Work and Activity
\r\n Al-Zalzalah (The Earthquake) - Chapter 99: Verse 7
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"And whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it."
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\r\n Work has a sacredness about it, even if the task is as modest as merely sweeping a room, tidying a desk, or entertaining a guest.
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\r\n When you rely upon yourself to wash and iron your own clothes and carry your own luggage, you are actually giving yourself charity.
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\r\n People are created with tremendous potential energy to accomplish many things from within themselves. This energy differs in degree from one person to the next. The need to work productively is as natural to the human being as the need to eat or to procreate.
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\r\n When people find good food to eat, they eat it. Otherwise, they are compelled to eat low quality food. When they are thirsty, if they find pure fresh water to drink, they will drink it. Otherwise, they are forced to drink stagnant water. The same goes for work. If they find work that contributes to society and builds their personality and self-esteem, they embark upon it with enthusiasm and pour all their energy into it. Otherwise, they do whatever work they can find.
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\r\n Activity is how people respond to their inner energies. It is also how they give meaning to life and assert their importance as human beings.
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\r\n Whenever political or economic systems stifle that energy, it results in people who are wretched, distraught, and lack initiative. They become like indistinguishable automatons who find it difficult to make any sense of their lives.
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\r\n Political and economic systems are supposed to facilitate and mobilize work, not keep people from it. When citizens are denied opportunities for work, creative accomplishments, and active social engagement, part of their very humanity is wasted. All people need three things in their lives if they are to live well:
1.\tSomething to do
\r\n 2.\tSomething to love
\r\n 3.\tSomething to hope for
When people work and accomplish meaningful things, they will love life more and be contented. They need to be able to identify with their work. This will allow them to strive as if they have a stake in the work they are doing. They should be able to feel as if they expect the person they love the most will live in the home they build, wear the garment they sew, or eat the food they produce. In this way, they will put something of their souls into the things they produce so that they come out as good as they can be.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Meaningful Work Is a Societal Need\" - Salman al-Oadah