from Al-Haadi

Amongst the highly emphasised teachings of Islam is to love every Muslim for the sake of Allah Ta`ala. Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) emphatically stressed this lesson when he said: “None of you is a believer until he loves for his brother (his fellow Muslims) what he loves for himself.” (Sahih Muslim)

The message is clear: The person who does not love for his brother what he loves for himself is not worthy of the title of Mu’min (Believer), though his Imaan itself is not negated by this serious deficiency in his life.

What does it really mean to love for others what one loves for oneself? There are two meanings to this hadith.

Firstly, one should treat others in the same manner that one would like to be treated. For instance, every person loves that he should be treated with respect and honour. He does not like to be mocked or ridiculed, or want anyone to harm his life, dignity and belongings. He should therefore treat others in the same manner. He should not harm anyone in any way or desire any ill for anyone.

The second aspect that applies is the following: If you were in the next person’s situation, what would you have desired for yourself. For instance a fellow Muslim is a trader. If you were the trader in his place, what would you have desired for yourself? Surely you would have earnestly wished that your business prospers and is protected from all harm, that it becomes the means of earning the good of this world and the Hereafter, etc. You should now love the same for your fellow Muslim trader. Think in a similar manner with regard to every other person, whoever he may be. What good you would have desired for yourself had you been in his shoes, desire the same for him.

If every Muslim adopts only this one concise teaching of Deen, most of the problems between people would be resolved. Malice, jealousy backbiting, revenge and a host of other social evils will be eliminated. Love and brotherhood will prevail.

We should therefore endeavour to bring this Hadith alive. Wish for the good of every Muslim. Daily make dua for every Believer. If you find yourself not wishing good for any Muslim, especially make dua for him that Allah Ta’ala should grant him the best of both worlds and save him from every difficulty and hardship. Insha Allah this will remove the ill-feeling and generate love. One will then become worthy of the title of “Mu’min”.

Shaykh ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

“You cannot live alone. Do not live alone, as the wolf eats up the lone sheep, and Satan is close to the one who is alone and is farther from two who are together. So, if you live somewhere, live with at least one other person, and this one person should be righteous.

Friends are like a row of connected test tubes: if liquid overflows in one tube, the excess flows into the other tubes until there is an equal amount of liquid in all the tubes. Likewise, if you live with corrupt people, they will take away many of your good deeds, and you will decrease and decrease and decrease until you are all equal in status. You will definitely end up like these interconnected test tubes. A group of friends are all like each other, and the longer the friendship lasts, the closer the character and manners of each person in the group will be to the others. Do not believe that a good person can live for long with a corrupt person, unless the corrupt person improves and follows the example of the good person.

This is why you should look for the good people, and a friend is like a chain: he will either drag you into Paradise or drag you into Hell. He will either cause you problems or he will help you solve your problems…

After this, work on guarding your tongue, because most of the torture in Hell is because of the tongue: “And will people be dragged on their faces into Hell because of anything other than what their tongues have brought forth?”

After this, work on making good use of your time. Do not waste your time. Always try to bring about some benefit from your social gatherings. So, if you see people talking about food, drink, telling jokes, etc., tell them: ‘Guys, I read a story today to tell you about something that happened in Syria, or something that the Afghans did,’ or say: ‘What do you think about this hadith? I read the tafsir of this verse to tell you about,’ etc. Benefit them in this gathering, and occupy them with something that will benefit them. Sit down together and read the Qur’an, read the biographies of the Prophet and the Companions, a simple explanation of the Qur’an such as ‘Tafsir al-Jalalayn’ – a simple, general explanation – and read a simple book of Fiqh, especially regarding how to pray. Read the entire section on how to pray, such as ‘Fiqh as-Sunnah.’ Read in detail how to make wudu’, because it doesn’t make sense to sit for thirty years not knowing the proper way of making wudu’, performing prayer, etc. – you pray while not knowing the fundamentals of the prayer and wudu’, and you do not know the details of optional fasting, etc. So, do all of this combined with good friends and a pure, truthful intention.

And stay away from women (and likewise, women should apply the same for men), as this is the source of all tribulation for those at your age, and in fact for those at any age. Stay from women who are forbidden for you. It is an obligation for you to stay away from them. Of course, all of the women in this land are forbidden for you. It is forbidden for you to look at them, it is forbidden for you to sit with them, it is forbidden for you to chat with them, and it is forbidden for you to be alone with them. The heart cannot bear these things because the glance is one of Iblis’s poisonous arrows. Whoever lowers his gaze from what Allah has forbidden will be given a sweetness by Allah that he will feel in his heart. But to look, to continue looking, and to allow this arrow to strike you in the heart – not just an arrow, but a poisonous arrow that poisons your heart – to let an arrow strike you day after day after day, this will make your heart weak and unable to face the problems of life. This is why you find a person who is drowning in desires to be weak-hearted…As for the heart of the believer, his heart is strong and he isn’t affected by anything. His heart is strenghtened by worship, and therefore does not become scared or shaky. As for the heart of the sinner, you see it shaking. Why? Because the arrows have killed him just like someone who has an ulcer in his stomach and cannot eat because of it.

Work for Allah and stick together, and the more you work for Allah, the more your souls will become strong and rise, and you will ascend rapidly upon the path of those who are ascending towards Allah. I advise you to recite the Qur’an everyday, because the Qur’an is like water for a plant. It is the life of the heart, and the water and life for the heart is the Qur’an…”

['at-Tarbiyah al-Jihadiyyah wal-Bina''; 5/35-36]

from the Ignored Puzzle Pieces

This story has been narrated by many scholars, including Anwar Al Alwaki, below is a good summary of this famous story.

If you were to travel through the barren dunes of Arabia, you could be forgiven for thinking that the average Bedouin is a very simple person. After all, the harsh Arabian Desert, the difficult camels of Arabia, the tough unforgiving desert – where could the Bedouin find poetry and inspiration? Rather, for inspiration, one would need to go to the most beautiful of sceneries, just like the English poets used to do when they used to go to the Lake District in northern UK.

Yet in my travels through Arabia, I have found the Arabian Desert to have parables and examples that bewilder the mind. One such parable was from a wise old man who used to sell the miswak in the gates of the Prophet’s mosque. At a time when America was bombing Afghanistan, I and a couple of friends came up to the man and wanted to buy some miswak. Whilst we were looking over the miswak, one of us mentioned the indiscriminate bombing and the human cost of the war. At that point, the old man looked at us and said: “Let me tell you the story of the three bulls.” What he was to tell us, was a parable I have not forgotten till today.

“There was once three bulls – a red bull, a white and a black one. When they were all together, they were very strong and the lions could not eat them. So one day, a lion came and told the black and red bull – if you help me eat the white bull, I will let you go. After a lot of deliberation, the red and black bulls agreed. So the red and black bulls looked on whilst the lion killed and ate the white bull. Many months later, the lion came to the black bull and said – if you help me eat the red bull, I will let you go. Without daring to hesitate, the black bull agreed to the proposition. So the lion came and ate the red bull whilst the black bull looked on. Many months later, the lion was hungry again. Now there was nothing but the black bull left. As the black bull looked on whilst the lion pounced on him and as he was choking and dying – with his last breath, the black bull said: Truly, I was killed the day the white bull was killed.” With that, we gazed into the man’s eyes lost in thought from the wisdom of his speech.

If we Muslims continue to deny our brotherhood, continue overlooking the plight of our brothers and sisters around the world, continue with our own life being oblivious to the problems facing them, continue to spy and cheat and harm – then know that our fate will have been sealed already.

If you were to ask me, which of the three bulls do I most sympathize with? I would have to reply: the black one. Truly the one, who Allah had mercy on, was the first bull who died a death free of guilt. However, the black bull lived a life of guilt and sorrow that was worse than death itself.

I pity our brothers and sisters who harm the Muslims and are not moved at their plight. How miserable their lives must be! A life that is devoid of tasting the sweetness of emaan and devoid of love that is in the Islamic brotherhood is truly a miserable life. If only they knew how rewarding it is to help the Muslims, how good it feels to hear a person thank you and make dua for you, how great it feels to see a smile on your brother and sister. What a wonderful feeling and how pitiful are those who deny themselves this blessing.

“And those who before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their hearts for that which they have been given, and prefer (their brothers) over themselves, even though they were in severe need. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, then such are the successful.” [59:9]

Source: AlKauthar Institute