On Brotherhood and Unity

It tells that the Believers should feel for each other so strongly that if anyone of them was afflicted with grief, they considered it their own and were ready to share his misfortune.

The evils mentioned above are highly detrimental to the growth of good and friendly relations. They cause ill-will and produce bitterness in the hearts. The Prophet (saws) has, first of all, spoken of suspicion which is a form of unfounded fear and misdoubt, and whoever has a suspecting nature sees viciousness in everything a man does with whom he has the least difference, and his attitude towards him is, naturally, influenced by it. The other person, too, reacts and an atmosphere of sullen malice and ill-will is created between them. The same is the case with the other habits indicated in it. They breed hatred and enmity and leave no room for goodwill and fellowship to develop which the common religious tie demands.

When the fire of envy burns in anyone’s heart, he misses no opportunity to hurt or harm the person at the sight of whose excellence or success he feels discontented, and, if nothing else, he seeks satisfaction by slandering him and speaking ill of him behind his back, and, as we learn from other Traditions of the Prophet, the lowest penalty the envious are going to pay in future existence is that their good deeds will be alloted to those against whom they have sinned, It will, perhaps, explain what is meant by the eating up of good deeds by envy, as stated in the above narrative.

It is corroborated by another Tradition quoted by Imam Munziri, on the authority of Tabrani. It says: “The (record of the) deeds of all men is placed before God on each Monday and Thursday, Whoever has begged forgiveness from the Lord is forgiven, and whoever has offered sincere repentance, his repentance is accepted, but the deeds of those who bear malice against each other are returned to them. (The decision of forgiveness is not taken about them and their repentance is not accepted until they have given up the sinful habit)”. Some other Traditions, also, are of an identical nature and they, all, go to show that a Muslim who bears malice against a Muslim brother will not be deserving of the mercy of the Lord as long as he does not purge his heart of it.

Like envy, the vicious habit of taking delight in the loss or suffering of anyone, too, is highly repugnant to God, and, sometimes, He inflicts punishment for it, even in this world, by removing the other man’s distress and sending it down on those who rejoice at it.

Some people are ill-tempered and harsh in their behaviour, while others are mild and good-natured. A common misconception is that people who are ruthless and unrelenting are more successful in life. The above Tradition dispels it.

First of all, it draws attention to the virtue of kindheartedness and amiability, and says that it is a Divine Attribute, and the Lord wants His bondmen to be mild and sympathetic in their dealings with one another. It, then, goes on to assure that success or failure depends on the Will of God, and whatever takes place in the world is at His command. The practice of the Lord is that He gives more on kindliness and good nature than on severity and sternness. In fact, God does not grant as much on anything else as on warm-heartedness and compassion. It is, thus, in one’s own interest to be kind and considerate to others in social behaviour as well as monetary dealings. In other words, whoever wishes God to be compassionate to him and fulfil his wants should show compassion to others and make tolerance the rule of his life.

It shows that kindheartedness is such a noble quality that whoever does not possess it, has, as one would say, no virtue in him. Or, to put it differently, many good and commendable human qualities have their roots in kindheartedness, and a person who is not blessed with it has very little of goodness in him.

It tells that a person who is soft-hearted and has a sympathetic nature and is friendly and sociable, and the others, too, feel drawn to him shall go to Heaven. As it has been explained, over and over again, since the Companions had realized fully from the commandments of the, Qur’an and the teachings of the holy Prophet, and those who possess some knowledge of the Faith know it clearly even today, that happy tidings, like it, appertain only to people who believe and observe the principal religious duties, it was, generally, not found necessary to mention it, in so many words, every time such tidings were given. But, we must always keep this elementary condition in the mind. It is a fundamental principle of Islam that without Faith, deeds and morals have no value in the sight of God.

In order to emphasize the foulness of a deed and to discourage men from acting that way, it is, sometimes, said that whoever will do so or behave like it shall not enter Heaven. The aim, simply, is to indicate that such an act or habit is not worthy of a Believer, and is likely to prove a hindrance in his progress towards Paradise. True Believers and earnest seekers of salvation should, therefore, keep away from it. The essential meaning of Hazrat Harisah bin Wahb’s narrative, too, is the same.