“Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most deceptive of speech. Do not spy on one another, do not seek out each other’s faults, do not compete with each other, do not envy each other, do not hate each other, do not turn your backs on each other. O servants of God, be brothers as God has commanded you. A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. He does not betray him, does not oppress him, does not leave him helpless, and does not belittle him. It is enough evil for a person to belittle his Muslim brother. Every Muslim’s property, blood, and honor are sacred to another Muslim. God does not look at your appearances or your bodies, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds. Piety is here” — and he pointed to his chest. “Beware! Do not engage in a sale over the sale of another. O servants of God, be brothers. It is not lawful for a Muslim to avoid his brother for more than three days.” 1
The greatest trials of Muslims have been among themselves. In external challenges, Muslims have succeeded by the secret blessing that comes from directing their efforts toward a common goal.
However, when it comes to internal matters, they have failed to recognize the poisonous arrows of Satan. This is just as the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed when returning from a campaign, saying, “Now we are returning from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.” In external battles, if your faith is strong enough to lead you into the fight, you strive with your strength and faith, and through the magical atmosphere of communal spirit and the promise of martyrdom, you can pass through this difficult marathon with God’s help. However, the real struggle lies within—within the self—where it is fought as fiercely as any arena battle.
“The soul is constantly commanding evil.” (Yusuf, 12/53) In this verse, the word “Ammara”—meaning “one that commands”—is in the intensified active participle form in Arabic. This form indicates that it commands with continuous, great desire and determination, relentlessly, as if conditioning the individual to follow it. It’s like an uninterrupted current of electricity. If we do not act correctly in response to this current, the self will enter through our vulnerabilities. For the self seizes every opportunity where it finds a gap. When a person remains idle, it means they have already started to regress. In fact, the five daily prayers, the weekly Friday prayer, and the remembrances (dhikr) that a Muslim performs are all a form of “correct current” against the self.
In the hadith, there is a sequential mention of points that can harm brotherhood. Let us examine the points mentioned in the hadith in order:
When we look at the causes of major conflicts, we often see that they arise from opinions put forward based on suspicion. Of course, this is bad suspicion. On the other hand, good suspicion is always beneficial. If it turns out to be correct, one has made the right judgment. If it turns out to be wrong, they haven’t lost anything, haven’t engaged in gossip, and may have prevented a significant conflict.
Another thing that greatly disturbs people is spying and investigating the private matters of others. Eavesdropping here and there, listening to others, is a disease. People carry the seeds of this weakness within them. However, this is not only immoral but also causes great destruction by damaging relationships between people.
Listening to others is also a violation of human rights. From individuals to states, tajassus (spying) or investigating people’s affairs is a vile and harmful malady. Spy activities, which increased significantly due to the world wars, have become one of the greatest factors threatening the peace of humanity today.
If competition is a race toward goodness and beauty, done without causing harm, then the Qur’an encourages it. 2
However, if competition brings along other immoral behaviors, it raises the issue of other sins committed under the guise of competition. Indeed, even in modern societies, competitions are regulated and controlled. A Muslim, in particular, must be more ethical and sensitive in this matter.
Envy (hasad) is when a believer wishes for a good thing that their fellow believer has to be theirs alone. Therefore, a believer cannot be envious. Envy consumes a person’s virtues and good deeds, just as fire consumes wood, and it destroys their soul. A believer can only feel ghibtah (aspirational admiration). A believer admires a good quality in their brother and wishes for it to be present in themselves as well, without wishing for it to be taken away from their brother. This is what aspirational admiration looks like.
A believer is obligated to love another believer. We may not always appreciate our fellow believer; they may have flawed behaviors, but loving a believer is a command from God and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Despite their faults, we cannot turn our backs on a believer. We are responsible for supporting them, for embracing them in some way.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) commands us, “Be brothers, O servants of God!” Yes, this is a command, and the one giving this command is the Messenger of God our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Today, there are mistakes attributed to Muslims. If these mistakes are indeed errors, defending those mistakes simply because they are committed by believers would only compound one mistake with another. It is also not correct to label a believer as faithless or to make statements that could harm faith and Islam because of those errors. Balance must be maintained. Faith establishes a bond of brotherhood among people that is stronger than the bond between biological siblings. A sibling may not always trust their brother or sister, but the bond of faith makes a believer trustworthy and inviolable to their fellow believer in every aspect. It establishes an eternal trust between them. This truth is expressed in Surah Al-Hujurat: “Indeed, the believers are brothers”.
The hadith we are examining lists the conditions of true brotherhood: A brother should not become angry with his brother, turn his back on him, betray him, oppress him, deprive him, insult him, humiliate him, or look down on him. “It is enough evil for a person to despise their Muslim brother.”
Yes, true and perfect faith serves as a safeguard for life. With true faith, it is as if all living beings are insured, for a Muslim’s property, honor, and life are sacred to another Muslim; these are protected. “God does not look at your appearance or your outward form. God looks at your hearts and your deeds.” A person is known by their actions. Therefore, if those who possess true faith exhibit the characteristics mentioned above, and people recognize these traits in them, then this is the essence of true brotherhood in faith.
If believers do not love each other, if they speak against one another without understanding if they harbor envy, constantly highlight each other’s mistakes, assume the worst of one another, and do not show tolerance, then the good deeds they perform remain superficial and do not reach the heart. This indicates that faith has not firmly settled in the heart. For those in such a state, it is necessary to heed the Qur’an’s words: “O you who believe! Believe in God and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)!” Our hadith concludes with the words, “Do not undercut one another in sales, and do not remain estranged from one another for more than three days.”
This hadith, filled with advice that can serve as a guide in every aspect of our lives, is like a roadmap for the believer in this world. Maps are important tools on the journey toward one’s goal. Similarly, the above advice serves as a good roadmap for a believer who has set Paradise as their goal, ensuring a straight and upright life without deviating to the left or right.
The respected Abdullah ibn Umar narrates: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended the pulpit and, in a loud voice, said: “O people who have accepted Islam with their tongues but whose faith has not yet entered their hearts! Do not harm Muslims, do not blame them, and do not seek out their hidden faults. For whoever seeks out the faults of his brother, God will seek out his faults. And if God seeks out someone’s faults, He will expose them, even if they hide in the most private part of their home, and He will disgrace them.”
One day, the respected the respected Abdullah ibn Umar looked at the House of God, the Kaaba, and said, “How great and majestic you are, and how great and majestic is your sanctity! But know that the sanctity of a believer is greater and more majestic than yours!”3
Let’s conclude the discussion with two hadiths related to this topic from our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. He does not oppress him, nor does he abandon him in danger. Whoever fulfills the need of his brother, God will fulfill one of his needs. Whoever relieves a Muslim from a hardship, God will relieve him from one of the hardships of the Day of Judgment. And whoever covers (the faults of) a Muslim, God will cover his faults on the Day of Judgment.” 4
“Whoever defends the honor of his brother, God will turn the fire away from his face on the Day of Judgment.” 5
Selçuk Camcı
Selçuk Camcı graduated from the Faculty of Theology in 1992. He completed his master’s degree in the Department of Hadith and is currently a PhD student in Islamic Law. Camcı has worked as an editor for religious publications, particularly for Yeni Ümit magazine. He also received training in Chaplaincy (spiritual guidance) in the United States.
Footnotes:
1.Bukhari, Nikah 45, Adab 57, 58, Faraid 2; Muslim, Birr 28-34; Abu Dawud, Adab 40, 56; Tirmidhi, Birr 18.
2.“Compete in good deeds.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:148)
3.Tirmidhi, Birr 85.
4.Abu Dawud, Adab 46; Tirmidhi, Hudud 3; Bukhari, Mazalim 3; Ikrah 7; Muslim, Birr 58.
5.Tirmidhi, Birr 20.