Brotherhood in Islam (with British Sign Language) - Shaykh Aqeel Mahmood

Brotherhood in Islam

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Bond of Muslim Brotherhood

One of the things which Islam came with is the importance of recognizing the bond that each and every Muslim has with one another. We may be living in different cultures, different backgrounds, different races — and this is something known as ukhuwah, or brotherhood. This Muslim brotherhood that one has between his Muslim brother or his Muslim sister.

It's called brotherhood because just like you feel that closeness with your blood brother or sister, and just like you have that love for them, even if you don't get on with them at all times, even if you have a differing with them and you might argue with them, there's always this underlying sense of love that you always have with them. And likewise is the case — or it should be the case — with our Muslim brothers and sisters regardless of who they are or where they come from.

Allah speaks about this in the Quran:

That the believers are nothing except brothers. If we don't have anything else in common, then we should know for sure that they are our Muslim brothers and sisters. And as a result of this, they have rights. And the Muslim brother has rights more so than the one who isn't a Muslim, even though they also have rights.

And nowadays, especially living in the West, sometimes we don't distinguish, we don't recognize the difference between the rights of a Muslim and non-Muslim. There are certain rights that a Muslim has because of the fact that he's a Muslim.

Unity and Holding Fast to Allah's Rope

Allah speaks about the early Muslims and how it was important for them to unite. Allah says:

Hold on to the rope of Allah and don't differ amongst yourselves. And remember when you were once enemies amongst one another — you were once enemies. You hated one another. You were from opposing and different tribes. Remember the blessing of Allah upon you. When you were once enemies with other people — the people who are now your Muslim brothers and sisters — He was the one who united your hearts, who brought your hearts together. And because of this, you became brothers.

So brothers and sisters, it's Allah who places that love between our hearts. The companions at one point in time weren't even Muslim. And even though they weren't Muslim, when they accepted Islam, their love for one another was stronger than the love that they had before Islam, when someone was from their own tribe. Now after Islam, they had such love for their Muslim brother and sister, whereas before Islam, maybe they were worst enemies.

And today we are Muslims who are born into Islam for the most part. And we have this enmity, hostility, hatred towards one another. Every single person in this room is a brother or a sister to their Muslim brothers and sisters. And we may not agree with them. We may not get on with them. We may have differed with them. We may have different personalities. We may have conflicts with them. But that doesn't mean that we abandon them. It doesn't mean that we have this long-existing hatred for them just because of some differing — because they have rights, because they are Muslim.

The Story of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Sufyan

Umar ibn al-Khattab, when al-Abbas came to the Prophet with Abu Sufyan just before the conquest of Mecca, hoping that maybe Abu Sufyan would become Muslim — Umar ibn al-Khattab saw Abu Sufyan and wanted to kill him because he was the enemy. He was the leader of the Quraysh at the time. He had involved himself in battles against the Muslims and had led those battles prior to the conquest of Mecca.

Al-Abbas, when he came in the presence of the Prophet, saw Umar wanting to kill Abu Sufyan. Al-Abbas said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, "If he was somebody from your tribe, you wouldn't want to kill him. It's only because he's from a different tribe."

Umar ibn al-Khattab said:

"Take it easy, O Abbas. By Allah, the day that you accepted Islam was more beloved to me than if my own father had accepted Islam."

So this is the love and the bond that Islam is supposed to bring.

Ways to Strengthen Muslim Brotherhood

1. Loving for Your Brother What You Love for Yourself

There are numerous ways, brothers and sisters, that we can remove that hatred, that animosity, those grudges that we have for our Muslim brothers and sisters. From them is an important rule in Islam — a beautiful hadith where the Messenger of Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 72)

"None of you will truly and fully believe — have full iman — until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

And nowadays, it's almost the opposite. When we see our Muslim brother or sister go through some kind of misfortune, going through some kind of trial, afflicted with something — we rejoice, we spread the news, we're happy to tell others, "Look what happened to him." And he's a Muslim. Yes, we may not agree with them, but at the end of the day, because of the fact that they're Muslim, by virtue of them being a follower of Islam, they have certain rights. From them is that when they go through misfortune, we as Muslims have to feel that sadness — "I wish he wasn't going through that, because I wouldn't want to go through that myself."

2. Making Du'a for Your Fellow Muslim

Also brothers and sisters, making du'a for your fellow Muslim brother and sister. Allah says in the Quran about the righteous Muslims:

"They say, O our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us upon Iman — those who came before us — and don't place in our hearts any resentment or hatred towards those who have Iman, towards those who have believed."

This is a du'a from the Quran. In this du'a, the believer is supplicating and asking Allah not to have any hatred in his heart for other Muslims. And so this is an important aspect of our faith — making du'a, supplicating for ourselves but also for others.

The Messenger of Allah said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 94)

"No Muslim slave makes du'a for his fellow Muslim brother or sister in their absence, except that an angel says, 'And for you the same.'" We ask for forgiveness for our Muslim brothers and sisters — the angel will respond, "May you have the same." We ask for them to be successful — the angels will respond, "May you have the same." For a long life, the angels will respond. Whatever good du'a you make for your Muslim brother and sister, the angels will respond.

3. Relieving Each Other's Hardships

Also brothers and sisters, from the ways in which we can increase Muslim brotherhood is by relieving each other's hardships. The Messenger of Allah said: "Whomsoever relieves the hardships of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Judgment. And whomsoever conceals the faults of a Muslim in this world, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and also in the Akhirah."

And nowadays, it's unfortunate that we expose people's faults. We want to show everyone what other people are doing — the misfortunes, the sins, the problems they're going through. And this is from the means by which sometimes Allah punishes a person — because his own sins are exposed, his own faults are exposed to everybody else for them to see, just like he exposed the faults of others.

4. Recognizing the Rights of Every Muslim

From the etiquettes — from the ways in which we can increase in Muslim brotherhood, brothers and sisters — is understanding and recognizing that every single Muslim has rights. And the Messenger of Allah in numerous hadith spoke about the rights of the Muslim. In one hadith, the Messenger of Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1240; Sahih Muslim, Book 26, Hadith 5)

"The Muslim has rights over the other Muslim — there are five rights of one Muslim over the other." And he went through them:

• Responding to the salam. If it's somebody you don't know who's giving you salam, just because you don't know them doesn't mean you don't respond to their salam. That's his right as a Muslim — that you respond to his salam. Even if you don't like them, even if you have grudges and issues with them. You respond to their salam simply by virtue of the fact that he's a Muslim.
• Visiting the sick person. It's from the rights of a Muslim.
• Following the janazah prayer. Attending the janazah prayer.
• Responding to the invitation of your Muslim brother or sister when they invite you for a meal or whatever the case may be.
• Saying يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ when they say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ after they sneeze.

These are rights which the Messenger of Allah mentioned in a hadith. These aren't just things which we shouldn't think about or reflect on — they're not small things in our deen. Allah and the Messenger of Allah have mentioned these things.

The Example of Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, he would recognize the rights of a Muslim. Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, his student, once mentions that one of the staunchest, fiercest enemies who hated Ibn Taymiyyah and was always attacking him once passed away, and he heard the news. He rushed to Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, to give him the glad tidings.

And Ibn Taymiyyah, when he heard what he had to say, reprimanded him. And he started to make istirja', saying:

Showing remorse. And then he went to the house of his enemy and offered his condolences, and he said to them, "I am in his position now. Whatever you need, you can ask me." And this was the worst enemy of Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah. Imagine the person who has the most animosity to you from the Muslims — your worst enemy — imagine responding and reacting in this manner. Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, he understood and recognized the rights that a Muslim has.

5. Avoiding False Suspicion

Also from the etiquettes of ukhuwah in Islam is not to be suspicious for no apparent reason. The Messenger of Allah said:

"Beware of false suspicion. Because it is the worst type of conversation, the worst type of speech — to be suspicious of somebody else." And then to go around assuming that somebody did something without any evidence, without any proof. In fact, it's supposed to be the opposite. You're not supposed to have suspicion. You're supposed to cover the faults of your Muslim brother and sister. And you're supposed to make excuses for them.

Imam Jafar, rahimahullah, he would say, "If you hear something about your Muslim brother which is bad, you should reject it and you should make an excuse for them." If someone says something bad about your Muslim brother or sister in your presence and they're not there, you should make excuses for that Muslim brother or sister. And he said, rahimahullah, up to 70 times — keep making excuse after excuse after excuse. And if you can't do this, then at least you should say, "Perhaps he has an excuse that I don't know of, that I haven't thought of. Maybe there's an excuse he has that I can't think of."

This is the extent that a person is supposed to make excuses for his fellow Muslim brother or sister. You're supposed to go out of your way — not to increase in the suspicion and try to find out more details, even though it's something which may not even be correct.

6. Not Abandoning Your Muslim Brother for More Than Three Days

Also, brothers and sisters, not abandoning and not speaking to our Muslim brothers or sisters for more than three days. And this is something which unfortunately today we see amongst ourselves. A person may have had a disagreement, a grudge, an argument with his Muslim brother or sister, and then he ends up not speaking to them for more than three days. Then weeks go by and he gets to a stage where they don't even know how to reconcile. They feel uncomfortable mentioning the circumstances and the situation and the problem to them. And so weeks go by, months go by, even years go by, and they haven't spoken to one another.

The Messenger of Allah said:

"It is not permissible for a Muslim to abandon his brother for more than three days." You have a disagreement, some problem amongst yourselves, an argument — fine, one day, two days, three days maximum — and then you reconcile. You carry on talking to them because they're your Muslim brother or sister. They have rights.

7. Reconciling Between Muslims

From the etiquettes of ukhuwah in Islam, brothers and sisters, is reconciling. If you see your friends, people you know, loved ones who are differing — they have problems amongst themselves — you should be the one who tries to reconcile, not be the one who makes things worse between them. Allah says that for them to make amends, to meet, and to become acquainted again, it is permissible for them to speak words that bring their hearts together.

Helping the Oppressed Muslim

Also brothers and sisters, from the ways in which we can increase in ukhuwah, is helping the Muslim who is being oppressed. And of course, we can reflect on what's happening around the world — in Palestine and other places. May Allah ease their suffering, may Allah give them success in this world and in the Akhirah, and accept the shuhada. This is a means by which we can relieve the difficulties they're going through — by helping those who are being oppressed.

In the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2444)

"Help your Muslim brother, whether he is the oppressor or the one being oppressed." And the companions said, "O Messenger of Allah, we help the one who's being oppressed — but how do we help the one who is the oppressor?" And the Messenger of Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2444)

"You prevent him from committing dhulm." That's how you help him. You have care and concern and love for your Muslim brother and sister. You don't want them to be sinful, to be causing oppression towards others. And so you try to prevent them in the best way possible.

Conclusion

So brothers and sisters, we were speaking about the importance of ukhuwah — Muslim brotherhood — and how in Islam, ukhuwah is an important aspect of our day-to-day life. Allah speaks about the believer being nothing but a brother to his fellow Muslim brother or sister. And also the ways in which a person should increase that ukhuwah — loving for his brother what he loves for himself, reconciling, not abandoning his brother for more than three days, trying to help him when he needs help, relieving his hardships, concealing his faults. These are all the ways in which a person can increase in the love that he may have for his fellow Muslim brother or sister.

This is something we should reflect on, and it's something that we need to try to improve with regards to our day-to-day interactions with our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. And we ask Allah that He forgives us of all of our sins and that Allah gives us the ability to remove this hatred and this animosity that we may have towards our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.