Nawawi Hadith #35- Evil acts that spoil brotherhood Do not be envious of one another. . . On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said, Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially raise prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not turn ones back on each other; and do not undercut one another in business transactions. And be, [O] servants of Allah, brethren. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him. He does not fail him [when he needs him]. He does not lie to him. And he does not show contempt for him. Piety is here- and he pointed to his chest three times. It is enough of evil for a person to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All of a Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honor. [Muslim] Points Related to This Hadith -Al-Qaasimi and Abdul Maalik al-Qaasim state that it is permissible to wish that another person loses a bounty if that other person is using that bounty for evil or malicious purposes. In this case, one is not disliking that the other person received a bounty but one is simply disliking the way the bounty is being used. Hence, there is nothing wrong with disliking what the disbelievers1 and evildoers possess when they use those bounties in the wrong way. -In reality, those who should be the least envious among themselves are the workers for the sake of Islam-- but, unfortunately, many times they are the most envious and spiteful. They should be the least envious because, they claim, they are all working for the same purpose: the pleasure of Allah and the support of His religion in this world. Allah has enough pleasure and bounty for all of them. If they are all working for the same purpose, it is like, to use a modern-day metaphor, they are all on the same team. They should each want the team to win and not worry so much about individual statistics. The better the team does, the happier everyone should be. Therefore, if the plight of Muslims and Islam is improved anywhere, all Muslim workers should be happy about that whether or not it was they themselves or their organization or group that brought about that good result. However, such only occurs when they clean their hearts of any other intentions and work not for their own group or party but solely for the sake of Allah. Then, whatever pleases Allah, they are happy with, even if it came at the hands of some other Muslim workers. And whatever displeases Allah, they are unhappy with, even if it came at the hands of their own group or party. -One of the ways by which hatred toward another brother may be removed from ones heart is by concentrating on the good deeds and kind acts that the brother has performed. When one thinks about those things, the minor agitating acts that he did will soon be forgotten. The feelings ofrancor and animosity in the heart will soon be replaced, Allah willing, by feelings of friendship and brotherhood. -If a scholar is qualified to make ijtihaad and, in doing so, comes to a conclusion which is different from another scholars, then, as long as his conclusion has some basis and is not obviously against the Quran and sunnah, he should not be hated due to his honest conclusion. If he is hated due to his conclusion, then that hatred cannot be considered hatred for the sake of Allah. The scholar has the right to make his own ijtihaad. One cannot force his ijtihaad upon others. He cannot be hated because he has not committed any sin. Allah willing, he will be rewarded for his efforts even if he were wrong. However, his opinion may be opposed in a polite and respectful manner. -Sometimes one brother is asked about another brother, for the purpose of marriage, business or for some other aspect. The brother who is being questioned knows that the prospective brother is not qualified or is not a good candidate. However, he feels that if he says anything bad about the brother, he will be backbiting and doing something against the brotherhood of Islam. He fails to realize that by not stating the truth about the brother, someone is bound to get hurt. Hence, he must state the truth if he feels that the brother is not qualified. The Prophet (peace be upon him) set an example in this matter. Fatimah bint Qais was proposed to by Abu Jahm and Muawiya. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told her about one that he beat women and about the other that he is poor and has no wealth. Hence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) even suggested a third person for her to marry. This is part of the sincere advice toward one another and it does not violate the principles of brotherhood in Islam. -Auctions are allowed in Islam and do not violate the principles mentioned in this hadith. This hadith is specifically referring to cases where there is an agreement between the buyer and the seller, and then a third party interferes with that agreement. However, in the case of auctions, there is no agreement and the seller has not accepted anyones offer. Al-Bukhari has a chapter in his Sahih demonstrating that auction-type sales are permissible in Islam. -Throughout the Muslim world today, one might find the beautiful principles taught in this hadith violated virtually on a daily basis. There may be some Muslims who cheat each other in business. Some Muslims even lie to each other. Other Muslims might even be prejudice against each other and look down upon one another. Sometimes Muslims do not show any respect to each other; indeed, it is as if some of them sometimes do not have any self-respect. Perhaps, Allah knows best, this hadith points to two very important aspects that may remove this phenomenon. The first aspect is that every Muslim must realize that he is a slave and servant of Allah. This is the most honorable position a human can achieve. Indeed, this is the very purpose for which he was created. As Allah has said, I have created not jinn and mankind except for them to worship and serve Me (al-Dhaariyaat 56). When a person realizes this fact, this should give him self-respect for the sake of Allah. A person with such self-respect would find many deeds to be beneath him and unbecoming of his status as a servant of Allah. He would not be willing to lie or cheat. He could not look down upon others or violate their rights as all of those deeds are not worthy of a person who i s a true servant of Allah. The second aspect, then, is to realize that all the Muslims around him are also servants of Allah and his brothers for the sake of Allah. If they are his brothers for the sake of Allah, how could he then cheat them, lie to them, be prejudiced against them and so forth. This one phrase in the middle of this hadith, And be, [O] servants of Allah, brethren could have far-reaching implications indeed, it could change the entire nature of the Muslim societies of today if it were simply understood properly and applied properly. And Allah knows best. -Brotherhood is not simply a matter of putting twenty dollars in a box for some Muslims in a far away place. Brotherhood has much more to do with the day to day activities between individual Muslims. To be a true brother to someone one sees everyday may be a much more difficult task than simply helping far away Muslims with a once-in-a-while financial contribution. How one deals with his brothers who are close to him may be the true test of brotherhood. -A Muslim should never want to take advantage of his brother. He should not intentionally do wrong to his brother and then say, He is my brother, he wont mind. He should not do this because this is not a brotherly way to act. A brother does not take advantage of his brothers kindness. Instead, he will do his best never to put his brother in a position where the latter will have to overlook or forgive his actions. -A Muslim should not lie in general but especially not to his Muslim brother. In modem times, many of the Muslims who are active in the area of dawah and Islamic work have become very lax on this point. They are very quick to lie on behalfoftheir Islamic organization or movement. They justify their actions by claiming that this is best for the bigger picture of Islam. Unfortunately, though, when a person gets into a lying mode, it becomes easy for him to lie on a regular basis and in cases where there was no need to lie. Furthermore, lies have a tendency to get bigger and bigger, as a person has to cover up his earlier smaller lies with bigger lies. The end result is usually disastrous. After some time, the lies begin to be exposed and become clear to everyone. When the people see that these lies were all perpetrated in the name of the bigger picture of Islam, it is the Islamic movement itself that is sometimes hurt the worst. Hence, in the long-run, it is very damaging for Islam as a whole. Instead of resorting to such practices and allowing them to get out of hand, the Muslims should remember these words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this hadith: a Muslim does not lie to his brother. A Muslim may deceive the enemy in a battlefield. But his brother Muslim who is not part of his organization or movement, for example, is not the same as his enemy in the battlefield. In general, there is no Islamic justification for lying to such a Muslim and, in the long run, those lies usually end up having disastrous results when they are finally exposed. -A man said to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Consider the elderly Muslims like a father, their young like [your] children and those in the middle like [your] brethren. Which ofthose would you like to harm? -Yahya ibn Muaadh al-Raazi once said, Let the believer get one of three things from you: If you do not benefit him, at least do not harm him; if you do not make himjoyful, at least do not make him grieve; and ifyou do not praise him, at least do not criticize him. -This hadith discusses many of the diseases of the heart. These diseases can be very damaging. Indeed, they can lead a person to leaving the fold of Islam. Abdul Maalik al-Qaasim points out that the pillars or roots of kufr (disbelief) are four: kibr (pride and arrogance), hasad (envy), baghdhaa (hatred) and shahwah (desires, passions). The Prophet (peace be upon him), directly or indirectly, touched upon three of these in this hadith. Kibr keeps one from submitting to the truth, even if the person recognizes it as true. Hasad keeps one from accepting advice and guidance from others because the person does not want to accept the fact that others might have something that he does not. Hatred keeps one being just and following the truth wherever it may be. Summary of the Hadith -Muslims are all servants of Allah and they must look at each other and actually treat each other like brothers. This brotherhood is not something that merely exists on the lips but it must actually be put into practice in everyday living. This is partially accomplished by adhering to the following teachings that have come from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in this hadith: ( 1 ) The Muslim brothers should not be envious of one another. (2) They should not hurt each other financially by artificially raising prices against each other or undercutting sales that have already been concluded. (3) They should not hate each other and, consequently, they should avoid all of those acts that could gender hatred among brothers. (4) They should not tum away from each other and avoid one another. Instead, when they see each other they should greet each other with the greetings of peace and with a smiling face. (5) A brother should not commit any type of dhulm with respect to his brother. (6) A true brother is the one who comes to his brothers assistance and does not abandon him in his hour ofneed. (7) True brothers do not lie to each other. Instead, they are honest and straightforward with one another. (8) A true brother sees his brother as his equal- or he sees his brother as being superior to himself. He would never be so arrogant as to look down on his brother or despise his brother. -The true estimate of a persons worth is his taqwa. It is not the outer manifestations of this world, such as wealth, position, lineage and so forth. But taqwa is in the heart and no one except Allah knows the level of a persons taqwa. No Muslim can know for certain that he has more taqwa than another Muslim. Therefore, no Muslim could ever know for certain that he is better than another Muslim. Since that is the case, there is no call for a Muslim ever to look down upon or show contempt for his brother Muslim. Indeed, this is a great evil. In fact, that by itself is a sufficient amount of evil for any one to carry. -All of a Muslim is inviolable to every other Muslim. In other words, every Muslim must treat every other Muslim with the proper amount of respect and good behavior. -In particular, one must realize that a Muslims blood is inviolable. One must avoid any illegal form of spilling of Muslim blood or physically injuring a Muslim. -Similarly, a Muslims wealth is also inviolable. One must respect the private property of his brother and should not use it unless it is known that his brother approves of that act. -Finally, one must also show utmost respect for his brothers honor. He must be careful of his tongue and never wrongfully harm the honor of his brother. [ commentary of the the forty Hadith of Nawawi by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo] May Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala grant us a Qalbin Saleem ( sound heart), protect us from the malicious acts of the enemy and the envious and guide us on the straight path. Aameen O Allah, unite our hearts and put right for us our mutual affairs. Guide us to the path of peace, release us from darkness to Your light, save us from obscene practices whether hidden or open. Bless us in our ears, eyes, hearts, wives and children and accept our repentance. Verily You are Most Forgiving Most Merciful. Make us thankful to You for Your favors that we may welcome it and be pleased to fulfill Your bounty upon us. Aameen
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:41:48 +0000
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