Hand in hand with the understanding that faith is only complete when it is put into action, is the understanding that human are God's representatives on earth -- His "khalifa." As such, we are responsible to care for the world in the ways that God would have it cared for. That includes feeding the poor, caring for the sick, and helping those in need.

One famous hadith talks about the Day of Judgement when Allah will say to a man:

"O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not."

He will reply: "O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?"

God will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not."

He will say: "O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds?"

He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found him with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink."

He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds?"

He will say: "My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found him with Me."

One beautiful example of how scripture and faith can inspire good works is in the Compassionate Care Network in Chicago. I quote from their web site:

"The Compassionate Care Network (CCN) was started in January 2004 to promote positive health attitudes, encouraging prevention and providing access to affordable healthcare for the uninsured within the outpatient setting. For some time before that, a small group of Muslim physicians had been providing free monthly health screenings at Chicago’s Muslim Community Center, in an effort to identify individuals at risk of diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease, before they encountered a catastrophic health incident from these conditions.

"Screenings were also conducted for obesity, cataract, glaucoma, dental health and prostate cancer. Approximately 30-40 people were usually screened each month. Initially these screenings were offered monthly at just MCC, but with time they became weekly and were offered at several Islamic Centers, area churches and community centers.. Along with the screenings, free health information was provided to the public

"As physicians identified more and more individuals with undetected illnesses the need for follow up care became apparent. While federally qualified clinics were one solution, the demand for services was so great that patients reported waits of six or more weeks to get an appointment. Therefore the physicians took it upon themselves to develop an additional solution. The result was the creation of CCN, a network of a dozen Muslim physicians to begin with which has now grown to over 100 physicians which includes primary care physicians and specialists in addition to dentists, optometrists, physical therapists, chiropractors and podiatrists in the Chicagoland area.. Along the way they recruited 5 medical labs, and 10 imaging centers to join their network. Ninety nine percent of the physicians are still Muslim but the Network is now actively seeking to add physicians from other faith communities, particularly within the Hispanic and Arabic communities.

"There are five levels of care in CCN :
(1) free health education,
(2) free health screenings,
(3) access to affordable physician services,
(4) access to affordable lab an imaging services,
(5) access to affordable prescription drugs.

"Patients pay a flat fee of $25.00 for office visits and may choose their physician based on language and location preference. There is a small enrollment fee of $10.00 per month for individuals and $15.00 per month for families which is readily waived for those unable to pay. Periodic open enrollments are offered when people can join for free for periods of 3-6 months. Enrollment is open to everyone regardless of race or religion, immigration status or the presence of pre-existing conditions. An ID card is issued at the time of enrollment. Most of the work of screenings is done by volunteer physicians who are assisted by area medical students. Fellows of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship program have also joined the CCN team to provide free health screenings and health education.

"'We believe,' says Dr. Azher Quader, the founder and Executive Director of CCN, 'that affordable health care should be a basic right of every individual in a civil society. In a country which prides itself in the delivery of world class medical care, the plight of 47 million who are uninsured and have little or no access to affordable health care is an unacceptable paradox that needs to be corrected.” He added “We believe also that till such time that acceptable solutions become available for these millions who are uninsured, the members of different faith traditions can pool their resources to provide options for care that are both compassionate and affordable.'"

This is faith at its best, and it is only one example of countless good works, that unfortunately all to often go unnoticed by all except the recipients. I wish the people who get hysterical about teddy bears or cartoons would put their energy into this sort of work. And I wish we heard more about this grassroots efforts to make the world a better place instead of the loonies out there.