539. He gives ten causes that can save oneself from the evil of hasad. (cont.)

: J గ J "May Allah have mercy on the one who is easy-going and generous while buying, while selling and when demanding his rights." (Recorded by al­ al-Bukhari.) One time the Prophet (peace be upon him) was in the marketplace and he put his hand into a pile of grains and he found that it was wet on the bottom. He asked the vendor about it and the man told him that rain had fallen upon it. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him, "Why did you not put it on top of the grain so people could see it? Whoever deceives is not from me." (Recorded by Muslim.) lbn Maajah records that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in another hadith stressing the aspect of brotherhood and its relation to business dealings, Hadith #35: "Do not be envious of one another . . . " "A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. It is not permissible for a Muslim to sell something defective to his brother without making that [defect] clear to him."1 In fact, the key to blessed business transactions, in which both parties please Allah and receive blessings, is honesty and straightforwardness. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The buyer and seller have the right of option as long as they do not part from one another. If they were honest and clear, they would be blessed in their transaction. If they concealed facts and lied, the blessings of their transaction would be destroyed." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) If a person is ethical and morally conscious in his business dealings, this is a good sign that he is preferring the Hereafter to this world. He is not willing to risk Allah's punishment and anger for a measly gain. He is also strengthening the trust among the Muslim brethren. Allah willing, his reward with Allah will be great. "And be, [Of servants of Allah, brethren." The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated the whole point of all of the above instructions: "You should be brothers one to another, treating each other with respect, without hatred and without working against each other in any way." This is the way a Muslim should think of himself. He should think of himself as a member of a great brotherhood. This brotherhood is made up of the servants of Allah. The only goal of this brotherhood should be to serve and worship Allah. There is no need forindeed, there is no room forworking against one another and trying to get ahead of each other in this worldly realm. The goal is to please and serve Allah. And that goal is partially met by treating each other properly and being brothers for the sake of Allah. This goal can be met, by the will of Allah, when Muslims stop envying each other, stop hating each other, stop boycotting one another and stop working against one another just to get ahead in this world. One can understand from this statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that Muslims must be with respect to one another as a single brotherhood. Allah has stated, 1 Recorded by ibn Maajah. Ahmad and al-Haakim have something similar. According to al­ Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1 136. 2 The, "O," is not explicitly stated in the text but it is understood or implied. See al-Haitami, Fath, p. 25 1 ; al-Mudaabaghi, p. 25 1 . Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "Verily, the believers are but a brotherhood" (al-Hujuraat 10). Anything that works against this feeling of brotherhood, should be avoided. Anything that improves this feeling of brotherhood and strengthens the ties among the believers should be promoted. Before any believer performs an act, he should think about how that act is going to affect his brothers. If he feels that it is going to be harmful to his brothers and the feeling of brotherhood among them, he should avoid that act­ unless it is something called for by the shareeah, such as ordering good although it may hurt others' feelings. In the remainder of this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned some specific acts that Muslims should always avoid with respect to their brothers and sisters. Indeed, these acts strike at the very foundation of true brotherhood. In other words, it is inconceivable that true brothers would do such acts toward one another. A Second Interpretation If one does not assume the word, "O," the meaning is, "You should be servants of Allah, brethren." In this case, the meaning of the first part is that Muslims should be true servants of Allah by obeying His commands, fulfilling what He obliges and remaining away from what He forbids. Muslims must both be servants of Allah as well as brethren to one another. 1 This second interpretation cannot be considered as likely as the first interpretation. This is because, grammatically speaking, the construct of the sentence becomes somewhat awkward.