Islam teaches us to gain the most benefit in each moment. Accordingly, the life of the Prophet ﷺ exemplifies how to apportion our time and effort. He ﷺ would divide his time between serving Allah ﷻ and serving Allah’s creation. At the times of the prayer and in the last third of the night, the Prophet ﷺ would become completely focused on Allah and would allow nothing to distract him, not even even his own family members. Yet outside of these times, the vast majority of his day was spent in the service of people. He recognized that creation was the “family”, or dependents, of Allah ﷻ and the most beloved to Allah ﷻ were those that serve His dependents. At home, where service to others truly starts, the Prophet ﷺ was always busy tending to the needs of his family, yet would never expect others to serve him. When he was not at home, he was serving the community, whether it be through visiting the sick, distributing his wealth, or giving counsel. The Companions closely followed his example and regularly gave preference to others over themselves. As a result, Allah ﷻ put barakah, or blessing, in their lives. If we desire to achieve excellence in our relationship with Allah ﷻ and bring barakah into our time, wealth, and efforts, we too should use the faculties we have been given in the service of others.
