The basis of Muslim brotherhood is the belief in One God,
Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the last Prophet of Allah, belief in the last
Divine Message of Allah-The Noble Qur’an, and Ka’baa towards which all Muslims turn
their faces while praying in any part of the world. Ka’baa is the visual center
of gravity for the Muslim Ummah. The Noble Qur’an and the Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) has emphasized that all Muslims are brothers of each other.
Brotherhood in the
Noble Qur’an:
“Believers are each
other’s brothers. Restore peace among your brothers. Have fear of Allah so that
perhaps you will receive mercy.” (49:10)
“All of you must hold
fast to the rope of Allah (the Qur’an and His Messenger), and recall how He
favored you when your hostility towards each other had torn you apart. He
united your hearts in one faith and through His Grace you became brothers.”
(3:103)
“If they repent,
perform their prayers, and pay religious tax, they will be your brothers in the
religion.” (9:11 )
“Those who migrated
later (to Madinah) say, “Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in
the faith, and clear our hearts of any ill will against the believers. Lord,
you are Compassionate and All-Merciful.” (59:10)
“People, We have
created you all male and female and have made you nations and tribes so that
you would recognize each other. The most honorable among you in the sight of
Allah is the most pious of you. Allah is All-Knowing and All-Aware.” (49:13)
Brotherhood of
Prophets with their people:
Allah has referred certain Prophets as the brother of their
people e.g.:
“We sent Hud to his
brethren, the tribe of A’ad, who told them, “My people, worship Allah for He is
your only Lord. Will you not become pious?” (7:65)
“We sent Salih to his
brethren, the tribe of Thamud, who told them, “My people, worship Allah your
only Lord…..” (7:73)
“We sent to the
people of Madyan their brother Shu’ayb, who also told his people to worship,
their only Lord….” (7:85)
After Migration (Hijrat) to Madinah, the Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) performed the first social decree. He made two groups of people,
Ansaar-means helpers who were the residents of Madinah, and Muhajir- who were
the migrants from Makkah. He called one person from Ansar and one from Muhajir
and established brotherhood between them. The Ansar helped the Muhajir in every possible way, even shared their wealth.
When this brotherhood process was completed, Imam Ali (a.s.) was left out. When
he (a.s.) pointed out, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied: “O Ali! You are my
brother in this world as well as in the hereafter.”
Moral Rights of
Brotherhood:
“Believers, let not a
group of you mock another. Perhaps they are better than you. Let not women mock
each other; perhaps one is better than the other. Let not one of you find
faults in another nor let any one of you defame another. How terrible is the
defamation after having true faith. Those who did not repent are certainly
unjust.”
Surah al-Hujara’t
Ayah 11
“Believers, stay away
from conjecture; acting upon some conjecture may lead to sin. Do not spy on one
another or back-bite. Would any one of you like to eat the disgusting dead
flesh of your brother? Have fear of Allah; Allah accepts repentance and is
All-Merciful.” Surah al-Hujarat Ayah 12
Traditions regarding
Brotherhood:
The Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) said: “O Ali! The most commendable deeds are: Being just to the
people even against your self, cooperation and material help to Muslim
brothers, and remembrance of Allah in all circumstances.” “One, who starts his
day without caring about the affairs of the Muslims, is not a Muslim.” (al-Kafi)
Commander of the
Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Helping the brothers-in-Allah (fellow Muslims)
increases sustenance.” (al-Khisal)
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq
(a.s.) said: “Seek nearness to Almighty Allah through helping your Muslim
brothers.” (al-Khisal)
“The best among you
are those who are generous and the worst are the misers; one of the most
desired deeds is to do good to Muslim brethren and try to fulfill their needs.
This deed weakens Shaitaan, safeguards against the fire of Hell and leads one
to Paradise .”
(al-Amali)
In order to attain unity and enjoy the fruits of
brotherhood, one should ponder on the huge areas of commonality and ignore the
very minute differences and disagreements.
As mentioned in the beginning, whoever believes in Unity of
Allah, prophet hood of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), accepts the Noble Qur’an as the
last Divine Message, prostrate towards Holy Ka’baa while praying from any part
of the world and believes in the Day of Resurrection, is part of the “Muslim
Ummah”.
Efforts to unite the
two major Muslim sects:
Muhammad Jawad Chirri, a renowned Muslim scholar from Dearborn ,
U.S.A. Cairo ,
Egypt Al-Azhar University July 1, 1959
and asked his opinion about different schools of thought and requested him to
issue a “Declaration”. Accordingly,
he issued a declaration in which he categorically asserted:
“Islam does not
command any of its followers to follow a particular Madhab and one can change to
another Madhab. Apart from the Four Sunni Schools of thought, Athna Ashari Shia
Madhab is a sound Madhab. The Muslims ought to know this and get rid of their
undue bigotry for particular Madhab.”
For details of the declaration, please refer to “Inquiries about Islam” by Muhammad Jawad Chirri.
Ayatullah al-Uzma Imam
Khomeni always fought for the Muslims as a whole. He even issued the famous
fatwa wherein Salman Rushdi was
declared to be killed as he had desecrated
the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and his wives.
Muslim history is a testimony to the fact that always gulf
was created between different sects of Islam to weaken them!
We must always remember “United
We Stand, Divided We Fall”
References:
The Noble Qur’an
Islam: Faith, Practice and History by S.M.Rizvi
Fraternity and Co-operation in Islam by WOFIS
Inquiries about Islam by
Muhammad Jawad Chirri
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