Brotherhood

Dear brothers, the need of a united ummah has always been a necessity, from the advent of Islam to the present day.

Allah SWT advises us of this in the Quran and the imam referenced this in today’s reminder through the 103^rd ayat of Sura Al-Imran which is translated to say:

And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.

Alongside this we have the Prophet SAWS having taught us this important point which is captured in many ahadith. One of which was mentioned today which is translated to say:

“None amongst you believes (truly) until he loves for his brother” – or he said “for his neighbour” – “that which he loves for himself.”

Dear brothers, we are in a time and a place where the focus is the opposite of what we were put here for. Whereas once the focus of man was on his Creator, his Afterlife and his Soul, the focus these days is on the Creation, this world and the Physical self.

This skewed focus has resulted in a competitive nature in which man competes with one another and the essence of brotherhood is lost. The Prophet SAWS warned us of this and the hadith on this is translated to say:

Beware of envy because envy consumes (destroys) the virtues just as the fire consumes the firewood.

Dear brothers, we should be supporting one another more than ever before. We should stand in the face of the norm of competing and trying to outdo one another. As the Prophet SAWS told us:

A faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the bricks of a wall, enforcing each other.” While (saying that) the Prophet (ﷺ) clasped his hands, by interlacing his fingers.

And so, we conclude today’s reminder with another priceless lesson taught to us by the Prophet SAWS. These 6 pieces of advice in themselves is both something that is pleasing to Allah SWT but alongside that, done with sincerity, it promotes brotherhood in one another.

1. If you greet one another, do so with salaam.
2. If you are invited, accept the invitation.
3. If you are asked for advice, give sincere advice.
4. If you hear a sneeze from your brother, say Yarharmuk Allah after he praises Allah
5. If you hear of a brother who is sick, pay him a visit
6. If you hear of a death, attend the funeral