All praise is to Allah many times. My success, my perseverance and my trust is only through Allah. I depend on him and to him I return. I praise him many praises that is suitable for the amount of blessing he has bestowed upon us. I praise him enough times that is suitable for him to keep away from us his trials and hardships. I bear witness that there is nobody worthy of worship except God Almighty alone, He has no partner, to Him is all praises, He gives life and takes it away and he is capable of everything and anything. I also bear witness that our master, our interceder, our beloved, Mohammad, God’s servant, messenger, the best of His creation and His friend. He delivered the message, preformed the trust, removed sorrow, he gave advice to the Ummah (community) until his last days. He left us on the white straight path, its night like its day, only those who destroyed deviate from it. May God’s peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family, his friends and those follow their way until the Day of Judgment. May God’s blessings be upon us and them.
O Muslims, I advise you and myself to be God-conscious, for it is the cause of happiness, success and the way of victory. Allah Almighty says: “O you who believe! Be God-conscious as he deserves, and do not die except in the state of Submission” (3:102) Oh Muslims, in modern days, the waves of trials and tribulations constantly hit the Muslim community. The evils of division surround Muslims while Satan and his soldiers work to keep our lines separated. The greatest trial that Satan puts between the servants of God is that he provokes trouble between them. The word provocation has been mentioned by the Prophet, pbuh, when he said: “Satan has become desperate in his quest to get praying believers in the Arabian peninsula to worship him, so he has decided to cause provocation between them” Narrated by Muslim and Atrmathi. Indeed, Satan will put in all effort possible to put the causes of animosity between Muslims. He is happy when the unity of Muslims is dissolved and hatred becomes commonplace in their community.
There is a scenario where a Muslim will come forward on the day of Judgment bankrupt. A hadith has been narrated by Abi Horaira that the Messenger of God, pbuh, has said: “Are you familiar with the bankrupt?” People around him said: “The bankrupt is he/she who have no money and no possessions.” The Messenger said: “The bankrupt is he/she who comes forward on the Day of Judgment with prayers, fasting, charity, but he/she had cursed such and such, slandered such and such, took unlawfully from such and such, spilled the blood of such and such and hit such and such. All of these people are given from his/her rewards until they are exhausted, in which case he/she is given from their sins instead. At that point, he/she is judged and thrown in the hellfire” So what prohibits Muslims today to commit to a lifestyle that purifies the heart and through it spreads the principles of love and affection in our communities? It is incumbent upon us today to review the Islamic lifestyle that has worked to seed the causes of love and brotherhood and sisterhood between Muslims. Allah Almighty says: “The Believers are but a single Brotherhood” (49:10) and our Prophet, pbuh, says, “Be servants of God as brothers and sisters” This is because these great values leads the Islamic society to every goodness and provides them all benefits. For this, the wise say: “For all people, if they love each other, they keep in touch, and if they keep in touch, they cooperate, and if they cooperate they work together, and if they work together they build and if they build, their lives are blessed and lengthened.”
So in this regards, during the time of the greatest and most successful state, God Almighty says regarding Alansar in their interactions with the Muhajirin: “But those who before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith,- show their affection to such as came to them for refuge, and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to them but give them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their own lot.” (59:9) From this perspective, our Prophet, pbuh, has addressed an eternal message to this community where he says, “Do not be envious, do not hate, do not backbite, but rather be servants of God as brothers and sister. The Muslims is the brother of another Muslim. He does not oppress him. He does not disappoint him and he does not despise him. Everything of one Muslims is prohibited from the other, his blood, his possessions and his reputation and honor.” This hadith is narrated by multiple scholars. O people of Islam, we must strive to live in our societies and preform our daily activities in the shade of this great curriculum. The bond that bonds the Muslim to his/her brethren is one of the greatest bonds. The Beloved, pbuh, says, “The believer to another believer is like a wall, one holds the other in place” and he crossed his fingers like this, as narrated by multiple scholars.
Brothers and sisters of Islam, in the shade of the curriculum and lifestyle of the Best of Creation, one must live by great characteristics and great values, full of great meanings. It’s important for a Muslim to live in his society loving his/her brothers and sisters, loving for them what he/she loves for him/herself, hating for them what he/she hates for him/herself. The Messenger, pbuh, says, “One of you is not a full believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself “ Narrated by multiple scholars. The Prophet, pbuh, says addressing his community with this great eternal document: “My Ummah has been created so that its best times are its beginning times. During the end of its times, it will be faced with trials and things that are disliked, a great tribulation will come and divide it…so whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him/her do unto people what he/she would like done unto them.” Narrated by Ashekhan.
With these great meanings and high values, our beloved Messenger, pbuh, describes what our community should be like. He said: “Muslims in their love, mercy and compassion are like one body, if one organ complains anywhere on the body, the whole body stays up in a fever” as narrated by multiple scholars.The Prophet also said: “Whoever is there for their brother or sister, God was there for them, and whoever helps them during a hardship, God removes a hardship of theirs on the Day of Judgment and whoever covers up the sins of his/her brother or sister, God covers up his/her sins on the Day of Judgment.” Narrated by multiple scholars. An important Prophetic fundamental rule is stay away from envy and hatred in our Muslim community, and to prohibit harmful behavior. God Almighty says: “And those who harm believing men and believing women undeservedly, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin.” (33:58) Our Prophet, pbuh, also said, “Do not be envious, do not hate, do not slander, do not sell over somebody else’s sale, but be the Servants of God as brothers. The Muslim is the brother/sister of another. He/she does not oppress, disappoint, despise. It is evil for a Muslim to hate another. All of one Muslim is prohibit to another, their blood, money and their reputation and honor.” Narrated by Muslim. The Messenger also said, “No harm to people or yourselves.” And in another narrated by Ashaikhan “The Muslim is he or she that protects the community from his/her own tongue and hands” So let us watch our tongues before it becomes the cause for punishment in the hellfire in the hereafter.
So let us all be committed to these values and characteristics, so that our community can be one that love and mercy prevails. At that point, the community lives a good blessed life. Allah Almighty says: “The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise.” (9:71). And our Prophet, pbuh, says: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. So can I point you to something that if you did it, you will love each other? Spread greetings (Salams) between yourselves.” Narrated by Muslim. I say these words and I seek refuge in Allah for myself, for you, for my parents and for the all the Muslims.
Originally Composed by: Sheikh Watheq | Translated by: Ehab T
