FRIDAY
LEARNING
17th Shawwal 1427 AH /
“Indeed the faithful are brothers (to each other). Therefore
make peace between your brothers and be wary of Allah, so that you may receive
His mercy”. (49:10)
Islam
encourages the Muslims to socialise among themselves and it does not view
seclusion and isolation favourably.
This socialisation with one another should be based on Imaan
and
Taqwa.
In
other words, Muslims, regardless of their colours, languages, cultures, status,
or other differences, should not consider each other as strangers. In this life
we are quick at picking up relatives. Even if a person is not our blood relative
BUT has a distant connection, we say, ‘He or She is related to us’. Similarly,
according to Islam, the binding factor between Muslims should be Belief
in:
One God; One book (Quran); The same Prophet Muhammad (saww) and the day of
Qiyamah.
When
the Holy Prophet (saww) settled in Madina and as Islam started spreading, a time
came when Muslims were of all sorts. There were Muhajireen and Ansaar – one
claiming supremacy over other; The Ansaar were divided into two groups and they
had bitterness between them; Then there were those who had come from Ethiopia
and other places from around the world and from the view point of nationality
and language – a majority of them differed one another. One day, the Holy
Prophet (saww) stood up in the Masjid and turning towards them, said,
“(O
People!) Stand up so that I can make you brothers of one another in the name of
Allah”. The
Muslims stood up and each one of them was made a brother of another. And it was
on this day that the Holy Prophet (saww) chose Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) as
his own brother.
Ayatullah
Shaykh Ja’ffar Sub-hani writes in his Tafseer of Suratul-Hujuraat:
This sort
of brotherhood, which took place amongst a very small circle of people, is a
minor example of the unity that ruled over the Islamic society, which
encompassed all Muslims and made them brothers of one another. Under the
greatness of this brotherhood, the Muslims were victorious over all their
difficulties and as long as this religious bond of love and affinity was amongst
them, they had supremacy over the entire world.
The
Holy Prophet (saww) has said, “To look at a brother lovingly for the
pleasure of Allah is a worship”. (
Imam
Ali (as) has said, “It
is through making brothers because of belief in Allah that makes brotherhood
advantageous”. (Ghurar
al-Hikam)
To be
continued…………………………………………….