In
Friendship, there are Provisions in the Path of Allah
Brotherhood for Allah, because of Allah is a great blessing and good
refreshing provision throughout the path of da’wah – reaching out.
Indeed Allah s.w.t. has bestowed this ni’mah – His Grace upon the mu’minin
– the believers, the faithful by His command towards unity without discord as
in Surah aali Imran: 103:
And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out
for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's
favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that
by His Grace, you became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire,
and He saved you from it. Thus does God make His Signs clear to you: That you
may be guided
This is a huge bounty and blessing which can never be bought by any
amount of wealth or world’s riches but all of it is realised and perfected only
due to Allah’s Grace and Will. Surah al
anfal: 63:
And (moreover) He has put
affection between their hearts: not if you had spent all that is in the earth,
could you have produced that affection, but God has done it: for He is Exalted
in might, Wise.
Indeed, the bond of aqidah Islamiyah is the strongest of all
bonds. Indeed people who live in the shade of love and brotherhood in Islam,
for Allah, because of Allah, will feel and enjoy true happiness, boundless
satisfaction, whereas all of these can never be felt by those who only value
life with temporal and limited worldly values. The community of the Muslim
brotherhood has experienced such happiness. They really feel a loss, loneliness
and sadness when one of them is away or get separated either due to conditions and
situations or forced by the events that unfold. So they coined a parable to
symbolise this closeness and camaraderie: Verily the environment of the
Muslim brotherhood enjoyed by its loyal members are like fish to water.
Because of the importance of brotherhood because of Allah, ukhuwwah-
brotherhood in Islam on the path of da’wah, culminated in the historic
kinship where the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. made the Muhajirin and the Ansar
as brothers, the greatest example, the highest in terms of love where each
person prefers his brother before himself.
Indeed, the greatest duty performed by the Messenger of Allah s.a.w.
to Muslims was to establish the Islamic aqidah (purity of faith), aqidah
tawhid (faith in the Unity of God) and to develop the Islamic state. In its
implementation requires the unity and bond of the community as a whole – the
ummah. The parties to Islam have sold themselves to Allah and have helped His
religion so that they became a single unified formation as if the perfect
constituted blocks of a building.
A Muslim does not walk down the road ever in peace and security, for
he has to tread paths full of thorns and spikes, slippery puddles and patches,
full of mischief and pitfalls. There lies awaiting are robbers and syaitan
– the devil, whether they be jin or man spying and eavesdropping at
every move. So the Muslim needs a guide to lead him, to show him, to hold him
up when he slips and to pull him away from danger, to give reminders when he
forgets and to help him when he is weak. This is truly from Allah s.w.t.: Surah al
asr 1-3:
By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),
Verily Man is in loss,
Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join
together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
Sometimes comes a time of laziness, carelessness, neglect, err or
tempted by the whispers of syaitan.
If left alone in such circumstances, he shall surely be washed away and carried
into destruction and doom. Indeed a wolf will attack the lone sheep which is
separated from its flock. A good friend shall never allow his brother to
surrender to the urgings of syaitan and let him flounder to do wrong,
but he will search and look out for him, call upon him, remind him, counsel
him, to help him fight against the temptations of syaitan and his own
selfish desires. This friendship is a great provision on the path of da’wah.
Indeed, a good friend is someone who always encourages us towards
the good and the righteous. When look at him, he reminds us of our faith to
Allah s.w.t. and our obedience to Him. On the other hand, a bad friend is
someone far from it, goading us towards evil and enjoining us to sin and
iniquity.
It is true what the Prophet s.a.w. said:
Indeed a good friend is like a seller of perfumes who sits in a
gathering together with us, even if we do not get anything from him, we still
get to smell to fragrance of the perfumes. And the example of a bad person
sitting with us in a gathering is like an ironsmith who even if we are not
touch by the sparks of fire but you will still feel the irritation of its
fumes.
Man is a reflection of his friend. He shall feel empty and useless
without him and he feels rejuvenated when he is around.
If the forces of evil men who devour wealth and dishonour others can
and are able to muster unity and choose their leadership, surely the supporters
of truth and the bearers of the message can unite. It is impossible for the
community to stand tall and be effective if they do not work hard to strengthen
their brotherhood and unity.
There is no piece of ivory without cracks. There is no person
without shortcomings. These facts seem to be easily forgotten and not realised.
One wishes that a friend guides him and saves him from wrongdoing, mistakes and
shortcomings. However this cannot be done by anyone except the loving, the
caring, the sincere, always kind in words and wise in counsel and giving
advice. This is the best provision in the path of da’wah.
In counselling and giving advice, it is better to understand its
etiquette, of how to do it wisely as guided by Allah s.w.t.: Surah An Nahl: 125:
Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful
preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for
your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.
One of the salaf as salih, sages of the past said: Give
advice in the most perfect way but accept it in whatever manner it comes.
Anyone who advices his friend in secret, then he has done him good and has
decorated him, but whoever advices his friend in the open in public, he has
ashamed him and betrayed him.
Good friendship multiplies the energy of a person. In thinking out,
he can seek opinions and views of others, resulting in mobilising the best of
thoughts. In any task, he is helped out by friends of various skills and capabilities.
Happiness is shared and hardships are lightened. We see a Muslim
walking on the path of da’wah not alone but it is as if he carries the hearts
of his friends with him. Every brother is not miserly as to lend him a
spiritual and an inner provision so that he may withstand any challenges and
this is priceless. Surah Al Ma’idah: 2:
Help you one another in righteousness and piety, but help you not
one another in sin and rancour: fear God: for God is strict in punishment.
This command is not meant for an individual but a group, a jama’ah.
Is it not wonderful if the spirit of cooperation and togetherness be alive in
the villagers, the neighbourhoods, the districts, the nation so that it enables
an environment of good and obedience to Allah s.w.t? This is especially felt when
all others have been deteriorated and neglected. Many shun and neglect the solat
jama’ah – prayers in congregation, especially the subuh and the isya’, dawn
and the night prayers, the Qur’an studies and classes, the knowledge lectures,
the dhikrullah gatherings, the da’wah effort, and helping out the poor
and the needy.
How vital and valuable good friendship in times of trials and
tribulations. In such dire circumstances, a Muslim is exposed to attacks and
pressures to deviate from his path, to flee from the straight way. Here lies
the essential qualities of a true friend to take care of his brother, to
prevent him from falling out, stop him from being fooled or be influenced by
false promises ad threats. The enemies of Allah s.w.t. work hard carrying out the
orders and syaitan’s inspirations to thwart the Muslims so that they
neglect their duties and leave the frontlines of jihad and the field of da’wah.
This can be clearly seen from the experience and history of the Islamic
movements always beset by calamity and tribulations. These are all overcome by
the blessing of a community held by the bond of love and brotherhood wholly
because of Allah s.w.t.
Seeing each other meaningfully sincerely because of Allah s.w.t.
They shake hands with a loving smile in their faces. They visit each other,
they counsel one another always towards good deeds.
Among the hadith:
Seven persons will be shaded by the Allah s.w.t. on the day when
there shall be no shade except by Allah s.w.t. One of them are two men who love one another because of
Allah, they meet because of Allah and they depart because of Allah.
There is a man who was visiting his brother in another village and
Allah s.w.t. commanded an angel to await him at the crossroads. Upon seeing the
man, the angel asked: “Where are you going?”
He replied: “I want to visit my brother in that village”
The angel asked: “ Are you going in order to return his favour”
He replied: “No, but I love him because of Allah”
The angel: “Indeed I am Allah’s messenger sent to you to tell you
that Allah loves you as you love him
because of Allah”
The Messenger of Allah s.a.w. met some companions in a gathering and
he asked them: “Why are you sitting here?”
They replied: “We are sitting here to remember Allah and to praise
Him because He guides us to Islam. He has granted us His blessings”
The Messenger of Allah s.a.w.: “By Allah, is there any other reason
which cause you to sit here other than that?’
They said: “ By Allah, we swear, there is no other reason for us to
sit here except for that”
The Messenger of Allah s.a.w.: I did not mean to ask you to swear or
to accuse you, but Gabriel came to me and told me that Allah praises you in
front of His angels.”
Because friendship is central and imperative to Islam and its
communities, we see Islam and the shariah nurtures and safeguards the
values of companionship from whatever that may wreck unity and accord. Islam
forbids envy, jealousy, hatred, deceit, treachery, cheating, fraudulent
transactions, riba – usury, drugs and alcohol, gambling, vilifying and
ridiculing one another, prejudice and conjecture, spying and finding faults of
each other, severing relations and betrayal.
Do not severe relations, do not betray one another, do not hate one
another, do not envy one another. And be servants of Allah in brotherhood. And
it is not permitted for a Muslim to be not in speaking terms with his brother
for more than three days.
Al Hujurat: 9
If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel, make you
peace between them
Al Hujurat 10
The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and
reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear God, that you
may receive Mercy.
Al Anfal: 46
And obey God and His Apostle; and fall into no disputes, lest you
lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For God is
with those who patiently persevere:
Al Isra’: 53
Say to My servants that they should (only) say those things that are
best: for Satan does sow dissensions among them: For Satan is to man an avowed
enemy.
So my dear friend! Seek good friends and be noble companions because
it is a reliable assistant and provision throughout the path of da’wah..
excerpt adapted and translated from a Malay translation, ‘Bekalan di dalam Perjalanan Da’wah’, Zadun
ala al Tariq by al marhum Ustadh Mustafa Masyhur, General Guide of the
Muslim Brotherhood - Islamic Outreach
ABIM Usrah Notes 2003
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