- Islamic Education
- /
- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
Fraternity in Faith:
Dear brother, we are tackling a new topic in the series “Ways of access and signs of acceptance”, and it is about “Fraternity in faith”, Allah the Almighty says (telling us what Jesus PBUH said):"And has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat."
The human being moves (through actions) towards his/her Creator
"and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer)"
One should know his creator, His method, he should worship Him, connect with Him, approach Him, and should gain happiness through drawing closer to Him, and this is how the human being moves towards his/her creator.
"and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer)"
On the other hand, human being should move also towards creatures
" and Zakat"
One should be a benefactor, upright, and generous
"and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat."
Fraternity in faith falls within the second kind of movement (actions towards creatures), namely, your connection with people around you, Allah says:
"So fear Allah and adjust all matters of difference among you,"
This means your connection with your fellow brother in humanity. You should adjust your connection with people around you, above you and beneath you.
Hence, this matter falls within your connection with creatures, and the most important connection of which is with your brother, but what does brother mean in the first place"
Senses of Fraternity:
1- Kinship brotherhood:
First meaning of brotherhood is a blood relation brotherhood, Allah says:"If the deceased left brother or (sisters), the mother has a sixth."
This kind of brotherhood is in a blood kinship, namely, your biological brother (a brother from the same parents, half brother from the mother only, or half brother from the father only).
2- Kindred brotherhood:
The second meaning: is the brother in kindred or tribe:"And to 'Ad (people We sent) their brother Hud"
This brother is from the bigger circle, namely, if one is from a big family, any person of this family is a brother to him, and he will be the brother in this big family, the brother in kindred, the brother in tribe, and the brother in native land.
3- Fraternity in the religion:
There is a brother in religion"So that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)"
This brotherhood is in faith, and it might be the strongest among all kinds of brotherhood at all.
4-Fraternity in affection and mercy:
There is brotherhood in affection and mercy"And We shall remove from their breasts any sense of injury (that they may have), (So they will be like) brother facing each other on thrones. "
This is the brotherhood in affection and mercy, namely, someone you like, will be a brother to you
5-Fraternity of companionship:
There is also the companion or the friend"Verily, this my brother (in religion) has ninety nine ewes, while I have (only) one ewe"
This is brotherhood in companionship.Again there is a brother in kinship, in kindred, in religion, in affection and mercy, and a brother in companionship.
Scientific interpretations about affection:
When do we have a deep brotherhood"
Every human being has attributes, and every group of which constitute a character, so whenever two people have much in common in their attributes and characters, they both will have affection and love between them.
If we ask someone a thousand questions to know his personal attributes, like the way he likes to spend his day off" The believer and the disbeliever have different attributes, either through the relation with relatives, with those in lower class, with those in higher classes, and with people of the same class as his.
Love exists when two people have much in common (of these attributes and characters).
Accordingly, one of the scientific interpretations of love between the married couple is: they have much in common (in their attributes and characters).
Also one of the scientific interpretations of love between friends is: they both have much in common (in their attributes and characters).
Love and affection prevail between brother in faith:
Dear brother, the first fact in this blessed meeting lies in the following Ayah:
"The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion)."
There is a serious deduction from this Ayah, for it says:
"The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion)."
Unless your belonging is to the group of believers, you won’t be a believer.
When you belong to small bubbles and limited groups associated with partisanship, enmity, loathsome, and disunity, this kind of orientation is rejected in Islam.
"Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad) have no concern in them in the least."
Unless your belonging is to the group of believers, you won’t be a believer.
Belonging to small bubbles (groups), in order to fulfill your interests, will not be Islamic, for interests’ orientation is not part of Islam.
Hence, disunity is the greatest problem that Muslims are suffering from. Being in sects, against one another, is a stigma in this nation.
Unless your belonging is to the group of believers, then there is a defect and weakness in your faith, for Allah says:
"The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion)."
Affection and love should imprint the relation between brother in faith, hence:
"So make reconciliation between your brother"
((Beware of the worst of enmity, as it is ruinous))
Scattering, disunity, enmity, throwing accusations back and forth are Muslims’ greatest calamity.
Each one claims Laila’s love
And Lailah does not admit her love to anyone
Collaboration is ordained in the noble Quran:
The second fact:
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an)"
What does bring you together" Unless you hold on to the rope of Allah, there will be disunity. Namely, when we abandon holding fast to the Rope of Allah, disunity will be a natural result therein.
The human being is born with innate disposition and a divine assignment, and as you all know, innate tends to contradict with the assignment, for the innate is of individual nature, whereas assignment is of collaborated nature.
Namely, as much as you obey Allah, you collaborate with your fellow brother, and on the other hand, as much as you sin, you tend to be self-consumed. Accordingly, a society which idolizes individuality would be religiously backward, a society in which every individual tends to fulfill his/her own interests, and builds his/her own triumph on sh3er’ ruins, and that is because Allah the Almighty says in the noble Quran:
"Help you one another "
Collaboration (helping one another) is a clear order in the noble Quran, and the enforcement of Quran’s orders is one of faith’s admissible facts.
"Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety)"
It has been said that through Birr (dutifulness) you will prosper in worldly life, and through Takwah (piousness) you will prosper in the hereafter.
True fraternity comes from hanging on to what is worthy:
Unless we have something to hold fast to, we will be in disunity.
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an)"
We should hold fast to the rope of Allah, the divine method, the Aqidah (creed), the values, and the behavior.
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)"
By the grace of this noble Quran, and this noble prophet PBUH:
"And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided."
The second meaning is: There won’t be any true fraternity in faith unless we hold fast to something (worthy), for religion brings all of us together, and worldly life breaks us apart.
Brotherhood for the sake of Allah is one of the greatest graces:
Who among you believes that the grace of brotherhood (for the sake of Allah) is one of the greatest graces" The absolute meaning of brotherhood is a great grace from Allah to us, Allah says:
"And We bestowed on him his brother Harun (Aaron), (also) a Prophet "
Our master Assiddeeq went to buy our master Bilal, who happened to be owned by Umaya Ibn Khalaf as a slave, so after buying our master Bilal from Umaya, the latter wanted to humiliate Bilal so he said addressing Assiddeeq: By Allah if you paid only one Dirham, I would have sold him to you, to which Assiddeeq answered: By Allah if you asked 100 thousand Dirhams as a price for him, I would have paid it, then he put his hand under Bilal’s armpit and said: This is my real brother.
Upon the arrival of our master Bilal to Madeenah once, our master Umar (the giant of Islam, the Caliph of Muslims, and the prince of the believers) got out to welcome him. Also whenever the companions mentioned Assiddeeq they used to say: He is our Master and he freed our Master (i.e Bilal).
This is the how Islamic community should be, for it should be one class with no discrimination within.
"The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion)."
Take the example of the doorkeeper of the manager of the biggest company, if he is a believer, then they are the same in the sight of Allah, and the manager should treat his doorkeeper as a brother in the sake of Allah.
Whatsoever weakens fraternity among believers is forbidden:
Allah meant for us to be brother in faith, for that He forewarned us to put an end to anything that might weaken the relation between us and our brother in faith.
"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions"
You should avoid any suspicion in your brother, for your fellow believing brother fears Allah like you do, and is pious like you are. Let me draw your attention to the loathsome nature of suspicion without any evidence, not to mention that it is one of devil’s tricks (to entrap you). Don’t say I don’t trust him, and you should ask yourself: Did he wrong me in any way""O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins"
But some of it is not a sin:
((Ward off bad people by suspicion))
The impeccability of your judgment is guarded by suspicion (and that is against bad people or people you don’t know), however, your brother in faith is dutiful to you religiously, and there is not a shred of evidence against him, so why should you suspect him"
"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not"
Spying on bad news."Neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother" You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful."
Hence, Allah forbade us from doing anything that might weaken the relation between us and our brother in faith.
"And spy not, neither backbite one another."
((Beware of suspicion (zann).))
Subtle meanings of Fraternity:
However, you should pay attention to the subtle meanings of fraternity, either in faith or in kinship, for fraternity doesn’t mean, in any way, to abandon your responsibilities.
"Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brother, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight... are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah). "
If you disobey Allah in order to satisfy your brother or your wife, then you should know, beyond doubt, that the path to Allah is blocked.
"Then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah). "
By Allah this Ayah breaks one’s back.
If your relation with your father, son, brother, wife, and kindred stands in your way to obey Allah, then this relation is worthless, for he, who prefers this kind of brotherhood to the obedience of Allah, is a loser. Namely, there are limits to brotherhood by which you shouldn’t disobey Allah in order to satisfy your brother, should not you" For, in that case, your relation with your brother is more worthy to you than your relation with Allah.
((There is no obedience to anyone in disobedience to Allah))
Loyalty and renouncement:
In respect of loyalty and renouncement, believers shouldn’t be loyal to the people of Kufr (atheism), Fosooq (corruption) and Usyan (sinfulness), even if those people are their fathers or brother."O you who believe! Take not for Auliya' (supporters and helpers) your fathers and your brother if they prefer disbelief to Belief. And whoever of you does so, then he is one of the Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)."
This is a serious matter, for it shows you when to consider brotherhood in faith (and when you don’t), the second Ayah is:"O you who believe! Al-Qisas (the Law of Equality in punishment) is prescribed for you in case of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives, etc.) of the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. So after this whoever transgresses the limits (i.e. kills the killer after taking the blood money), he shall have a painful torment."
Namely, you should be keen on your brother’s rights, and even if he forgives you, you shouldn’t accept his forgiveness unless you give him something in return. Take for example someone who is engaged to a woman, then he changed his mind and found this marriage not in his best interest, and he thereby broke up with her, in this case, and if they forgave him (for breaking up), he should be cultured enough in this situation.
"But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives, etc.) of the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness."
Allah desiderated for the believer to be forgiving, and desiderated for the one who has been forgiven to be cultured and pay something in return for this forgiveness.
Take the example of engagement which I have mentioned earlier, if the family of the fiancé forgave you to pay the dower (after you broke up with her), then you should give her a present in return, like a piece of jewelry. You were her fiancé for two months, and you sat with her, hence, when you broke up and were forgiven by them from paying the dower, then you should be cultured. Pay attention to the meaning in this Ayah:
Pay something in return.
Either you are a brother to believers or to the devils:
Dear brother, we seek refuge with Allah to be the devils’ brother, Allah says:"Verily, spendthrifts are brother of the Shayatin (devils), and the Shaitan (Devil - Satan) is ever ungrateful to his Lord. "
Either you are a brother to the believers and you are one of them following their path, or you are a brother to the devils.
Again let us go back to the concept of loyalty and renouncement, Allah says:
"You (O Muhammad) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), even though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brother, or their kindred (people). "
Brotherhood is the greatest relation meant to be by Allah:
Now:
"And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. "
Namely, your faith is marked by your heart’s pureness towards your brother, however, cunning, deceiving, loathing, and taking advantage of your brother are the manners of Munafikeen (hypocrites) and Osat (sinful).
Believer’s conducts are full of affection and cordiality, for the believer is tenderly affectionate towards his fellow believer.
We don’t lack mosques, libraries, and conferences; however, we lack the affection that existed between the companions. Only affection will bring us together as one nation.
My heart anticipates a great future when I see the affection of all honorable brother towards what is happening in Gaza.
As long as we have affection and tears towards what we see and hear, then we are fine (as a nation).
On the other hand, there are people who say: “we have nothing to do with what is going on”, or say: “leave me alone”. Allah makes brotherhood the most transcendent relation at all, He says:
"And they ask you concerning orphans. Say: "The best thing is to work honestly in their property, and if you mix your affairs with theirs, "
In materialistic transactions:
"Then they are your brother"
Hence, scholars deducted from this Ayah that if you want to invest the money of an orphan, or you are the guardian of an orphan’s wealth, and you were wealthy yourself, then you should waive your wages and profits in that investment, and instead, give all the profits to the orphan because he is your brother (in faith). On the other hand, if you were poor, Allah says:
"But if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable (according to his work)."
Ma’roof (just and reasonable) means to take from the profits your need only, or to take the wage of someone in your position (the lower wage of both). This is the meaning of “to have for himself what is just and reasonable”.Namely, your relation with an orphan’s money is a brotherhood relation, and this denotes that brotherhood relation is the most transcendent relation to which Allah meant for believers.
We get closer to Allah through fraternity in faith:
Dear brother:((A man headed to another village to visit a brother of his, so Allah puts an angel on his way, and upon passing by he said to him: Where are you headed" To which he answered: I intend to visit a brother of mine in this village. The angel said: Have youdone him a favor and you want him to pay you back" He said: No, but I love him for the sake of Allah, so the angel said: I am the messenger of Allah to you to tell you that Allah loves you because you loved your brother for His sake))
It seems that brotherhood for the sake of Allah draws us all closer to Him. The prophet PBUH fraternized between Abdulrahman Ibn Aof and Sa’ed Ibn Arrabe’e, so what did Sa’ed say to Abdulrahman" He wanted him to have half his wealth, so he said: Take half my money, but what was the response of Abdulrahman Ibn Aof" He said: May Allah bless your money, however, please show me to the market.
It was affirmed that Ansar ("Helpers." The Muslim converts in Medina who helped the Muslims from Mecca after the Hijrah.) offered half of their money to Muhajereen (The first Muslims that accompanied Muhammad PBUH when he traveled to Medina), but it was never been reported that even one Muhajer took any offer, instead they said like what Abdulrahman said: May Allah bless your money, just show me to the market, and for that the prophet PBUH said:
((Your smile for your brother is charity))
Muslims should stay away from dispersing matters:
One more thing, by Allah this following hadith is splendid, as the prophet PBUH said:((Avoid much suspicion (zann), for suspicion is the worse lies.. And neither spy, nor backbite each other))
Tajassus: is to eavesdrop or to ask around in order to get news, like who is employed in this company, and what is his salary"
((Do not eavesdrop ! Do not spy on one another! Do not practice An-Nashaj (trying to sell a commodity at a price higher than its real value)!))
Namely, you (as a buyer in conspiracy with the seller) make the price higher in order to make the costumer interested in buying the commodity (for higher price).
((Do not eavesdrop ! Do not spy on one another! Do not emulate one another! Do not envy one another! Do not practice An-Nashaj (trying to sell a commodity at a price higher than its real value)! Do not hate one another! Do not turn your backs to one another! Be brother slaves of Allah! A Muslim is another Muslim’s brother: he does not do wrong (or injustice) to him; he is not untruthful to him; and he does not disdain him. Piety is right here (he repeated that three times pointing to his holy breast). It is evil enough for someone to disdain his Muslim brother. A Muslim is all unlawful for another Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honor. Allah does not judge according to your bodies and appearances but He scans your hearts and looks into your deeds))
Dear brother, there is more to cover on this topic next time, if Allah wills.
