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

One has definite words, "servants of Allah," coupled with an indefinite word, "brethren." This is not the common form of speech. However, according to either interpretation, it is true that these two characteristics must permeate a Muslim's soul and drive his life. First, he is a servant and worshipper of Allah. He tries his best to do only those things that are permissible according to Allah's law. Second, he is a brother to his fellow Muslims. He takes their feelings into consideration before any action that he takes. These two characteristics, serving Allah and being a brother to the other Muslims, control his behavior in every aspect of his life. "A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim." Before mentioning the acts that should be avoided, the Prophet (peace be upon him) began with this preface or introduction. This is a general statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It means that every Muslim is a 1 Cf., al-Sindi, Sharh al-Arbaeen, p. 1 07. Hadith #35: "Do not be envious of one another . . . " brother to every other Muslim. Regardless of a Muslim's nationality, race, skin color and so forth, one is part and parcel of this Muslim brotherhood. He must be treated as part of the Muslim brotherhood. If the other Muslims do not treat him as such simply because of these non-consequential matters, they are sinning and they are wronging their brother in Islam. If a Muslim follows any of the accepted schools of fiqh or works for any of the groups that are working for Islamand that fall within the realm of Islam and not in the realm of kufrhe is a brother to all other Muslims. For example, whether a person is a Maliki, Hanafi, Hanbali or Shafi'ee, he is a brother to all other Muslims. He must treat all other Muslims as his brothers and they must treat him as their brother. As stated before, the level of love and loyalty toward one another will be determined by one's righteousness and apparent good deeds. If a person is demonstrating good deeds and is free of any form of heresy, he is deserving complete loyalty and love. If a person is lacking in those areas, the love and loyalty toward him should be lacking in a corresponding manner. However, as long as the person does not fall out of the fold of Islam, he is still a brother in Islam and he is still deserving of specific rights of brotherhood. Again, all Muslims are brothers one to another. Therefore, they must treat each other as brothers. They must do good to each other and try their best to keep harm from one another. In particular, they must be wary of specific actions that may break the brotherhood apart. Some of those actions are mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this hadith as below. "He does not wrong him." The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that a Muslim would not commit zulm toward his brother. The concept of zulm was discussed in detail in the commentary to Hadith Number 24. zulm is forbidden even with respect to non-Muslims. The question here is: How can one consider himself a brother to another when he is wronging him, oppressing him or cheating him? Would a brother intentionally harm his brother? Is it conceivable that true brothers would act this way toward one another? The Prophet (peace be upon him) has clearly shown here that such behavior cannot be expected between brothers. If two Muslims want to be true brothers to each other, they must do their best not to cause any zulm toward one another. When zulm is committed it easily leads to hatred. A pious person may be able to be patient and accept another person's zulm. However, if people who are not of the highest level of piety are involved or if too much zulm is committed toward a pious person, many times zulm will lead to retaliation and more harm to the members of society. If zulm is committed on a large scale, for example, between classes or one group of people and another, it can lead to a great deal of hatred and even, as is seen historically, civil strife. People who are constantly wronged and Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi oppressed by others may finally revolt against the wrongdoers, even if they are of the same religion. A Muslim society should be free of such massive zulm; and Muslims should also be free of such zulm at an individual level. "He does not fail him [when he needs him]." In general, one thinks of a brother as someone he can rely upon in times of need. When a person deserts another in his time of need, he is demonstrating that he is, in reality, not a friend, not to speak of a close brother. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has required Muslim brothers to help and assist each other.