بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ
One
of the reasons why Prophet Muhammad (pboh) was very successful was because he
was able to instil in the minds of the people that they were all children of
Adam; and as a result they were all part of the one big human family. This was
confirmed by the Qur'anic verses in which Allah says:
Mankind was one
single nation; (2:213)
Before
the coming of Prophet Muhammad (pboh), the Children of Israel who had the
responsibility of establishing Allah's religion on earth, were much disunited.
They were in tribes, twelve in all; and they were all distinct and separate.
One tribe never really interacted with the other; so much so, that when they
wanted water, and Allah told Moses to strike the rock, twelve separate springs
came out, one for each tribe.
Even
in Arabia where the Prophet (pboh) was born,
there were tribalism, and they used to fight one another regularly. There was
no concept of one big happy human family.
Prophet
Muhammad (pboh) demonstrated that all the people can live like one community,
thereby avoiding bloodshed. He gave a practical example when the Black Stone
had to be put in its place after the Kaba was renovated. He put the Stone on a
sheet and let the tribal leaders hold on to the sheet and carried to the spot
where it had to be placed and he took it and put it in; that action of his
prevented quarrelling and anything that would have resulted from the open
disagreement.
Islam
wants that people live like one community, immaterial of their racial,
religious or political affiliation. The only way for this to be a reality is if
the hearts are filled with love for each other. Allah says:
You were enemies and He joined your hearts in love; and you were on the
brink of the abyss of fire and He saved you from it. (3:103)
Unlike
the previous Messengers the Holy Prophet (pboh) came to the whole of mankind.
Allah tells us about this in the following verse:
Say; (O Muhammad), O mankind; verily, I am sent unto you all as a
Messenger of Allah (7:158)
This
call of his was so different from the call of the previous Messengers; for
example; Jesus told the people: I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the
House of Israel
Islam
came to bind the whole of humanity into one community, i.e. all those who
believe in Allah and the Last Day. Each believer is like a single strand in a
rope. Joined together they make a strong rope. Allah says:
Hold fast all of you to the rope of
Allah and be not disunited (or separate). (3:103)
In
order to achieve this Allah gave them the guiding principle, called M'aruf
permissible, and Munkar prohibited.
All believers are guided by the Qur'anic guidance and the Traditions of the
Prophet (pboh).
In
order to be able to like brothers and sisters in the faith there are certain
important principles that must be practiced by everyone. The first of these is
to love for the sake of Allah.
A
Muslim has to live a life of love. He has to love Allah more than any thing
else in this world. Allah says:
Those of faith are
overflowing in their love for Allah. (2:165)
The
next important thing is to love the Prophet (pboh) more than any thing else in
this world. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said:
He is not a true believer who does not love me more than his parents,
his children and mankind at large.
After
loving Allah and His Rasul (pboh), the believer is supposed to love mankind
sincerely for the sake of Allah. In this connection the Prophet (pboh) said to
his companions:
You will not enter Paradise until you
have faith; and you will not have faith until you love each other. Shall I
direct you to something which if you fulfil you will love one another? Spread peace
among yourselves. (Muslim)
The
Prophet (pboh) used to demonstrate so much compassion for the people,
especially when they went the wrong way that Allah had to console him in the
following verse:
Perchance, you would only fret yourself to death, following after them
in grief, if they do not believe in this Message. (18:6)
So
the Prophet (pboh) demonstrated genuine, sincere love for the people; even his
enemies - the wife of Abu Lahab - and as a result people were attracted to him.
One
of the important ways of demonstrating true love for the Islamic Brotherhood,
and as a matter of fact, for society at large, is to love for your brother
what you would like for yourselves.
Prophet
Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said: Each of you cannot be a true
believer until he loves for his brother what he would like for himself.
Muslims
are very considerate to their believing brothers and sisters, and some of them
even go out of their way to help those who might be in difficulties. About such
people Allah says;
And they prefer their brothers over
themselves, even if they are hungry. (59:9)
So
Islam brought the principles of love and consideration for others; this has nothing
to do with race, religion or nationality. And when there are differences and
the believer becomes angered, he cannot hate the other person; as he is
supposed to: Hate the evil but not the evil doer. The Messenger of Allah
said: I'd like to meet my brother with a clean heart.
Muslim
live by the principle of helping one another in times of difficulties; in this
connection the Prophet (pboh) is reported to have said: Whoever relieves a
brother from a distress; Allah will relieve him from a distress on the Day of
Judgement; whoever brings ease to a believer who is in difficulty; Allah will
bring ease to him in both this life and in the next; whoever conceals the short
comings of a Muslim; Allah will conceal his short comings in this world and in
the next. Allah will always help a servant as long as that servant helps his
brother.
The
Holy Qur'an establishes an important principle for strengthening the bond that
keeps all the believers, the world over as one family; that principle is:
Help ye one another in good deeds and piety; and do not help one
another in sin and rancour. (5:2)
So
any where in the world the Muslims may find themselves in difficulties, the
other Muslims brothers and sisters will be available to assist them. Allah
says:
The Believers, men and women, are protectors one to another; they
enjoin what is just; and forbid what is evil; they observe regular prayers;
practice regular charity; and obey Allah and His Messenger. (9:71)
Because
the believer is concerned about the welfare of his believing brother and
sister, he will not try to hurt or harm any of them in any way at all. Allah
says that they practice compassion among themselves.
As
an extension of their kindness and trust to each other, they try their best not
degrade or to ill-speak one another. This is because they are guided by the
Qur'anic injunctions in which Allah says:
O you who believe; do not put yourselves before Allah and His
Messenger…This means that a person
should not put self before Allah and His Messenger. The companions understood
this very well.
O you who believe do not raise your voice above the voice of the
Prophet…All Muslims must show respect
to the Prophet (pboh);
O you who believe; if a wicked person should come to you with any news,
ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly, and afterwards you
become full of repentance for what you have done. A Muslim has be
aware that there can be hypocrites in the society bent on making mischief; so
that when they should get any news they must firstly verify it before making
comments about what they hear.
Allah has made the faith beautiful for you and fill your hearts will
with love; and He has made hateful to you wickedness and rebellion…One is supposed to detest what is prohibited.
If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel; make peace
between them…Do not promote disunity;
The Believers are but a single Brotherhood…Come together as friends
O you who believe, let not some men laugh at others…
Nor let the women laugh at others…Do not think yourself as superior to others
Nor defame, nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by nicknames… Do not try to destroy others
O you who believe, avoid suspicion as much as possible Be sincere and truthful
And do not spy on one another; nor ill-speak your brother behind his back; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Be careful of how you behave towards others in society
O mankind verily, We created you from a single pair and made you into nations and tribes. (49:1-13) Understand that you are a part of the human family
The
Islamic Institutions are designed to display complete equality and the feeling
of brotherhood. There are no preferences among the people, the most honourable
in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Also in worship all the Muslims
stand together, removing the barriers of caste and class thereby promoting the
feeling of brotherhood amongst the believers.
Not
only is that feeling confined to any particular locality, but during the Hajj
Muslims meet with brothers and sisters from all over the world, and many of
them return to their homes with fond memories of their fiends they made during
the Hajj with brothers and sisters they met for the first time from distant
lands.
The
laws and principles are applicable to all and justice and equity are the
hallmarks of this faith. In this way, Allah has given man the system whereby he
can feel that he is an important unit in the larger brotherhood of man; if he
should practice what Islam gave to us all.
Allah
reminds us of this in the following verse:
And remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for you were
enemies; and He joined your hearts in love; so that, by His Grace, you became
brethren; and you were on the brink of the abyss of fire; and He saved you from
it….Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into
disputations after receiving clear signs. (3:103-5)
Islam
is a beautiful way, and the Muslim brotherhood is one brotherhood, enjoining
righteousness and staying away from prohibited things.
Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed
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