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O Lord, to You is praise as befits the Glory of Your Face and the greatness of your Might
I am not capable of enumerating praise of You. You are as You have lauded Yourself.
And I testify that there is no god but Allah Alone, and that He has no partners.
He created people from a male and a female and made them into nations and tribes that they may know one another and He made obeying Him the only standard of differentiation between mankind.
Allah says:
﴾ O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. ﴿
And I testify that Sayyidina Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the Messenger and the slave of Allah.
He said to Fatimah (his daughter), may Allah be pleased with her:
((O Fatimah, rescue thyself from the Fire, for I have no power (to protect you) from Allah in anything except this that I would sustain relationship with you.))
(( He who is made slow by his actions will not be speeded by his genealogy.))
O Allah, our Lord! Grant peace and blessings to Sayyidina Muhammad, upon his Family, upon his Companions, the trustees upon his message and leaders of his armies.
Brotherhood in Faith:
1- Kinship doesn't count without faith:
Umar bin Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said to our master Sa'd Bin Abi Waqqas, who was a notable companion and was the only one whom had been addressed by the prophet PBUH on the Day of Uhud as follows:
(( "Throw (arrows) O Sa'd; let my father and mother be sacrificed for you."))
He is also the only one to whom the prophet PBUH used to say upon meeting him:
"This is my maternal uncle, so let a man show me his maternal uncle."
This notable companion was addressed by Umar Bin Al Khattab by the following words:
"Sa'd, do not be dazzled by being the uncle of the Prophet PBUH, as people are equal in the Sight of Allah, and no ancestry is to be taken into account save their obedience to Him."
O servants of Allah, I advice you and myself of fearing Allah and I encourage you to obey Him.
If a man was able, due to his smartness, strong demonstration and eloquence, to pull off a verdict from the prophet PBUH in his favor unjustly, he would not be able to flee Allah's torment:
Umm Salama reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as saying: You bring to me, for (judgment) your disputes, some of you perhaps being more eloquent in their plea than others, so I give judgment on their behalf according to what I hear from them. (Bear in mind, in my judgment) if I slice off anything for him from the right of his brother, he should not accept that, for I sliced off for him a portion from the Hell.
Islamic rulings are all about justice, meeting people's interests and spreading mercy amongst them, thus any matter lacks justice, mercy and doesn't meet people's interest is not part of Islam even though it might be justified in thousands ways.
2- People share the same psychological and natural deposition:
Mankind, despite their different races, environments, social ranks and circumstances, are of one and the same human nature. To this effect, Allah, Glory be to Him, says,
﴾ It is He Who has created you from a single person (Adam), and (then) He has created from him his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her. When he had sexual relation with her, she became pregnant and she carried it about lightly. Then when it became heavy, they both invoked Allah, their Lord (saying): "If You give us a Salih (good in every aspect) child, we shall indeed be among the grateful."﴿
They even have the same natural dispositions. Allah, says,
﴾ So set you (O Muhammad ) your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism Hanifa (worship none but Allah Alone) Allah's Fitrah (i.e. Allah's Islamic Monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq-illah (i.e. the Religion of Allah Islamic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most of men know not. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol 21, Page 41] ﴿
They are also of one composition. Allah, the Almighty, says in the Divine Hadith,
“O David! Remind My servants of My Beneficence to them, as human beings have been made so as to love whosoever does good to them and to hate whosoever does evil to them.”
3- Share' (Islamic laws) maintain brotherhood in faith:
Such common human qualities shared by all human beings necessitate the spread of human brotherhood amongst them. However, this natural brotherhood and cooperation is prone to vanish and give way to enmity, hatred and aggression when people forget that they have a Creator, Who knows their secrecy and publicity, Who knows whatever things they do, Who will sooner or later recompense them for all their deeds, when their behavior is governed by their whims, when their ardent desires drive them to devour property of others and to transgress their dignity and honor, and when powers of evil, on top of which is Satan, inauthor enmity and hatred amongst them.
Divine legislation in the Noble Quran as well as Prophetic tradition (Sunna) inauthors Muslims to maintain and develop this humanitarian brotherhood on the basis of unity of human composition as well as the fact that all human beings have their major as well as minor needs reciprocally integrated. To this effect, the Quranic Ayah goes,
﴾ O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. ﴿
Brotherhood of faith, however, is one of the basic fundamentals, principles, essential requirements and manifest features of Divine Legislation. The Noble Scripture confirms such fundamental basis of the relationship amongst believers. Allah, says,
﴾ The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. ﴿
Reflecting on the following Ayah:
Interpreters confirm that the above verse is a nominal statement which emphasizes stability and continuity of brotherhood amongst believers. It also stresses the fact that unless a believer feels that he really belongs to the community of believers, and unless he feels deep inside truthful and sincere brotherhood towards them, he is either an unbeliever or suffers from impurity of faith. The verse also asserts that the relationship between believers is often far stronger and deeper than that of kinship. Enmity, hatred, rivalry, and envy are considered to be unhealthy and alien features that have to be treated and eliminated. Allah, Praise be to Hi, says,
﴾ The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. ﴿
4- Brotherhood in humanity:
On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) — the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) — that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.
Some Hadith interpreters said that the words
“his brother”
embrace every kind of humanitarian brotherhood, which is confirmed in another Prophetic Hadith,
“All mankind are Allah’s dependents, most beloved of them to Allah are the most beneficial to His dependents.”
5- Share' forbade things that destroy brotherhood like enmity and the like:
The Noble Scripture strongly forbids any kind of attitude or behavior that demolishes the feeling of brotherhood amongst believers. It prohibits scoffing, reviling one another by nicknames, evil suspicion, spying, and backbiting. To this effect, Allah, Glory be to Him, says,
﴾ O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: "O sinner", or "O wicked", etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.). O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, 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.﴿
Prophetic tradition also forbids everything that leads to enmity and hatred which weakens or demolishes brotherhood amongst believers. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says,
Abu Hurairah (May Allah bepleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. He should neither deceive him nor lie to him, nor leave him without assistance. Everything belonging to a Muslim is inviolable for a Muslim; his honour, his blood and property. Piety is here (and he pointed out to his chest thrice). It is enough for a Muslim to commit evil by despising his Muslim brother."
He also forbids any behavior or attitude that might lead to enmity and hatred.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said, 'Beware of suspicion, for it is the worst of false tales and don't look for the other's faults and don't spy and don't hate each other, and don't desert (cut your relations with) one another O Allah's slaves, be brothers!"
6- Satan resorts to sow dissension among believers:
Furthermore, when Satan despairs of inciting people to worship other deities than Allah, he resorts to sowing seeds of dissension and discord amongst the believers and provoking enmity and hatred amongst them.
Jabir reported: I heard Allah's Apostle (PBUH) as saying: Verily, the Satan has lost all hopes that the worshippers would ever worship (him) in the peninsula of Arabia, but he (is hopeful) that he would sow the seed of dissension amongst them.
We might be surprised when we find out that the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), shows out that destruction of brotherhood amongst believers is so dangerous that it demolishes their religion and cuts off their connection with their Lord.
Yahya related from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "Shall I tell you what is better than much prayer and sadaqa?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Mending discord. And beware of hatred - it strips you (of your deen)."
The ways to lay the foundations of brotherhood in faith:
Islamic legislation does not only forbid everything that might weaken or demolish brotherhood of faith, but also bids to everything that deeply roots, strengthens, consolidates, enhances and develops it.
1- Greeting one another:
The All-wise Legislator bids Muslims to spread greetings amongst themselves He, All-High, says,
﴾ When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally. Certainly, Allah is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things. ﴿
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: A person asked Allah's Messenger (PBUH) . "What (sort of) deeds in or (what qualities of) Islam are good?" He replied, "To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you don't know."
Most helpless of all are those who fail to supplicate their Lord; meanest of all are those who refrain from greeting.
'Abdullah bin Salam (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "O people, exchange greetings of peace (i.e., say: As-Salamu 'Alaikum to one another), feed people, strengthen the ties of kinship, and be in prayer when others are asleep, you will enter Jannah in peace."
2- Paying the patients visits and checking on them:
In order to deeply root brotherhood of faith and solidify its bonds, the All-Wise Legislator bids for visiting patients. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says,
Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Visit the sick, feed the hungry, and (arrange for the) release of the captive.''
Visiting patients includes asking about their health, looking after them and being kind to them. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), narrates his Lord as saying,
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection: "O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He 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?..."
Attributing illness to Himself, Allah All-high, means to give honor to the patient and soothe his heart. Even more, the words
“You would have found Me with him”
denote that if the servant is deprived of health, he is granted peace of mind and tranquility as well as nearness to his Lord.
3- Accepting invitations:
For the purpose of deeply rooting and consolidating brotherhood of faith amongst Muslims, the All-Wise Legislator also bids Muslims to accept invitation when invited.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (PBUH) said: He who does not accept an invitation which he receives has disobeyed Allah and His Apostle
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said: "If I am invited to a meal consisting of a sheep's foot or shoulder, I would respond and I would accept as a gift a shoulder or a foot of a sheep."
4- Being truthful to Muslims:
In order to deeply root brotherhood of faith and solidify its bonds, the All-Wise Legislator bids Muslims to be truthful to each and every believer.
Tamim al-Dari reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying; Religion conduct; religion consists in sincere conduct. The people asked; to whom should it be directed, Messenger of Allah? He replied : To Allah, his book, his Apostle, the leaders (public authorities) of the believers and all the believers, and the leaders (public authorities) of Muslim and the Muslims and the Muslims in general.
5- Being charitable to human beings:
Muslims have also been ordered to have mercy on the young and respect for the old, to help the wronged and the maltreated, to suppress anger, to pardon fellow humans and do good to them.
The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), did not only forbid the things that may weaken or destroy brotherhood of faith and command the things that may strengthen and consolidate such brotherhood, but also he was a perfect exemplar of Muslim brotherhood to his Companions and people.
((On the day e of Badr, camels were few, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Every three men will be with one camel.. Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Abu Lubabah and I will be with one camel." When it was time for the Prophet, peace be upon him, to walk, the other two said to him, "We will walk and let you ride." The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied," You are not stronger than me and I am not in less need of rewards than you."))
((The Prophet, peace be upon him, was once travelling with his Companions. They stopped at a place to have something to eat and then rest. They decided to slaughter a sheep and roast it. One of them said, "I shall do the slaughtering." The other said, "I shall remove the skin." The third one said, "I shall do the roasting." Each one of them volunteered to do one piece of work. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I shall collect and bring the firewood from the forest." The companions said, "O Prophet! You need not take the trouble. We shall attend to everything." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I know you can do everything. But I do not like to enjoy a preferential treatment from you. Allah the Almighty does not like to see His servant distinguishing himself from his peers."))
The scientific explanation of the true brotherhood in faith:
Scientific explanation of Muslim Brotherhood among believers can be as follows. In the character of each believer, there are certain qualities, traits, conceptions, values, morals, principles, goals, tempers, moods, customs, traditions, emotions, feelings, tendencies, desires, motives, and attitudes, which may include hundreds of sub-qualities and attributes, and which comprise man’s general character. The true Faith colors believers’ characters with a special distinct deeply rooted set of qualities and attributes which bring them together and make them different from others. The more numerous the common qualities and traits between people are, the more compassion, affection, friendship and brotherhood prevail among them.
Therefore, in the life of every human being, there is a character that he makes for himself, a character that he hates to make for himself, because it contradicts with his own character, a character that he likes, because it falls in well with his own character, and a character that he aspires to make for himself, because it is sublime and paramount.
The Noble Quran draws attention to this fact and points out that people’s hearts can never be brought together into perfect harmony except by values, morals and feelings derived from heavenly Divine sources. To this effect, Allah, Praise be to Him, says,
﴾ And He has united their (i.e. believers') hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. ﴿
The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), also says,
The second Khutbah:
The practical side of brotherhood in faith:
The afore-mentioned are theoretical principles of Muslim Brotherhood, but what about practical applications of such theoretical principles?
1- Making Muhajireen and Ansar as brethrens:
In fact, Muslim Brotherhood was clearly manifested by the Muhajirin (the Immigrants) and the Ansar (the Helpers) upon the Prophet’s and his Companions’ immigration to Medina. The Noble Prophet (PBUH) made brother among the Immigrants and Helpers in couples. For example, he (PBUH) made brother between Sa’ad bin Ar-Rabee’, the helper, and Abdul-Rahman bin ‘Aouf, the immigrant. Sa’ad addressed Abul-Rahman, “O dear brother! I am the wealthiest man in Medina; and I have a couple of orchards. So, take the one you like!”The latter replied, “May Allah bless your wealth! Just tell me where the market-place is,” and he went to the market-place, where he traded and earned enough money for a decent living and got married.
2- Brotherhood between Abu Bakr and Bilal:
Another example of Muslim Brotherhood between believers, which eliminated all social differences that were prevalent before Islam, was what Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, did when he came past Umayah bin Khalaf while the latter was torturing Bilal Al-Habashi, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Bakr addressed Umayah, “Don’t you fear Allah, the Almighty, with this poor man (Bilal)?! How long will you keep torturing him?!” Umayah replied, “Save him from what you see.” Abu Bakr said, “I do; take more money than his price, and set him free,” and he paid Umayah the money, emancipated Bilal from slavery and took him by the arm in brotherhood and equality. Umayah said, “Take him. I swear by Al-Lat and Uzzah! Even if you had refused to buy him for one Dirham, I would have sold him to you!” Abu Bakr replied, “I swear by Allah! Had you charged a hundred thousand for him, I would have given you!” and he took Bilal by the arm saying, “This is my real brother!” Whenever the Noble Prophet’s Companions spoke of Abu Bakr and Bilal, they would say, “He (Abu Bakr) is our master who emancipated our master (Bilal).”
Upon the Noble Prophet’s death, Bilal went to Abu Bakr, (PBUT), and said, “O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah! I desire to go and fight in the Way of Allah until I die.” Abu Bakr replied, “And who will perform the Azan (the Call to Prayer)?” With tears in his eyes, Bilal said, “I shall never perform the Azan after the death of the Messenger of Allah.” When Abu Bakr insisted that Bilal should stay and call to prayer, Bilal said, “If you have emancipated me to make me your own, I shall do what you ask; but if you have emancipated me for the sake of Allah, leave me alone with Him for Whose sake you have emancipated me.” Abu Bakr replied, “Nay, indeed I have emancipated you for the sake of Allah; so, go wherever you want to go!”
3- Brotherhood between Abu Bakr and his neighbors:
Muslim Brotherhood among believers, which eliminates all social differences between fellow humans, was also substantiated by Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (PBUH), whose neighbors were old women he used to visit to milk their sheep for them. When he became Caliph, the old women expected that he would no longer come to milk their sheep for them. But they were greatly astonished when he, although he had become Caliph, knocked their doors to milk their sheep for them as usual.
Allah, Glory and Praise be to Him, describes true believers as,
﴾ And those who, before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (from the booty of Bani An-Nadir), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful. ﴿
4- Selflessness showed by the injured in battle field regarding water:
Such a description of true believers is substantiated in the incident narrated by Huthaifah Al-‘Adawi, who said, “In Yarmouk Battle, I went to look for a cousin of mine among those who were killed; and I had some water for the wounded. I said to myself, “If he is still alive, I shall give him some water.”But he was dying. I offered him the water, but while he was about to drink, he heard another wounded person moaning. He pointed to him and asked me to take the water to him. He was Hisham bin Al-‘Ass. I hurried to offer him the water. But while he was about to drink he heard a third man groaning with pain. Therefore, he pointed to him and asked me to take the water to him. I hurried to the third man, but I found him dead. I hurried back to Hisham, but he was also dead. And I hurried back to my cousin, but he was also dead.”
This but reflects the practical side of Islam in life.
The grace of rain:
It is a habit to offer prayer asking Allah for rain:
It is a habit dear brothers to invoke Allah for rain during winter especially when there is drought.
We invoke and supplicate Allah to send us rain out of mercy upon the knelt chieftains and the suckling infants and grazing animals.
We invoke Him not to treat us as He treats the ones who are deviated.
As you all know, in the past few years rains were little due to which some rivers and springs dried and despair was about to sneak into souls and hearts.
2- Preventing rain is Divine discipline to people:
It seems that Allah the Almighty meant to tell us through the heavy rains we received this year that the lack of rains the past years was not out of helplessness (Sublimed is Allah above this assumption) but it was His Means to discipline us.
Allah says:
﴾ And if Allah were to enlarge the provision for His slaves, they would surely rebel in the earth, but He sends down by measure as He wills. Verily! He is in respect of His slaves, the Well-Aware, the All-Seer (of things that benefit them). ﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ And there is not a thing, but with Us are the stores thereof. And We send it not down except in a known measure. ﴿
In another Ayah Allah says:
﴾ If they (non-Muslims) had believed in Allah, and went on the Right Way (i.e. Islam) We should surely have bestowed on them water (rain) in abundance. ﴿
He also says:
﴾ And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes, etc.). ﴿
3- We should be grateful for the graces we have:
Praise be to Allah for these heavy rains He bestowed upon us, and All praise is due to Allah, abundant, good and blessed praise as many times as the number of His creatures and as many times as the number of their breaths.
Dear brothers, the weather broadcasts showed that the amounts of rain till the 13nth of the first month of the recent year in 8 cities are three times more than the amount at the same date of the past year. These amounts make 70-80 % of the total amounts of the annual average in five cities.
As for the amounts of water in dams, they reached twice the amount of the past year.
Again, all praise is due to Allah, abundant, good and blessed praise.
It was related that Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the prophet PBUH to ask Allah to make his supplication always heard by Allah, the prophet PBUH said to him:
((O Sa'd, consume lawful things and your supplications will be heard))
When Allah asks us in His noble Quran to invoke Him, He reminds us that He doesn't like the aggressors, namely, He doesn't accept their supplication.
Allah says:
﴾ Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. ﴿
