09 March 2026

5-minute read

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّة

You are the best of nations

Many a time we hear the title: Khairul Umam (خَيْرُ الْأُمَم). You are the Best of Ummahs, the Best of Nations. We, as Muslims take pride in that, that Allāh has selected you and me, not by coincidence to be part of this Ummah. It is by the decision, the decree, and the choice of Allāh.

However, taking pride is one thing but it is another thing altogether to apply our minds and ask ourselves the question: Why is this nation, the Best of Nations? Allāh mentions this to us,

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

You have been taken out to be of service to Humanity.

You have been taken out to be of service to mankind and if you continue to serve humanity, if you continue to serve mankind then you will continue to enjoy the right to proclaim that you are Khairul Umam, the Best of Nations. In other words, this Nation, Khairul Umam, is expected to be ‘service-minded’, ‘community-orientated’, not to worry about themselves only, not to live individualistic, selfish lifestyles. The affairs of the community, the broader welfare of society ought to be close to our hearts, that is the hallmark of this Ummah.

أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

‘We have not created you’, Allāh says, so that you can live for yourself and your immediate family, so that you can further your own ambitions and goals, and so that you can fulfil your own desires in life. If you have become such a selfish person, such an individualistic person, where you only live for yourself or for your immediate family, it means you have become immune and insensitive to the needs of the people around you, the broader community and the Ummah. If that has become your reality, then you cannot call yourself the perfect Islamic nation or the perfect Islamic community or society. Even though you may achieve and excel on different fronts and different aspects of Deen, and may be doing very well, until and unless you do not become service-minded and do not have the welfare of others at heart, you are not a complete Muslim community.

أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

You have been taken out to be of service to Humanity. That is the speciality of this Ummah, the Ummah of Muhammadur Rasoolullah (ﷺ)

There is a verse in Surah Ambiyaa, a famous verse of the Quraan, wherein Allāh talks about the various Ambiyaa or Prophets. Allāh discusses them in great detail, but when He comes to the last Prophet, the greatest Prophet SAW, Allāh makes just one statement, and that statement is sufficient to tell us about the profile of the Imaam and the Leader of all the Ambiyaa.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

We have sent you as a Mercy unto Mankind 

We claim to love Rahmatul lil Ālimeen and take honour in the fact that we are from the Ummah of Rahmatul lil Ālimeen. But what does it mean to be Rahmatul lil Ālimeen? It means that the Prophet ﷺ was a means of Mercy that reached everyone.

We have made progress on so many fronts: technologically, mechanically and in many other ways. We have made advancement but from a human perspective we have become very reclusive, selfish, self-centred, focused on our own goals, our own objectives, our own desires, and we have forgotten those around us.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

This is not the legacy of Muhammadur Rasoolullah (ﷺ). This is not the speciality of the followers of Muhammadur Rasoolullah (ﷺ). There is a strong link between Imaan, having faith, and having an active social conscience. You need to have an active social-conscience, to know what is happening around you, to play a part in making your surroundings a better place for everyone, not only for yourself. Many times, people argue: “I live my life in a way that I don’t harm anyone, I mind my own business. I go to work, I go to my home, and I go to the Masjid and that’s it.” People make this statement with a great degree of pride, and we can understand where they are coming from because it is a great achievement to live your life in such a way that you do not inconvenience anyone, or cause harm to anyone or become an obstacle in anyone’s path. However, that is only half of what’s expected of you as a Muslim. Our Nabi (ﷺ) has said that.

أَلْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ

A Believer is a brother unto a Believer.

لَا يَظْلِمُهُ 

He does not oppress him, inconvenience him, harm him, nor does he become an obstacle to him.

وَ لَا يُسْلِمُهُ

And he also doesn’t leave him in the lurch when he requires assistance.

Not harming anybody is half of what is expected of you as a Muslim, but being there when they need your shoulder to lean on is the other half of what is expected of you as a Muslim. So, when you judge yourself, do not only judge yourself in terms of how much you do not interfere in other people’s lives and avoid creating complications, but ask yourself: to what extent am I a shoulder to lean on?

{Extracted and adapted from Volume One of the book In Pursuit of Purpose by Ml Sulaimaan Ravat}