gt8145a@prism.gatech.edu (FADEL,AYMAN HOSSAM) (04/11/91)
ACTIONS WHICH REFLECT LOVE FOR THE SAKE OF GOD IN THE LIFE OF THE
BELIEVER
1. Respect for ahl al-bayt (the people of the Messenger's household). It is
agreed that `abd allaah ibn `umar reported that abu bakr al-Siddiiq radiy
allahu `anhum said: Honor muHammad salla allahu alayhi wa sallam by
honoring ahl al-bayt.
And God jalla jalaalu said in the Qur'aan: wa man yu`aZZim sha`aa'iri
allaahi fa 'innahaa min taqwaa al-quluub (my translation : "As for
whoever respects the symbols of God, that is indeed part of the heart's
God-consciousness.")
2. Greeting each other.
Muslim reported that Abu Hurayra radiy allahu `anh said: God's messenger
alayhi ssalaam said: By the One whom my soul is in His hands, you won't
enter paradise until you believe, and you won't believe until you love each
other. Do you want me to guide you to something which would cause you to
love each other if you did it? Spread greetings among yourselves. ('afshuu
al-salaama baynakum)
sa`iid ibn al-`aaS said: "My companion in the majlis can expect three
obligations from me: When he comes near, I welcome him. When he
speaks, I lean closer to him. And when he sits, I make room for him."
3. Telling your brother that you love him.
Al-tirmidhi and Abu Dawuud reported that Abu Kariima al-miqdaad radiy
allahu `anh said: The prophet alayhi assalaam said: "If a man loves his
brother, he should tell him that he loves him."
4. Smiling at each other.
al-faDiil said "Looking into the face of a brother with love and mercy is a
worship."
5. Active inquiry about your brother's circumstances.
`aTaa' said: Ask about your brothers' circumstances if they are absent
from your regular meeting place three consecutive occasions. If they are
sick, then visit them. If they are busy, then help them. If they had
forgotten, then remind them.
ibn `abbaas radiy allahu `anhuma said: No man has ever been absent from
three consecutive occasions unless he needs me, so I try to find out what
he needs.
[By knowing your brothers' needs, you can spare them from having to come
ask you for help.]
6. Avoidance of saying anything which upsets your friend or shames him.
The only exception is advising him politely and privately in matters of
religion. Even if he continues to commit acts of disobedience, it is best
not to break off your relations with him completely. It is said: "You
should find 70 excuses for your friend, and if your heart does not accept
them, then blame yourself and say to your heart: How cruel you are!"
ibn al-mubaarak said: "The believer asks for excuses and the hypocrite
looks for faults."
al-faDiil said, "al-futuwwa al-`afwu `an zallaati al-'ikhwaan" "Being a
righteous brother means forgiving the slips of your brothers."
7. Concealing your friends' vices and praising your friends' virtues.
God's messenger alayhi assalaam said: "Whoever hides the defects of his
brother, God will protect him in this life and the next."
Even if something said about your friend at a gathering is true, it is better
to lie and defend him than to let such a statement pass without comment.
God's messenger alayhi assalaam said: "Ask God's help from the bad
neighbor, who if he sees a good thing hides it and if he sees a bad thing
reveals it."
It is said, "al-badhaa'u wal-bayaanu sha`bataani min al-nifaaq." (Bad
manners and revealing faults are two signs of hypocrisy.)
8. Making du`aa' (supplications) for your friends.
9. Behaving in a way that makes your friends relaxed in your presence
10. Bidding farewell to your friends when they travel
`abd allaah ibn `umar radiy allahu ta`aala `anhuma would say to a man who
was about to leave on a journey: Come closer so I can bid you farewell
like God's messenger used to bid us farewell: "I trust to God your religion,
your trusts ('amaanaat) and the consequences of your actions."
11. Walking with your friend as long as possible after he visits your
house.
al-Husayn said: "Whoever walks a brother in God to his house, God will
send angels to walk him to paradise on the Day of Judgement."
12. Visiting your brothers when they are ill and feeding the hungry.
abu hurayra said: The messenger salla allahu alayhi wa sallam said:
"Whoever visits a sick person or visits a brother for the sake of God, a
caller will call to him: 'May you be refreshed and may your reward be
great, and be hopeful of settling into a house in paradise."
abu hurayra also reported that al-muSTafaa alayhi assalatu wassalaam
said: God `azza wa jall will say on the Day of Judgement, "O son of Adam, I
fell ill but you did not visit me. So he will reply: "My Lord, how could I
have visited you when your are rabb al-`aalamiin (Lord of all the worlds)?"
God will reply: "Did you not know that my servant so-and-so fell ill and
yet you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him
you would have found me there? Son of Adam, I asked you to feed me but
you did not." The man will reply, "But my Lord, how could I have fed you
when you are rabb al-`aalamiin?" God will reply: "Did not my servant so-
and-so ask you to feed him but you did not. If you had you would have
found your reward here with me. O Son of Adam, I asked you to give me
something to drink, but you didn't." The man will reply, "But my Lord, how
could I have given you something to drink when you are rabb al-`aalamiin?"
God will respond, "My servant so-and-so asked you for a drink, but you did
not give him anything. Did you not know that if you had done so you would
have found your reward with me?"
13. Visiting your brothers without any occasion at all
Muslim reported that Abu hurayra radiy allahu `anh said: God's messenger
alayhi ssalaam said: A man went to visit a brother in religion in another
town, so God sent an angel on his path to observe him. The angel said:
Where are you going? The man replied: I'm going to visit a brother in that
town. The angel said: "Do you have any interest (maSlaHa) there that you
are going to take care of?" The man said: "No, except that I loved him for
the sake of God." So the angel said, "I'm God's messenger to you (with the
message) that God loves you just as you have loved for his sake."
14. Honoring the friends of your parents and your family
Muslim reported that `abd allaah ibn `umar radiy allahu `anhuma said:
God's messenger alayhi ssalaam said: The most righteous of righteousness
('abarru al-birr) is that a man should continue his father's friendships."
`abd allah ibn diinaar radiy allahu 'anh said: A bedouin met ibn `umar on
the road to Mekka, so Ibn `Umar greeted him and made him ride a donkey he
was riding and gave him a turban he was wearing. We said to Ibn `umar:
"May God be good to you! They're bedouins, and they are content with just
a little." So ibn 'umar said: This man's father was a friend of my father,
and I heard God's messenger say: "The most righteous of righteousness is
for a man to continue his father's friendships."
Abu daawuud reported that abu 'usayd maalik ibn rabii`a said: While we
were sitting with God's messenger alayhi ssalaam, a man from banu
sakama came and said: "O messenger of God, is there any righteous thing I
can do for my parents after their death?" The prophet alayhi ssalaam said:
"Yes. Pray for God to bless them, ask God to forgive them, execute their
contracts, keep contact with their relatives, and honor their friends."
Both Muslim and al-bukhaari reported that `aa'isha radiy allahu anha said
that the messenger of God alayhi ssalam used to slaughter sheep and give
Khadiija's friends whatever sufficed them.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BROTHERLY RELATIONS CANNOT BE OVERSTRESSED
al-Husayn said: "Our brothers are more beloved to us than our families and
our children, because our families remind us of this world and our
brothers remind us of the next."