Fi Sabeelillah

Fi Sabeelillah or in the path of Allah, is a term that people in general understand it to be Jihaad. And when we speak of Jihaad, we cannot prevent ourselves from thinking of the battlefield. Nonetheless, in reality, it is a broader term that includes everything that a person does for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala.

According to a Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

"There is no one whose feet got dust in the path of Allah Ta’ala, that the fire (of hell) will touch him." (Bukhari)

That is, when a person makes an effort to please Allah Ta’ala and due to this, dust got on his feet, then the fire of hell will not touch him.

Making effort does not necessitate fighting the enemy in the battlefield. It can be something other than fighting such as helping a Muslim brother, enabling a person to get a job, alleviating a person, taking a person to the hospital, going to the Masjid, going somewhere to learn or teach Deen. All these actions are Fi Sabeelillah on condition that they are done for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala. One cannot estimate how good and generous Allah Ta’ala is. He promises us great rewards for small actions.

[English version of "Fi sabeelillah" – Al Jamiat – Vol.2 No.7]