We Need Brotherhood!

['Abd al-Baari]

Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh,

{“Indeed, the believers are brothers…”}

[al-Hujurat; 10]

Brotherhood is from the most beautiful topics that a person can talk about! It is so pure and pleasant like light! It is so rich and beloved to the heart…

However, what is the brotherhood that is referred to in the Book of Allah?

Two people can walk down a wide road as brothers in safety and relaxation with each putting his arm on the shoulders of the other out of brotherly love. However, look at them when the road becomes narrower and is only wide enough for one of them to walk behind the other - who should I give preference to? Should I walk ahead? Or should I follow my brother and let him walk ahead of me?

Then look at the road when it becomes even narrower, leaving room for only one of them to walk on it! There is only one opportunity: either me or my brother. Who will I give preference to? Do I say that this is my opportunity and he can go look for his own? Or do I say to my brother ‘Take this opportunity for yourself, and I will find my own’?

This is the test.

Brotherhood in times of safety and ease is one thing, as it does not go against the desires of the self. In fact, it is itself one of those desires that a person seeks to obtain in order to achieve the sense of relaxation that comes along with it.

As for situations of hardship or personal gain, this is where true brotherhood is tested, where the distinction is made between the love for others and the love for oneself which can become hidden during times of ease and safety, causing one to assume that he is a true ‘brother’ who is fulfilling the implications of brotherhood!

How many gatherings, how many lectures, how many admonishments, how many advices does a person or a group need to establish this concept in their minds, such that it does not simply become a theoretical concept that doesn’t go past this level? It should become present in the heart, deeply entrenched in the heart until it gives birth to physical manifestations such as is mentioned in the Book of Allah:

{“And those who before them had homes and had adopted faith, love those who emigrate to them and have no jealousy in their hearts for that which they have been given, and give them 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.”} [al-Hashr; 9]

It was examples like this that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would work for when he was mentoring his Companions for thirteen years in Makkah and the years spent afterwards in Madinah. However, he never told himself while he was in Makkah: ‘Until when will we keep teaching these concepts without doing something?’ He never said this because he knew for sure that this was from the fundamental requirements of establishing the base of believers that he was working towards, and that this brotherhood - in addition to being necessary for establishing a base of believers that would serve as the seed for the Muslim nation - was also a part of the fulfillment of the behavioral aspects of لا إله إلا الله, because this statement is not simply a deep belief held in the heart. Rather, it means that one should physically adhere to what Allah has revealed and everything that has come from Him. So, adhering to this brotherhood is from the implications of this statement, and Allah Loves this brotherhood and has praised it and obligated it upon the believers in Him, and He revealed many verses regarding it, the most famous of which is:

{“O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, as it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor let women scoff at other women, as 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! And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed are the wrongdoers. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, as 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. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Merciful.”} [al-Hujurat; 11-12]

With the Qur’an…with friendship…by living with each other…by constant mentoring…with the leadership found in the noble personality of the Messenger…with the love that gushed to them from his big heart…with attention and care for each one of them as if nobody else mattered but that one person…by the active manifestation of the emotions of faith within the jama’ah…

Through these combined methods, the Messenger of Allah nurtured this brotherly group that accomplished wonders with its brotherhood, and he built this sturdy, interconnected structure whose individual parts each supported and backed up the others.

In this new strangeness in which Islam finds itself, we need exactly what was needed in its first strangeness. If we cannot achieve the same level of what they achieved, at least we should try to come close because the jahiliyyah has caused every relationship that cannot withstand all of its pressures and stay strong despite these pressures to crumble away and disintegrate.

How long will this take, and how much effort is required? I have no idea. However, I know for sure that it is absolutely necessary, and that the base from which this jahiliyyah will be faced with all its plots needs to fulfill in its physical behavior this characteristic from the characteristics of لا إله إلا الله so that it becomes worthy of the protection of Allah…”

['Waqi'una al-Mu'asir'; p. 468-469]

:w: