here, love doesn’t remain confined to having sense of affection only, but it also guide
Muslims to follow the instructions given in the Quran and Hadith.

Islam is a religion of humanity. Islam considers serving others as a great act of worship.
According to the teachings of Islam, it is only in serving people that we shall have a share
in Allah’s Mercy. And an individual should lead his life as well-wisher to all, ready to help
everyone, accepting others’ rights over his own possessions.

All the teachings of Islam are based on two principles; worship of Allah and serving to
humanity. Without putting both of these principles into practice, there can be no true
fulfillment of one’s religious duties. By serving human beings on the one hand they
(Muslims) please their Lord; Allah, and on the other they achieve spiritual progress for
themselves. Doing good and talking in a good manner with parents, relatives and
orphans, is actually what Islam prescribes and appreciates a Muslim to do. And Allah
mentions in Qur’an,

(Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the
needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give Zakah. (Chapter
2, Verse 83)

Social consequences
In anthropological terms, Muslim society tends to be high-context: it emphasizes the
collective over the individual; it has a slower pace of societal change and a higher sense
of social stability. Its opposite is a low-context society, frequently found in the West: one
which reveres the individual over the collective.

Social stability, for example, is understood by Muslims as the achievement of social

peace. This imperative is reinforced by an emphasis upon the collective over the
individual; a mutually responsive brother- and sisterhood extending an ummatic bond to
a global level. ‘Help each other in the acts of goodness and piety and do not extend help
to each other in sinful acts or transgression behaviours’ (Koran, 5, v. 2). The Prophet
Muhammad advised Muslims, ‘Help your brother [the Muslim] whether he is the
oppressor or the oppressed.’ When the Prophet was asked how to help him if he is the
oppressor, he replied: ‘Hold his hand from oppression’.
4. The siam is the imperative to fast from food, drink and sex during daylight hours
during the month of Ramadan, which immediately precedes the celebration of the
date upon which Allah revealed the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad. Rama-dan thus
ends with a three-day celebration, Id Al-Fitr, the breaking of the fast. Self- discipline
and reflection, rather than abstinence and self-mortification, are emphasized.
5. The hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy city of Islam located where Allah revealed
the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad. The pilgrimage should be undertaken at least
once in a Mus-lim’s lifetime, if financially, mentally and physically capable. The
beginning of the pilgrimage season is the end of Ramadan; the end of the season is
the celebration of the Great Feast Id Al-Adha .

Prayin6g.
Prayer five times daily, a main principle within the five pillars of Islam, assists the
devotee to submit to Allah’s will. Although the individual can undertake daily
prayer alone, it is preferable, if possible, to pray with others; an obvious place for
this to occur is within the mosque, led either by the imam or any Muslim.
In bringing an individual closer to God, the Hadith indicates that group prayer is 27
times more effective than praying alone. Group prayer likewise reinforces a sense
of belonging to a single, worldwide community of believers. Larger assemblies of
prayer, in mosques, are especially prevalent at noon on Fridays, the Muslim Holy
Day; this is preceded by a khutba, sermon, delivered by the imam.

Muslims also celebrate major and minor religious feasts in a group setting; these begin
with group prayer in a mosque, and end in the sharing of a meal amongst family
members. One of two major feasts, the Id Al-Fitr is the feast at the end of Ramadan. In
the mosque, it includes the corporate recitation of prayers, and ends in people
exchanging greetings; even enemies are encouraged to settle their differences and to
exchange the peace.

The second major feast, the Al-Adha, commemorates the Koranic story in which
Abraham was told by Allah to slaughter his son Ishmael; as his knife was drawn towards
the son’s neck, the angel Gabriel intervened by the will of Allah, putting a sheep in place
of the son and thereby allowing the sheep to be sacrificed in Ishmael’s stead.
Each year, after mosque prayer, Muslims slaughteran animal and then consume it in a
family meal, in honour of this event; if it is available.

Significance to social work of prayer and the five pillars

A social worker should comprehend the helping benefits, at several levels, of the above
forms of prayers and the five pillars of Islam. All have a strong group element, reflecting
and reinforcing Muslim society’s high-context nature; as a popular Muslim saying has it,
‘God’s hand [is] with the group’. At the group level, emotional support and exchange of
ideas or difficulties take place, most often in the mosque, with other worshippers or with
the imam. As emphasized by the Hadith, ‘The Prophet Muhammad remarked: Those who
interact with people and express their hardships are better than those who do not
interact with people and do not express their pains’ (Ibn-Majah, 1975).

Group prayers help to create a sense of familiarity, friendliness, selflessness and equality
among the faithful. This is entirely consistent with the Hadith edict of the equality of
believers regardless of color, social strata or wealth; the Prophet Muhammad said: ‘All
the people are equal as the comb’s teeth’ . Group prayers also reinforce a potential for
natural support networks, and provide a rationale for breaking down barriers that would
normally interfere with the mutual exchange of social support. The group nature of
prayer can thus influence the thought and behavior of their members, in the context of
group intervention.

Group prayers mirror a wide range of instrumental and social support outside the
mosque, such as: family or marital advice, assistance with building a home or extension
to a home, or assis-tance during times of sickness and other traumatic events. An
excellent example is the in-mosque greetings of peace during major feast celebrations.
Even enemies are compelled to be cordial. The feast seasons themselves often provide
the context for settling instances of marital or family discord, very often with the
assistance of concerned family members, neighbors or friends. Major feasts also include
the imperative to visit relatives and close friends; visits are extended over a four-day
period for the sacrifice holiday, and three days for the Id Al-Fitr. The feast periods
preceding fasting periods are also associated with various good works, such as visiting
sick friends or relatives, which themselves also provide the basis for natural social
support.

On the level of the person-to-group, the practice catapults the praying individual into a
worldwide body of believers, both dead and alive, thus reinforcing a sense of the integrity
and strength of the religion. Group cohesion is reinforced by Muslim scholars,
the religious rituals and Islamic theology: ‘Hold fast together by the rope of Allah and not
by being divisive among yourselves . . .
Believers are like a building, strengthening and supporting each other . . . God helps him
who helps his brother’.

The individual in Islam is also considered an independent member of the group, who
makes decisions to satisfy his or her needs and interests without hurting the group.

So the interests of the individual and the group do not necessarily contradict one
another; rather, they are supposed to be mutually reinforcing. The individ-ual’s voice is
not silenced, and group members are always expected to express personal views.

The recitation of the Koran during prayer, either silently or aloud, represents a
continuous chain of teaching, listening and memorizing Koranic sayings. On the individual
level, the prayer is a reminder that a Muslim’s daily life and faith are continuously
intertwined. Praying can be viewed as both a preventative and an inexpensive
psychological guard against anxiety and depression. The practice of prayer, meditation
and other forms of religious devotion can lead to balance in the Muslim personality
increasing the person’s sense of well-being, relief and anxiety-reduction.

To put it in religious terms, the institutions of prayer and the Muslim five pillars ‘enable
the believer to turn away from evil and to enhance his/her consciousness of God – an
essential process in the actualization of human nature (fitrah)’.

Islam is a total, all-embracing way of life for Muslims. It includes both specific religious
rituals and prayers and a large body of works setting out the words and commands of
the Prophet and subsequent religious leaders.

Social work according to the Quran

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is
righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the
Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for
the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask; and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast
in prayers and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you made; and to be
firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic.
Such are the people of truth, the God fearing"(Quran 2: 177).
The above verse is the concept of social work in Islam. It is however more than a
philosophical concept but a practical draft that outlines the why, whom, and who of
service delivery.

We believe form of worship incomplete without helping people.

· Whom — categories of people and groups and issues related to be met

· Who — characteristics of workers

Analysis of the Quranic concept of social work

Why?

The question of why we should establish formal social services in our communities is
explained in this verse.

Allah is advising us that our worship is incomplete without helping deeds. So after having
believed in Allah, the angels, the Prophets, the Books and the Last Day we must translate
our Iman (faith) our beliefs into actions of service to humankind.

In fact it is incumbent on believers to fulfill this duty of service to those who need their
help. Each and every Muslim is to contribute to the welfare of society. Therefore by
establishing social services within Muslim communities, every Muslim can indirectly
participate through financial and moral support. When professionals administer social
services with the support of the community at large. It would help all of us to fulfill our
social responsibility as believers.

1. Duty — as a believer;
2. True righteousness;
3. Love of Allah

One Hadith states that Abu Hurairah related: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said: "Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from
him one of the grieves on the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates [the] lot of a
destitute person, Allah will alleviate his lot in this world and the next. Whosoever
conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the next.
Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother."
Who?

The question of who is best qualified to carry out the duty of serving the community in
the area of social services, is again outlined in this verse as one who believes in the Unity
of Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, Books and Messengers of Allah. In other words, the
verse emphasizes the significance of Iman and Mufassil as the defining characteristic of
a Muslim — one who having believed totally completely and with understanding is then
compelled by his belief to act upon them through service to humanity thus completing
their faith.

1. Believer in Unity of Allah

2. The Last Day
3. Angels
4. Books
5. Messenger

For Whom?

The above verse also outlines broad categories that would include those towards whom
these services should be directed. Let's briefly look at the categories.

Spend of your substance for:

1. Kin: This would be anyone related either by blood or marriage. This would be
more of an individual responsibility. If however a person was unable to
adequately meet the needs of his kin he could on their behalf seek help from the
community-based social services.
2. Orphans: Technically this would apply to children whose fathers have died. In an
Islamic society the orphans then become the responsibility of the state. New
Muslims who lose their families because of conversion must also be included in
this category. Orphans could also apply to children of dysfunctional families that
are taken away be CFS. For all facts and purposes they are orphans. The spirit of
Islamic charity would therefore dictate that we provide for these orphans by
providing foster care, housing and material and spiritual needs consistently,
professionally and compassionately.
3. Needy: This is a broad term and should be interpreted to mean any need.
Therefore a family needing counseling to resolve a conflict or a couple in a marital
crisis or an abused spouse should be included in the category as well as those who
are in need of financial assistance. The situation could be of a temporary nature or
long term. The Muslim community should be equipped with services that can
address the needs of these people.
 4. Wayfarer: the term usually used for a traveler or a transient, could also apply in
present day to foreign students or workers who come to our communities on a
temporary basis. Islamic social services should be prepared to serve this particular
segment of our community.

5. Those Who Ask: Anyone who asks for help and is a genuine case must be helped.
We should not hold it against them. Therefore a formal mechanism must be in
place in our communities where people can confidently apply for help.

6. Ransom of Slaves: The spirit is to free a human from bondage and oppression and
exploitation.

How?

When we are asked how are we to achieve these objectives of Islamic social services the
Quran once again gives us assistance by laying out the principle on which we not only
base our social services but through which we achieve our goals. In short, these principles
define a Muslim social worker and also empower and enable them to better serve their
clients.

1. Steadfast in prayer: The one best equipped to help others is one who is steadfast
in prayer. "Thee alone we worship, Thee alone we ask for help". In a Muslim
community persons nominated for social work must possess this fundamental trait
of a Muslim. If they are to be effective and productive it is also a reminder to those
of us working in the field that we must be steadfast in prayer.
2. Regular Charity: This of course fosters a personality that is giving and develops a
character that is empathetic to the needs of others. Communities where members
give regular charity of all kinds both compulsory and voluntary benefit each other
and feel responsible for each other.
3. Fulfill Contract: Muslims working in the field of social services must be
trustworthy, honest, and conscientious of their duty to their clients. Services
delivered cannot be haphazard or half-hearted. When we make a pledge we honor
it when we make a promise we keep it and when we set ourselves up as helpers
we fulfill that task to the best of our ability.
4. Patience in pain: suffering, adversity and panic: These are characteristics that are
essential for Muslim social workers, counselors, Imams, and leaders. When people
depend on us for support and rely on our counsel we cannot be hasty, impatient,
or panic at first sign of difficulty. The task for Muslim workers in the area of social
services is soul wrenching and requires a personality that is blessed with Taqwa
(God consciousness) and Sabr (patience). However, the levels of
 Taqwa (God consciousness) may vary but it is an evolutionary process in which one
can develop the personality of a Mutaqi (one who has God consciousness).
5. Truth: As the Prophet Muhammad stated: " A Muslim can not be a liar". Truth and
honesty is the cornerstone of any public service. Lies stand in the way of trust
without which a Muslim social worker or counselor is not viable. We must be
honest in our dealings with our client and not use any underhanded ways. Truth is
also a virtue that is admired universally and inspires respect, trust, and reliability.
6. God Fearing: One, who fears Allah and is always conscious of her duty to her
Creator, will never harm or put in harms way those who are under their care. Sense
of accountability and responsibility to Allah must be the core trait of a Muslim
community worker. This keeps in check our egos and focuses on the objective that
our service must gain the pleasure of Allah not the pleasure of making a name for
us.

Prophet’s Hadith and Social Work

• The Prophet Muhammad (On Whom Be Allah’s Peace and Blessings) said:
• He who sleeps satiated while his neighbor goes hungry is not dear to Allah. A
Muslim has been a revered companion of the Prophet. He cites the Prophet as
directing his people to gladly accept an invitation to lunch or dinner from the
neighbor, as it promotes understanding and solidarity.
• On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (May Allah Be Pleased With Him), who said that
the Messenger of Allah (On whom Be Peace and Blessings of Allah) said:
• Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of
Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, how should I visit You
when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant
so-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you
visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for
food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You
are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-
so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him
you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of
Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say:
O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He
will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not
to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with me. (It
was related by Muslim)
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. Define the term “Social Work”
2. Discuss the two principles that the teachings of Islam are based on
3. Explain why the Muslim society are high-context society
4. Examine why Islam is considered a way of life
5. Group prayers mirror a wide range of instrumental and social support outside the
mosque, discuss how.

References for reading:

1. Islamic theology and prayer, Relevance for social work practice by Alean Al-
Krenawi and John R. Graham.pdf
2. The anthropology of Islam, Marrance,2008.pdf