The Four Commandments of Muslim Brotherhood (Hadith No. 2119)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 43, Number 622:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection . “

This hadith has four parts. Let’s discuss each one separately and evaluate ourselves.

“A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor.”

What to say? Be it on an individual level or as an ummah, we have terribly failed. We oppress our Muslim brothers – we treat each other badly, we backbite, we slander, we fight, we pull legs, we abuse, we harass, we bully, we judge and misjudge, we cheat, we deceive, we practice all kinds of oppression.. on our own brothers and sisters in Islam! We are merciless. Then why should we expect Allah to show mercy to us?

And let’s not even go to the Muslim governments and leaders. If a fellow Muslim country is in need, we’d rather stay in our comfort zone than to reach out to them. Hand them over to the oppressors and not bat an eye over how they treat our Muslim brothers and sisters. Let’s stay out of it, shall we?

“Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs.”

Now this sounds easy but the practical test gets very hard. You have a tough exam lined up and you’re busy preparing for it when your brother walks in and requests you to help him with his science project etc. How do you react?

If at that point, you remember this promise of Allah, you wouldn’t let that opportunity go.

“Whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection.”

And what more do you need? A believer trembles with fear when he thinks about the horrors of the Day of Judgement. You know you won’t be able to bear the humiliation and torture of that day. Now if only there was a way you could make sure that you’re saved from it all. If only..

Do I have to spell it out? Oh wait, I already did!

“Whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection.”

Next time you feel like adding to the juicy gossip about how your aunt’s sister’s daughter’s friend did such and such when he parents were away, remember your own faults and weaknesses. And remember how badly you’ll be needing Allah to hide your sins on the Day of Judgement, when it won’t only be your Facebook friend-list that’ll be witnessing your embarrassing secrets, it’ll be the whole world – first human till the last. Enough said.

More on the rights of a Muslim over another here.

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