khidmah

Khidmah (خِدْمَة) is a term of Arabic origin meaning service or the act of serving. In Urdu, Persian, Turkish, and other languages influenced by Arabic, it refers to performing duties for someone else or for God. The verb form khadama means to serve, while the noun denotes the service itself.

In Islamic thought, khidmah encompasses both everyday acts of courtesy and organized charitable service. The phrase khidmat-e-khalq, literally service to humanity, is widely used in South Asia and among Muslim communities to express the ideal of serving others as a religious or moral obligation. In Sufism, khidmah is often emphasized as a spiritual discipline—the practitioner serves without seeking reward, cultivating humility and devotion to God by tending to the needs of others, including guests, the poor, travelers, and seekers.

In contemporary usage, khidmah commonly denotes volunteer work and organized charity. It appears in the names of welfare organizations, mosque outreach programs, and community service initiatives oriented toward hospitality, education, health, or disaster relief. While rooted in religious conceptions of service, the term is also used in secular contexts to describe civic and charitable aid.

See also: charity, volunteerism, service.