Seeking Nearness to Allah Through Service
Examining Spiritual Growth, Repentance, and Holistic Human, Institutional, & Community Development Through Khidma
Bismillah Al-Raḥmān Al-Raḥīm; Ṣallā Allahu `alā Sayyadinā Muḥammad wa `alā Ālihi wa Ṣaḥbihi wa Sallam — In the Name of God, Most Merciful and Compassionate; God’s Blessings and Peace be upon our Master, Muḥammad, and on his Family and Companions.
Some moments burn deep impressions into our lives, shaping past, present, and future. My moment came while holding a burner phone in one hand and the weight of eleven years in the other—though I wouldn’t understand the cost until much later.
My night drew to a close with a phone call. The dichotomy of the entire situation could provide enough data to sustain a university research project throughout an academic career.
I was in the middle of looking for a group of individuals to carry out an act of vengeance, and I was taking a call from my step-daughter asking, rather she was crying and asking, where I was and if I was going to take her to shop for her graduation from eighth grade. I assured her I would be there when she came home from school and promised to buy her whatever she wanted for her graduation. I would not make it home for another eleven years.
I always remember this incident because this was the image that I held onto throughout my incarceration, but more so because this helped me make a decision. After much reflection, I found myself in the final stage of my life as a criminal and at the end of the first stage of my spiritual growth.
Khidma as a Form of Therapy and Spiritual Purification
“Rather, those possessing intellects are mindful. Those who are faithful to the covenant they have convened with God, and do not breach the oath. Those who join what God has commanded to be joined; they reverence their Lord, and they fear a terrible accounting. (13:19-21)
We enter into a covenant with God when we make the declaration of faith by saying, There is no god but God. Muhammad is the Messenger of God (La ilaha illallah, Muhammadan Rasulullah). In so doing, we accept to live the life of a Muslim, to strive to obey the commandments of God and to avoid those things He has prohibited. We also enter into a covenant with ourselves; we are vowing that we will not oppress our souls by exposing them to ruin and damnation. Furthermore, we are entering into a covenant with our fellow human beings. We are pledging to devote ourselves to their service, not to say or do anything that will jeopardize their wellbeing and security, to work for the common good, and to protect their lives, property and honor.”1
This passage from Imām Zaid’s translation and commentary of Imām al-Muḥāsibī’s beautiful Risala al-Mustarshidīn (Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance) helps to give life to how I felt about dedicating my life to serving Allah through serving His creation and finding redemption for the comfort of my troubled soul.
What emerged from these years of reflection and practice is what I have come to understand as the Khidma2 Leadership Framework3—an approach to organizational development and human formation rooted in the Islamic concept of Khidma that is founded on the `Ahd (covenant) that Imām al-Muḥāsibī articulates so precisely. This framework recognizes that effective leadership, communal & human development, and sustainable organizational health require simultaneous fidelity to three covenantal relationships: with Allah (spiritual intentionality and divine accountability), with the self (moral psychological integration integrated with the soul’s purification), and with communal service (holistic personal, communal, and institutional service & collective wellbeing).
This framework did not emerge from academic theorizing but from personal necessity—from the urgent work of transforming myself in an environment designed for warehousing rather than redemption. I discovered how personal transformation could inform holistic human development, community building, and organizational vision for building institutions. Throughout my work, I draw on both classical Islamic sciences and contemporary human & organizational development to explore how these prophetic teachings and insights address our modern societal challenges from an institutional and human level.
The Disease and the Cure
Learning to be of service to others is a challenging endeavor when your soul has been corrupted through constant selfishness, greed, anger, indifference to the needs of others, and being sexually miscreant & lascivious, among other things. I have learned through mentoring and counseling others that most people only seek to help others for the sake of being known.
It is not common for us to encounter someone who is committed to Khidma for the sake of Allah and His Good Pleasure. We are all aware that they exist. Many of my teachers and some beautiful Muslims I have met over the years have shown me that they are rare souls, and they are getting rarer. This is undeniable. The example of these beautiful people in adhering to the Sunna of the Rasūl ﷺ motivates us to do better and to raise our children to emulate them as we seek to follow the prophetic example.
The issue that I have witnessed with the people that I have come into contact with, who are the opposite of the few examples that I have witnessed in my own life, is that they have a problem with Ḥubb al-Dunyā wa Ḥubb al-Riyāsa/Jāh.4
For those who come from a background similar to my own, this is an even more stark reality. The need to address the problem has a higher level of urgency than some may appreciate or value as worthy of their attention while they are in the midst of doing the work.
None of us are safe from being trapped by this disease of the heart. However, we can condition ourselves to be conscious of it manifesting and counteract it when we have the correct mental acuity and work to formulate and maintain a sound intention.
Allah says in the Qur’an: The enjoyment of desires—women, children, treasures of gold and silver, fine horses, cattle, and fertile land—has been made appealing to people. These are the pleasures of this worldly life, but with Allah is the finest destination. 3:14
There is one Ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ that says: Love of this world is the root of all evil.5
Allah also says: We grant the Home in the Hereafter to those who do not seek superiority on earth or spread corruption: The ultimate outcome belongs to those who are mindful of God. 28:83
Reflecting on all of this during my first couple of years in prison led me to decide that I wanted to be a servant and an example for my peers. I was well-regarded, and I wanted to use that to my advantage by reminding people that we could leave the game, change our lives, and we did not have to become government informants to do so. It was also essential to set an example by being able to get out, be true to our Islam, and avoid cutting corners or playing games to care for ourselves and our families.
Because of this, I conceived the idea for my current education and consulting organization, Al Qiyaamah—a vision I will explore more fully in future writing, InShā’Allah. I have gone through a couple of iterations of my original idea, which began as an attempt to persuade the warden at one of the prisons I was at to initiate some necessary programs for the inmates. I transferred to another prison, and my original plan did not materialize as I had initially planned. However, I continued to refine my ideas and have arrived at my current vision for a purpose-built school & Zawiya, surrounded by an intentional community in my hometown of Savannah, Georgia. All of which would be supported through educational programming & curriculum development consulting, alongside digital and in-person content production; the manifestation of which funnels through this platform, InShā’Allah.
By Allah’s Mercy and Grace, I have been protected from having the desire to be exalted over others, and I find it to be detestable when I spot it in others. One thing that scares me and that I keep in the forefront of my mind is that the punishment that awaits me if I become a person of Ghafla6 is the Ḥadīth of the Qārī, the Mujāhid, and the generous man.7
While it is to be expected that people will give us respect and defer to us if we teach, call people to the Path of Allah, or seek knowledge. It is necessary to constantly examine and reexamine ourselves and our thoughts to improve ourselves and correct our ways. One of the best ways that has been said to combat the love of position is to remember that this world we lust after is worthless in the sight of Allah. This will extinguish the love we hold for it from our hearts. We do this best by serving others and constantly reminding ourselves that this world is unimportant in light of the Last Day and the Hereafter.
Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ is known to have said: The leader of a people is their servant.8 We understand from this statement of the Prophet ﷺ that true leadership is not found in Ḥubb al-Dunyā wa Ḥubb al-Riyāsa/Jāh. There is no service when we seek things of this world to use them as petty lords over the people. Our leadership involves lowering ourselves to help others and being a source of support and encouragement to them on the Path of Allah.
The Invitation
As we reflect on the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “The leader of a people is their servant,” we find an inversion of worldly logic—that authority derives from service rather than dominion—which challenges every assumption we carry about leadership, success, and influence. We should understand that the Dominion belongs to Allah and we are his servants; therefore, our mission is to serve.
As you reflect on what has been shared here, I invite you to examine your own covenants. Where have you honored the pledge to serve Allah through serving His creation? Where have the diseases of ḥubb al-dunyā and ḥubb al-riyāsa crept into your intentions, possibly corrupting your good works? What would it mean for you—in your home, your organization, your community—to center khidma as both spiritual practice and organizational principle?
These are not rhetorical questions. They require the kind of brutal self-examination, muḥāsaba—taking account of the soul that al-Muḥāsibī talks about. This work is never complete; it is designed to last a lifetime.
This piece begins an extended exploration of how classical Islamic spiritual psychology informs contemporary organizational leadership and human development. There are a few voices working at this intersection—bridging the wisdom of our classical scholars with the practical demands of helping people to heal and grow while simultaneously building and leading businesses and religious institutions in the face of seemingly insurmountable contemporary challenges. Fewer still speak from the experience of profound transformation, having known both the depths of moral failure and the possibility of redemption through khidma.
In future writing, I’ll examine more deeply the specific manifestations of these diseases of the heart in our homes, communities, and institutions, and how they affect us as people of faith, particularly Muslims. I will share the diagnostic frameworks for assessing organizational spiritual health and the practical methodologies for building a covenantal culture in our communities. The vision of Umma International Group, which includes Al Qiyaamah—a purpose-built school and zawiya surrounded by an intentional community—EP3 & Associates, and the UIITE, emerges directly from this theology of service. It is not separate from the spiritual work but is its institutional expression, InShā’Allah. I will share more about how this vision is taking shape and how you might participate in shaping it.
If what I have shared resonates with you, I invite you to join this conversation:
→ Subscribe to receive future writings exploring the Khidma Leadership Framework and its applications
→ Share your reflections in the comments: Where do you see the tension between khidma and the diseases of the heart in your own leadership context?
→ Connect directly if you’re leading an organization or community and recognize these challenges in your work—I welcome inquiry about consulting and advisory services focused on spiritual-organizational transformation
May Allah grant us sincerity in our service, protect us from the diseases of our hearts, and make us among those who work for His Good Pleasure alone.
Shakir, Zaid, Rashid Patch, Noreen Kassem, and al-Ḥārith ibn Asad Muḥāsibī. Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance. 1st ed. NID Publishers, 2008.
Service or to serve.
Holistic Servant Leadership Framework
Love of the world and love of leadership/status.
Some have said that this is not a Ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ, but a statement of Imām Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, may Allah be pleased with him.
Heedlessness
Riyad as-Salihin 1617; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
40 Ḥadīth of Shāh Walīyullah, Ḥadīth 34