Serving Humanity

One day, a few years ago, my respected Sheikh, Saeed Ali let me read a letter he wrote to a fellow 
murid brother. The letter touched me greatly. Although I do not have a copy of that letter, the 
contents of the letter made a marked impression on me and I up to this day remember the contents, 
and will Allah willing I will relate them;
“Take the example of a tree, a tree bears fruit, it gives shade and acts as a barrier. Mankind 
benefits from the fruit and the shade, but does the tree eat its own fruit? Does it benefit from its 
own shade? No. It just serves and provides humankind but does not benefit itself. So we should 
become like the tree, by caring and doing for others, selfless service to human beings.
Take the example of water, people wash and cleanse themselves with water, we drink water to 
quench our thirst. Ships ride on water, we benefit from using water, in fact we cannot live without 
water, but does water benefit from its own properties?, no. So we must become like water, serving 
mankind and animals, again this is selfless service to humanity.”
I once mentioned this to a Turkish friend of mine, this had made an impression on him too. After a 
few days he called me and had added another aspect in our discussion. He said “we should study a 
burning candle, a candle “burns” and destroys itself by giving light to others. So we should become 
like a candle, even if we cause ourselves pain by benefiting others, that too is selfless service to 
humanity”.