format_quote Originally Posted by
Hugo
I am intrigued by your final line and the two greatest commands are love the lord your god .. and love your neighbour as yourself - I am sure you are right they are not unique to Christianity but are they found in the Qu'ran?.
I shall only comment, not out of interest of the topic, but your strong assertion that you are so well versed in the Quran and ahadith yet, the most basic concepts of either seem to elude you!
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be on him) said,
"The right of the Muslim on the Muslim are six." It was said, "What are they, Messenger of Allah?" He said,
"When you meet him, salute him; when he invites you, respond to him; when he seeks counsel, give him advice; when he sneezes and praises Allah, say to him: Allah has mercy on you; when he is sick, visit him; and when he dies, follow his funeral." (Muslim)
According to the above Prophetic hadith, Muslims have these rights on their Muslim brothers and sisters:
1. To greet them in the Islamic manner when they meet (that is, "as-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh")
2. To accept their invitation (when offered)
3. To advise them (when the situation calls for it)
4. To seek Allah's mercy for them when they sneeze and praise Allah
5. To visit them when they are sick
6. To follow their funeral when they die
1. To Greet Them in the Islamic Manner When They Meet
The greeting of peace is a cause of love, which results in producing faith, which results in the person entering Paradise.
Allah says,
[
But when you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other — a greeting from Allah, blessed and good) (An-Nur 24:61)
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be on him) said,
"You will not enter Paradise until you have faith, and you will not have faith until you love each other. Shall I direct you to something which if you fulfill you will love one another? Spread peace among yourselves" (Muslim)
The greeting of peace is one of the virtuous characteristics of Islam. For verily each of the people who meet each other supplicates for the other for safety from evils, and mercy, and blessing that brings about every good. And what follows this is a cheerful face and appropriate words of greeting, which result in unity and love, and a removal of feelings of estrangement and cold disassociation. It is part of rights of brotherhood for Muslims to put on a smiling face when they meets their brothers or sisters in faith. Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
"Do not belittle any good deed, even to meet your brothers with a smiling face." (Muslim)
He also said,
"Your smile in the face of your brothers is an act of charity."
That is why the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had a smiling face all the time.
Thus, giving the greeting of peace is the right of the Muslim, and it is obligatory upon the person who is greeted to return the greeting with a similar greeting or o*ne that is better. And the best of the people are those who start the greeting of peace first.
2. To Accept Their Invitation
This means that when brothers or sisters invite you to a social event or food, then fulfill the request of those who have drawn near to you and honored you with the invitation. Accept their invitation unless you have an excuse. By this, Islam cements the social relations between members of the Muslim community.
3. To Advise Them
When your Muslim brothers and sisters seek your advice regarding something, you have to sincerely advise them.
In this regard, Tamim Ad-Dari reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
"Religion is founded on sincere advice." We said, "To whom?" He said,
"To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk." (Muslim)
Therefore, Muslims should not hesitate to advise their Muslim brothers and sisters. However, when advising someone, you have to take care of the following ethics:
a. It should be in secret; that is to say, one should advise in secret, not in public so as not to embarrass the person.
b. Advice should be given in a kind and gentle manner.
c. The adviser should explain to the person any wrongdoing and support his or her stance with proofs from Shari`ah.
4. To Seek Allah's Mercy for Them When They Sneeze and Praise Allah
This is because sneezing is a favor from Allah. Thus the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended that the person praise Allah for this favor, and he ordered for his brother/sister to say to him/her, "May Allah have mercy upon you." He also commanded the person who sneezed to answer his brother/sister by saying, "May Allah guide you and set right your affairs."
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
"Whenever one of you sneezes, let him say, 'Praise be to Allah.' And then, let his brother say, 'May Allah have mercy upon you.' And then he should reply to him saying, 'May Allah guide you and set right your affairs.'" (Al-Bukhari)
However, those who do not praise Allah do not deserve that others pray for mercy upon them, and in this case, they (the sneezers) cannot blame anyone except themselves. For they are the ones who caused themselves to lose the two blessings: the blessing of praising Allah, and the blessing of their brother or sister's supplication for them that is a result of the praising.
On the authority of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say,
"If one of you sneezes and praises Allah, then say to him, 'May Allah have mercy upon you.' But if he does not praise Allah, then do not invoke Allah's mercy for him." (Muslim)
5. To Visit Them When They Are Sick
Visiting sick Muslims is highly encouraged. This is based on a hadith
qudsi, indicating that Allah would say to His slaves on the Day of Judgment,
"My slave, I was sick and yet you did not visit Me?" The slave would exclaim, "How can I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?" Allah would answer, "Did you not know that My slave so-and-so fell ill; don't You know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him?" (Muslim)
`Ali ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say,
"When a Muslim visits a sick Muslim at dawn, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him till dusk. If he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him till the morning; and he will have (his share of) reaped fruits in Jannah (Paradise)." (At-Tirmidhi)
On visiting their sick brothers and sisters, Muslims are supposed to make
du`aa' for them.
`A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) visited any ailing member of his family, he would touch the sick person with his right hand and would supplicate,
"O Allah! The Lord of mankind! Remove this disease and cure (him or her)! You are the Great Curer. There is no cure but through You, which leaves behind no disease." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
6. To Follow Their Funerals When They Die
Following Muslims' funerals is one of their rights upon their brethren. Those who follow the funeral until the deceased's body is prayed over will receive great reward. And if they follow the funeral procession until the body is buried, then they will receive more reward. Following the funeral procession fulfills a right for Allah, a right of the deceased, and a right of the living relatives of the deceased.
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
"Whoever follows the funeral procession and offers the funeral prayer for it will get a reward equal to one qirat, and whoever attends it till burial will get a reward equal to two qirats." It was asked, "What are two
qirats?'' He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied,
"Equal to two huge mountains." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Also, Muslims must keep good ties with the deceased's family and take care of their needs. Here we would like to clarify that women may offer the funeral prayer for their Muslim brothers and sisters, but it is not a duty upon them. Offering the funeral prayer is a
fard kifayah (communal duty) on men. This means that it is a duty for the Muslim community to perform that prayer. If a Muslim dies in a community and some Muslims offer the funeral prayer for the deceased, then the duty will be deemed as being discharged from every one else. However, failing to offer such a prayer incurs sin on the whole community, due to negligence. According to Imam Malik, women are allowed to follow the funeral procession.
* A Friday
khutbah delivered on Ramadan 21, 1427 (October 13, 2006), in NorthernNevada Muslim Community (NNMC).
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...ah%2FLSELayout
This hadith contains the rulings concerning the tongue and the behavior of Muslims towards others. It also emphasizes that we are responsible for what we say.
Imam Haithami points out that this hadith is very similar in meaning to Hadith 13 that says: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." He says that everyone is a neighbor to someone else. Therefore if this hadith is properly practiced and applied, then there will be a strong bond and love within the society or community.
Lessons
The responsibility of the Muslim regarding what he says is mentioned in the Qur'an: "Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him ready to record it" [Surah Qaf (50): ayat 18].
There are also other hadiths which state that the Muslim should be careful about what he says. His words can either, if they are pleasing to Allah, raise him to a higher level; or if his words displease Allah, they may cause him to be thrown into the Hellfire - as stated in a hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari. This shows that what we say can have a direct effect on whether it will benefit us or not.
One hadith (which illustrates the example of a bad consequence resulting from what a person says) states that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said that a pious man from Bani Israel use to see his fellow man always committing sins. One day the pious man swore to the sinner: "By Allah, He will never forgive you." Allah was displeased with what the pious man said because only Allah knows what is our destiny, whether someone will end up in Paradise or Hell. Because of this, when the two men died, the pious man was punished and put into Hell and the sinner was forgiven by Allah. [Sunan Abu Daud]
What we can learn here is that either we say something beneficial and good or else we should keep silent.
There are many Islamic guidelines which help us to say good things and to refrain from saying bad things, or things which displeases Allah subhana wa ta'ala. When we talk to others, whether it is relatives, friends, neighbors, etc., we should select the best terms/words and say them in a nice way. We should ensure that what we say is clear and easily understood. If we are not careful and we do not choose the right words, what we say may be misinterpreted and may lead to conflicts.
As a listener, we have to listen positively and interpret what we hear in a good way. We should not 'over interpret' what we hear; we should not try to 'read between the lines'. Thus, as a speaker we say things in a positive manner and as a listener we interpret things in a positive manner. By doing so Islam encourages us to minimize disputes and conflicts.
If we find ourselves in the middle of a dispute between two people, e.g. between relatives, we should not take sides. We should try to help and reconcile the differences; try to resolve the problems and end the dispute.
If we are being consulted by someone and asked for our advice, we should try our best to give good advice. What we say should help the person and not add to his confusion or doubt. If we do not have enough knowledge and we cannot provide proper advice, then we should keep silent.
Even if we have information which, as a result, may add to the person's confusion, we should keep it to ourselves.
We should keep away as best as we can from unnecessary or non-beneficial talk. People can talk or chat for hours but a lot of what is said is unimportant or trivial and does not benefit anyone. It wastes our time and this continuous talking may even lead us into areas where we might say something which displeases Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
When it comes to saying good things, there are many examples available: dzikrullah (remembrance of Allah), reciting the Qur'an, du'a, giving advice, etc. These are all things which are pleasing to Allah.
When we meet people who are sick, sad, feeling down, in a low frame of mind, etc., we should say things that will make these people feel better, have patience in facing their calamity, be positive, be strong, etc. This is known as al-muasah - to say good things of encouragement to help those facing problems; to not make them panic. The scholars have defined sabr (patience) as 'to refrain from panicking' - to refrain from being out of control - and to refrain the tongue from complaining.
Complaining, e.g. simply saying that the weather is hot, will lead us to impatience; it can affect our attitude and hence our work. If we want to lament we should lament only with Allah. If we do it with Allah it is munajah - it will turn into ibadah. If we do it with others it will be complaining (tashakki) - we will be violating the ibadah itself, which is sabr. So we should learn to minimize and ultimately eliminate the act of complaining.
We should refrain from saying bad things or things which may be untrue. When we hear some news, we shouldn't simply repeat it or spread it without first verifying if the news is true. This could lead to us spreading lies or rumors. We must refrain from:
1. spreading rumors, especially those that will cause harm to the community.
2. slandering, back-biting, etc.
3. sarcasm and making fun of others - this is one of the most common social ills today. It is a sin to make fun of others.
Sometimes we may encounter a situation which involves fitnah or al-fitan. We have to be careful of what we say. There are people who will take advantage of the situation and they may say things which may worsen the situation. When there is fitnah, people are in a panic and might believe anything. That's why we have to be careful of what we say because it may add to the people's fears and problems. What we should do is to help by saying positive things that will give the people hope; to uplift them and motivate them to face the problems; and not to make it worse.
The second part of this hadith stresses on being courteous and generous to our neighbors and guests. This is stated in the Qur'an - Surah An-Nisa'(4): ayat 36: "…do good to parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hand possess."
In one hadith, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Jibril kept advising me concerning the neighbor to the point that I thought that he would inherit from his neighbor." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. In another hadith [also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim], it is stated: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor."
Another hadith records the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, as saying that the person who does not have complete faith (iman) is the one from whose affairs the neighbor is not safe. Al-Bukhari and Muslim also records another hadith which states that when you cook stew, you should add a little bit more water and give some to your neighbors. This sharing of food between neighbors can strengthen the relationships between them. We should be nice to our neighbors and share our food even if they are not Muslims.
We should be patient with our neighbor even if he causes annoyance to us. In a hadith, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said that there are three types of people whom Allah loves. One of them is a person who has a neighbor who causes him harm or annoyance but he remains patient and tolerates the neighbor.
The 'guest' mentioned in the last part of the hadith is generally interpreted as a travelling visitor who has come to stay for a short while. One hadith states: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be generous to his guest. His special gift (to the guest) is one day and night. He (the guest) is to be entertained for three days. Whatever is beyond that is an act of charity. It is not lawful for a guest to stay with his host to the extent that he makes things difficult for him (the host)." [Al-Bukhari]. Thus, the visitor should not take advantage of a generous host.
Regarding this ruling, the majority of the scholars are of the opinion that hosting, in general, is recommended (mustahab) and not obligatory (wajib), even though it is a great and noble act. According to many scholars, the recommended act of hosting does not extend to evildoers or heretics. But some great scholars of today say that we should entertain even evildoers. This is because if we are good Muslims, when we host them and be good to them, we might influence them and cause them to change and become better people. But we should be very cautious if we were to host these sorts of people - we should only do so if we know there will not be any harm that may be inflicted on us.
Hosting evildoers would be following a general principle of Fiqh which allows us to tolerate a minor harm (e.g. allowing an evildoer to stay with us) in order to attain a major benefit (e.g. influencing him into becoming a good Muslim)
Conclusion
This hadith teaches us the proper manners pertaining to speech and entertaining guests. Following the advice given by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, will lead to a more peaceful life and harmonious Islamic society in this life, and attaining the pleasure of Allah in the Hereafter.
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More on this Hadith can be found at: