Service is a form of worship--and also a powerful method of self-transformation. Most service that we offer is selfish; it is service for the sake of reward: money, praise, or fame. Service to the Sufis is "for God's sake", without any thought of reward. This kind of service comes from when we remember that we are a part of God's creation, and that by serving creation , we are serving our Creator--not for a heavenly reward but out of love and gratitude. ************
Years ago, the mother of one of the Ottoman Sultans was devoted to charity. She built mosques and a great hospital and had public wells dug in parts of Istanbul that were without water. One day, she went to watch the construction of the hospital she was having built, and she saw an ant fall into the wet concrete of the foundation. She lifted the ant out of the concrete and set it on the ground.
Some years later she passed away. That night she appeared to a number of her friends in their dreams. She was radiant with joy and inner beauty. Her friends asked her if she had gone to Paradise because of all her wonderful charities, and she replied, "I am in Paradise, but it is not because of those charities. It is for the sake of an ant."
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I once had a brother in Iraq. I would go to him when times were bad and say, "Give me some of your money." He would throw me his purse for me to take what I wanted. Then one day I came to him and said, "I need something." He asked "How much do you want?" And so the sweetness of brotherhood left my heart.
--- al-Ghazzali ---
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