Intention
Ali Banat: working for the sake of Allah
Not for praise. Not for a name. For Allah alone.
Why Ali Banat did it
Ali Banat did not give to be known. He saw his illness as a chance from Allah to turn his life around, and he took it (Gifted With Cancer, OnePath Network, 2015):
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At this point in my life, Alhamdulillah I have been gifted by Allah with cancer throughout my body and I have changed my whole life to helping people.
Actions are by intentions
Every deed is weighed by the intention behind it. The Prophet ﷺ said that actions are only by intentions, and that each person will have what they intended (Sahih al-Bukhari 1).\n\nWorking for the sake of Allah means doing the work for Him alone, whether anyone sees it or not.
One direction for the whole of life
The Quran gives the believer one direction for everything: prayer, sacrifice, life and death itself (Quran 6:162-163):
قُلۡ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحۡيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ١٦٢
qul inna ṣalātī wanusukī wamaḥyāya wamamātī lillahi rabbi l-ʿālamīna
Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allāh, Lord of the worlds.
لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُۥۖ وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرۡتُ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ ١٦٣
lā sharīka lahu wabidhālika umir'tu wa-anā awwalu l-mus'limīna
No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims."
Giving without wanting thanks
The Quran describes the righteous feeding the poor, the orphan and the captive, saying they feed them only for the sake of Allah, wanting neither payment nor thanks (Quran 76:8-9):
وَيُطۡعِمُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ مِسۡكِينٗا وَيَتِيمٗا وَأَسِيرًا ٨
wayuṭ'ʿimūna l-ṭaʿāma ʿalā ḥubbihi mis'kīnan wayatīman wa-asīran
And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive,
إِنَّمَا نُطۡعِمُكُمۡ لِوَجۡهِ ٱللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمۡ جَزَآءٗ وَلَا شُكُورًا ٩
innamā nuṭ'ʿimukum liwajhi l-lahi lā nurīdu minkum jazāan walā shukūran
[Saying], "We feed you only for the face [i.e., approval] of Allāh. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.
Patience in hardship
He met a terminal illness with gratitude instead of despair. The Quran promises, twice over, that with hardship comes ease (Quran 94:5-6):
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا ٥
fa-inna maʿa l-ʿus'ri yus'ran
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease [i.e., relief].
إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرٗا ٦
inna maʿa l-ʿus'ri yus'ran
Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.
Work that keeps going after you
He set up Muslims Around the World so that his good deeds could carry on after his death (The National, 1 June 2018). The Prophet ﷺ taught that a mosque a person built, a stream of water they made flow and knowledge they left behind keep reaching a believer after death (Sunan Ibn Majah 242).
His reminder to us
In the message he left for after his death, he was honest about all of us (SBS News, 1 June 2018):
Wallah, we are following our desires more than we are following Islam these days.
Working for Allah in your own life
- Check your intention before you begin, and again when people praise you (Sahih al-Bukhari 1).
- Have a goal. His last advice was to have a plan you work towards, because “you are going to need it on the Day of Judgement” (SBS News, 1 June 2018).
- Serve with what you have: money, time, skills. Every act of kindness is charity (Sahih al-Bukhari 6021).
- Keep going, even in small steps. Allah loves the deeds that are done regularly, even if they are small (Sahih al-Bukhari 6464).