The Muslim's Relationship with His Community

Islam is not a religion of isolated private piety. The Quran addresses believers in the plural, the Prophet established a community rather than a cult of individual spiritual perfection, and the rituals of Islam — congregational prayer, Hajj, zakah — are inherently communal. Al-Hashimi's chapter on the Muslim's relationship with his community examines the full range of social obligations that the ideal Muslim fulfills toward his neighbors, friends, fellow Muslims, and the broader society in which he lives.

The Islamic understanding of neighborhood is one of the most demanding in any ethical tradition. The Prophet said: 'Jibril kept urging me to be good to my neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir.' This remarkable statement conveys the intensity of the prophetic emphasis on neighborliness — an emphasis so strong that Jibril (the Angel of Revelation) continued to press it as though it were about to receive a new Quranic ruling. The ideal Muslim's obligations to his neighbors include: greeting them; visiting them when they are sick; attending their funerals; congratulating them on occasions of joy; comforting them in times of grief; tolerating their minor inconveniences without complaint; not allowing them to go hungry if he has food; and protecting their honor in their absence.

Friendship in the Islamic ethical system is treated as a serious moral enterprise. The Prophet warned repeatedly about the influence of one's companions — 'A person follows the religion of his close friend, so be careful whom you befriend' — and praised the friendship that is maintained for Allah's sake as one of the seven types of people who will be shaded by Allah's throne on the Day of Judgment. The ideal Muslim chooses his close friends for the quality of their character and faith, and maintains those friendships through active investment: regular contact, genuine interest in the friend's welfare, willingness to give honest counsel, and the kind of loyalty that does not evaporate when a friend is in trouble.

The obligations to the Muslim community (the Ummah) at large constitute the widest circle of the ideal Muslim's social obligations. Visiting the sick, attending janazah prayers, responding to the greeting of peace, not harming other Muslims through speech or action — these are identified by the Prophet as among the rights that Muslims have over each other. The famous hadith 'The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim; he does not oppress him, nor does he abandon him, nor does he look down on him' establishes a standard of Muslim solidarity that goes beyond mere tolerance to active brotherly concern.

Al-Hashimi addresses the difficult question of enjoining good and forbidding evil (amr bil-ma'ruf wa nahy 'an al-munkar) — one of the most important and most neglected Islamic social obligations. The Prophet's hadith establishing the three levels of this obligation — changing with the hand (action), speaking with the tongue (speech), and hating with the heart (the minimum that indicates the continuation of faith) — provides the framework. Al-Hashimi's presentation emphasizes both the obligation and its proper method: wisdom, gentleness, knowledge of what is being addressed, and certainty that the manner of correction will improve rather than worsen the situation.