Friday Nasiha

Al-Maidah (The Table)
Chapter 5: Verse 2

The Right to Co-operate and Not to Co-operate
"Co-operate with one another for virtue and heedfulness and do not co-operate with one another for the purpose of vice and aggression."

Islam has prescribed a general principle of paramount importance and universal application in the above verse. This means that the man who undertakes a noble and righteous work, irrespective of the fact whether he is living at the North Pole or the South Pole, has the right to expect support and active co-operation from the Muslims. On the contrary he who perpetrates deeds of vice and aggression, even if he is our closest relative or neighbour, does not have the right to win our support and help in the name of race, country, language or nationality, nor should he have the expectation that Muslims will co-operate with him or support him. Nor is it permissible for Muslims to co-operate with him. The wicked and vicious person may be our own brother, but he is not of us, and he can have no help or support from us as long as he does not repent and reform his ways. On the other hand the man who is doing deeds of virtue and righteousness may have no kinship with Muslims, but Muslims will be his companions and supporters or at least his well-wishers.

Source:
“Human Rights in Islam” – Abul Ala Maududi, p. 22

Watering the Seeds of Love

Someone with a long and outstanding involvement in Islamic work stretching over many years once remarked to me that Muslims have ignored the task which should be their specific concern, namely love of God and the strengthening of the ties of love among people for His sake. If a person should succeed in this task, he said, he would have set the firmest foundation in the depths of souls, sown the seed for every flourishing virtue and established and impregnable fortress against most external threats and tests.

The life of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was lived in the fullness of the Quran. His life throughout was also filled with love; like a farmer in his nurseries nurturing the seeds of this emotion with irrigation and tender care, tirelessly doing this as part of his condition and calling. His is the situation of a person filled with love which overflows in those around him, bringing their hearts together through every means. You can readily see this in the narrations about the Prophet's noble character and behaviour:

Abu Said al-Khudri relates that the Prophet was more shy and modest than a maiden in seclusion, and if anything was displeasing to him we would see it in his face. His was a kind and gentle face, so tender in appearance that he would not say of anyone what the person did not want to hear out of the shyness and generosity of his heart.

Source:
"Islam: The Way of Revival Vol 1" - Watering the Seeds of Love: Said Ramadan, pp. 261-262

1. Whosoever accepts true Tawhid, Allah's Oneness, expressed in the Quran and the Sunnah, is a brother or a sister to every Muslim and must be loved and accorded loyalty and support based on the integrity of that commitment.

2. The principal Muslim references are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger. Their interpretation must be based on the principles of the Arabic Language, without contriving meanings.

3. Blind or absolute loyalty to one person or a particular juristic School is not befitting of any Muslim. The Shariah recognises the wisdom of following juristic authorities; learn the basis of their judgements and approach them with an open mind for guidance or correction - even if they differ with one's own bias or juristic affiliation.

4. All that has been reported to us from preceding generations (in harmony with the Book and Sunnah of the Prophet) is accepted with awareness of the context involved. Insult, accusation, and innuendo regarding people of the past are beneath the dignity of a Muslim. (See Quran 2: 134)