Adapted from EDA 12 Steps. Written By: Yormi (USA)

 

Step 12: Service

 

The greatest form of charity is the effort to help a poor man, made in secret by one who is poor himself.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the last and final step of the recovery, Step 12. I am so proud of you. This a most liberating step of the recovery. You enter a state of humility and servitude. I wish you all the best for this step.

Listen

 

KEY PRINCIPLE: Having had an otherworldly arousing as a pardoning’s consequence of your wrongdoings by Allah, offer this message with others and practice these standards in all that you do.

 

This will assist you with developing in the light of directions of Allah all through whatever remains of your life. In step 10, you figured out how to assess your life every day and to be responsible for your activities.

 

In step 11, you figured out how to recollect the Allah from minute to minute, so you may have the direction of the Allah as constantly as could be expected under the circumstances.

Step 12 includes the third stay—administration to others—that guarantees a proceeded with recuperation and an abatement of sins.

 

To stay free of fixation, you must get outside yourself and serve. The craving to help other people is a characteristic consequence of otherworldly arousing.

 

You have a message of trust in different addicts, for all distressed and beset individuals why should willing consider a profound way to deal with changing their lives, and for anybody looking for truth and honorability. The message is that God is a God of wonders, generally as He has dependably been. Your life demonstrates that. You are turning into another individual through the Atonement of Allah. You will share this message best through your endeavors to serve others. As you serve, you are understand and learning of this procedure is fortified and extended.

 

Sharing your confirmation of His kindness and His beauty is a standout amongst the most imperative administrations you can offer. Bearing the weights of others through demonstrations of thoughtfulness and magnanimous administration is a piece of your new life as an adherent.

 

Men and ladies who turn their lives over to God will find that He can make a great deal more out of their lives than they can. He will develop their delights, extend their vision, revive their psyches, reinforce their muscles, lift their spirits, duplicate their favors, expand their chances, comfort their souls, ascend companions, and pour out peace. Allah.

 

Be pious as you consider approaches to serve, looking for dependably to be driven by the Allah. In the event that you are willing, you will discover numerous chances to share directions of Allah’s standards you have learned. You will discover approaches to impart your confirmation to others and chances to serve them in numerous different ways. As you serve others, you will keep up modesty by concentrating on the Islamic standards and practices you have learned. At exactly that point would you be able to be guaranteed that your intentions and motivation are great. Make sure to give openly, not expecting a specific result. Regard the organization of others. Keep in mind that the greater part of us needed to “hit base” before we were prepared to think about and apply these standards. The same will be valid for the majority of those you yearning to offer assistance.

 

When you get to be mindful of other people who manage compulsion in their lives or the lives of their friends and family, you might need to tell them about this aide and the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program. In the event that they have a craving for talking, let them. Recount to some of your story to tell them that you can relate. Try not to give counsel or attempt to settle them in any capacity. Just educate them of the system and directions of Allah – all rule that have favored your life.

 

You may find that if a junkie is not prepared to grasp these otherworldly standards, maybe a relative or companion of the fiend may be responsive. Basically everybody learning so as to live in these unsafe times could advantage and applying gospel standards. You might every so often feel enlivened to offer somebody a duplicate of this aide.

In doing as such, you will really share the instruments that have assisted you with turning so as to revamp your life to Allah –only him. Tell them likewise that monotheism is an unmistakable subject of the Quran, certifying that God is One with no accomplices.

In a briefly worded Quranic section, God summons, Say,

“He is God the One, God the everlasting. He sired nobody nor was He sired. Nobody is tantamount to Him” (112:1-4)

That is the message. Let them know that anything separated from holding perseveringly on him is frequenting shadows.

 

A foundational message in the Quran is its accentuation on upright behavior based on firm conviction and affection for God. The Quran recognizes human cravings while reminding people to develop their souls. What’s more, God approaches people to utilize their acumen and think about their general surroundings. The Quran urges mankind to perceive the indications of God’s presence in the exact request of the universe and the watchful arrangement of each item in the aggregate plan of creation.

 

Prior to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) began to get disclosure; he would invest a lot of energy thinking in a hollow outside of Mecca. One of the issues that he thought about was the manner by which a few individuals from his society–like ladies, vagrants, and those without tribal protection–were treated. It is hence that numerous hadith accentuate the significance of helping others.

One hadith in particular that underscores this message comes from a collection called An-Nawawi:

“Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates [the lot of]a needy person, Allah will alleviate [his lot]in this world and the next. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next. Allah will aid a slave [of His]so long as the slave aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, but tranquility and peace descends upon them, mercy envelopes them, the angels surround them, and Allah makes mention of them amongst those who are with Him. And whosoever is slowed down by his actions will not be hastened forward by his lineage.”

 

It is clear from this that helping others is connected to a believer’s worship of God. In other words, the hadith connects responsibility to people to other acts of worship like reading Qur’an with other Muslims and seeking knowledge. Moreover, there is a clear reward for a person who aids another, both in this world and in the next.

When you do something for someone else or share the message of hope and recovery, you must not allow another person to become too dependent on you. Your responsibility is to encourage others who struggle to turn to Allah for guidance and power. In addition, you should not be reluctant to encourage them to turn to Allah’s authorized servants as well. Great blessings can come from Allah through those who hold sheikh keys. As you try to help others, you must understand that it will be difficult for them to remain in recovery if family members do not support them or do not understand that recovery takes time. Anyone can recover.

In your enthusiasm to help others, be sure to keep a balance between sharing the message and working on your own program. Your primary focus must continue to be to apply these principles yourself. Your efforts to share these ideas with others will be only as effective as the recovery you maintain.

These principles you have learned and practiced to overcome your addiction are the same principles that will lead you in all aspects of your life to act according to Allah’s plan. Using these principles, you can endure to the end as Allah has commanded and you can do so with joy.

Action Steps

Bear public testimony; magnify callings and talents in serving others; hold family home evening and family prayer; prepare to attend the mosque and worship there.

Your testimony of the love and mercy of Allah is no longer a theory. It has become a living reality. You have experienced it for yourself. As you have become aware of His love for you, you have also become aware of His love for others.

Bear testimony in regular family home evenings, family prayer, and family scripture study. Bear testimony as you join with your family in service projects and as you live your life in an Islam way.

Although you may not have thought it possible before, you can now imagine entering the doors of the mosque with a renewed mind, drinking deeply of the peace there, and feeling close to Allah in the house. In prayer, you will find spiritual power to continue in your recovery. Regular spiritual work can provide spiritual strength. It can be an anchor in daily life, a source of guidance, protection, security, peace, and revelation.

Serve others who struggle with ED/addiction by sharing the principles of recovery; apply these principles in all aspects of life.

The Addiction Recovery Program offers great opportunities for service. You can serve others by attending meetings and sharing your experience, faith, and hope. You can support others and strengthen them.

You can share this message with others through your example and your words of encouragement. When you meet people throughout the day, greet them with a smile. Show gratitude for what they do. When opportunities arise, bear testimony of the hope that comes through Allah.

 

Study and Understanding

Now The Holy Qur’an said:

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا

“Having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not.” (7:179)

And said:

وَطُبِعَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ

“And their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not.” (9:87)

 

The Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad will help you continue your recovery. Study the following scriptures and statements. Use them for prayerful meditation, personal study, and group discussion.

The Quran is the holy book which Muslims recite and turn to for guidance in all aspects of their lives. Its verses have remained intact since their original revelation by God in the 7th century. This brochure explains the divine origin of the Quran by elaborating upon its preservation, authenticity and miracles. It also discusses the Quranic message which has universal appeal and is relevant for all times.

The Quran is the last testament in a series of divine revelations from God (Allah in Arabic). It consists of the unaltered and direct words of God, which were revealed through the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam, more than 1400 years ago. So you know you have a long range of things to read and understand.

Don’t forget that there is no aspect of life that the Quran did not cover or Almighty Allah talk about in His words.

Conversion and Recovery

Converted means someone who has turned from one belief or course of action to another. Conversion is a spiritual and moral change. Converted implies not merely mental acceptance of Allah and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad but also a motivating faith in him based on his teaching —a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one’s understanding of life’s meaning and in his allegiance to God in interest, in thought, and in conduct.

How do you feel about strengthening others as they recover from addictive behaviors?

Great progress from little steps

Do not be in well-doing, because you are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things that which is great comes out.

Write about the feelings you have when you think of living these principles in all aspects of your life. How does it help to realize that great works are done in small steps?

Strengthening Others

How will sharing your experience help you remain strong in your recovery?

Messages like this one are often not highlighted. However, this idea is articulated in numerous hadith and Qur’anic verses. Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)  is considered by Muslims to be the highest example and he would very often help others, even if it meant that he had to sacrifice something. So by his example also, Islam is a faith that makes helping others and society a core principle.

Your experience with ED helps you empathize with those who struggle with addiction; your experience in recovery helps you comfort them. Write about your increased desire and your ability to stand as a witness of God since you have followed the steps of recovery.

Serving with the help of Allah

Sometimes we wonder if we are ready to share recovery with others because we are not yet practicing these principles perfectly. How does it quiet your fears to realize that the Allah works through imperfect people?

Write your thoughts and feelings as you look back and consider that it took a spiritual experience to help you overcome your addiction. Write about any feelings of reluctance you may have to tell others that you were healed by applying the principles of recovery.

The Quran and the hadiths are full of guidance for those who wish to maintain a spiritual way of life that will lead them back to God. What specific guidance do you find in these verses?

 

In conclusion, as a Muslim faithful, If you have been following our steps from one through twelve, you will see that the road to recovery is a great one and you can deduce that serving the only true God, Allah and believing truly in the teachings of the Prophet, PBUH and upholding the tenets of Islam, recovery will be very easy and if no, being uneasy, we can see from step twelve that the result, the end product of freeing one’s self of the burdens of the heart (vengeance, prejudice, scorn, enmity, regrets from past mistakes, etc) towards our members around us or those joining us in the faith as earlier explained in previous blogs is vital in the relationship with God, thus, the necessity to make our hearts prepared toward yielding and hearkening to the voice of the Quran, God’s commandment to men;

The Holy Qur’an said:

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا

“Having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not.” (7:179)

There is no controversy to be held in your hearts as;

‘He is God the One, God the everlasting. He sired nobody nor was He sired.

Nobody is tantamount to Him” (112:1-4)

That is why He choose to pardon our transgressions. The same is required of us unto others and we live a free life of our own in acute or close relationship with Allah.

May You Be Granted The Heart To Live By Expectations from Allah and be free from eating disorders… Amen