والحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers
Before I go on to the bulk of the topic I apologise for the fact that this reads more like speech than it does a piece of prose. For the ladies amongst you, the ‘brother’ part of brotherhood should not be interpreted as something that is restricted to men; I’m told that the closest translation of ‘Ukhoowah’ in English is brotherhood, but unfortunately the English equivalent doesn’t quite do the Arabic justice.
InshAllah we’ll briefly try and cover questions 1 & 2 in this tarbiya, and question 3 in a follow up tarbiya:
1. What is brotherhood?
2. Why is brotherhood important in Islam?
3. How do we demonstrate and reinforce brotherhood? (rights and duties)
Like most aspects of faith, and indeed, human relationships, brotherhood inevitably has its tangible and intangible aspects. The tangible aspects, i.e. the rights and duties, reinforce and nurture the intangible- or the ‘feeling’ of brotherhood as it were. In turn the intangible leads us to remember Allah and behave towards our peers in the way His Messenger (pbuh) exemplified.
What is brotherhood?
Brotherhood centres on the idea that individuals are united through a common humanity:
“We have honoured the children of Adam and have carried them over land and sea and have provided for them good things and have preferred them over much of what We have created.” [Surat Al Isra’, 17:70]
The above verse highlights how amongst all the creatures which Allah created, the human race is most preferred by Allah. Within the brotherhood of humanity rests the brotherhood of the believers:
“The Believers are but a single Brotherhood.” [ Surah – Al-Hujurat 49:10]
Brotherhood is the outcome of people who are united through a common goal or vision, their collective vision transcends the boundaries of race, gender, nationality and other limitations. For the Muslims, this common goal is seeking the pleasure of their Lord and the fruits of the hereafter. Members of humanity (irrespective of faith) have rights and obligations to one another, and the believer has a right and obligation to his believing brother. The concept of brotherhood in Islam is upheld and cemented through these mutual rights and obligations . Muslims are both members of humanity and the Ummah; therefore the Muslim, irrespective of the community he belongs to, should always find it necessary to contribute to that community.
Why is brotherhood important in Islam?
The famous words of John Donne (17th Century Christian Poet) have become synonymous with the idea of community and brotherhood and neatly highlight the relationship between brotherhood and faith:
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
However the lines that follow are often forgotten:
“….Another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him; but this bell, that tells me of his affliction, digs out and applies that gold to me: if by this consideration of another’s danger I take mine own into contemplation, and so secure myself, by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security” (John Donne, Mediations XVII)
It’s in these latter lines that we can see the how the care, consideration and bonds that brotherhood entails, remind us to be grateful for what we have, to love for our brothers what we love for ourselves, and recognise that aiding our brother is a virtuous act – for the simple fact that it redirects our actions towards God.
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: “You shall not enter paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I not guide you to one thing? When you do it, you will love on another; Spread peace among you.” (Muslim)
Hassan (ra) said: “…our families remind us of this world while our brothers remind us of the Other”
Brotherhood has been placed at the centre of Islam through some simple measures, the most obvious being: Salaah (performance of prayer – advisable in congregation), Sawm (Fasting) Zakat (charity) and Hajj. Each of these actions brings the Muslim community together to complete the task, and/or allows the individual to benefit his/her community via the task (inshAllah we’ve all been apart of some these acts and can recollect the feeling of unity and love when breaking our fast together, or prostrating in prayer alongside our brothers.) These pillars of Islam are obligatory acts and form the foundation of a solid community. But to excel beyond the basics requires the individual to be unselfish and proactively help, aid and benefit his brother, without it being asked of him.
Allah consistently reminds us that the brotherhood between the believers is a blessing provided by Him, and like any blessing we should not be frivolous in our use of it, nor forget that it is through Allah’s might and compassion that is was produced:
“An hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; 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…” (Surah Al-Imran: 103)
“…He [Allah] has strengthened you with His aid and with the company of the Believers; and (moreover) He has put affection between their hearts: if you had spent all that is in the earth, could you have produced that affection, but Allah has done it: for He is Exalted in might, Wise.” (Surah Al-Anfal: 62-63)
In the era of the internet, mobile phones, instant messaging, and indeed face book; it’s amazing how we can cushion ourselves with a web of relationships which cross oceans and continents, but remain instant. We can forge relationships and friendships with people we have never met, and in some cases will never meet. Some of these relationships are valuable and close to our hearts, others are extended acquaintances. But in all situations we must remind ourselves that the basis of all our relationships should be to return to Allah, and for a relationship to benefit us in the hereafter we must love our brother with our hearts – show that love through our limbs when we act, our ears when we listen, our tongue when we speak, our eyes when we look; and in the prayer which we speak – prayers which Allah alone can hear.
InshAllah the following tarbiya will look at the duties of brotherhood in Islam.