Project "Revive a Sunnah" Week 15

Week 15: January 12th-19th 2007

(23rd-30th of Dhul Hijjah 1427 AH)

Undoubtedly, one of the most important aspects of Islam is the building of a true Muslim community. A community filled with close inter-relations, brotherhood and sisterhood. By having strong and close inter-relations, Muslim communities blossom. And, within this aspect of social fabric, we as Muslims must learn how to live with one another in an honourable and respectful way.

One of the strongest emotional forces of a human being is anger. We all tend to get angry from time to time. Even though anger stems out from different reasons, a lot of times it rather stems out due to personal reasons. And this is something we will focus on this week, insha Allah.

If something happens and we are angered by a brother/sister, then our anger towards him/her should not last more than three days. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) talked about this in numerous ahadith. As a matter of fact, there are so many ahadith mentioned that I will not have the space to mention them all. Hence, we will only focus on a few of them.

Firstly, from the Qur’an:

1.
"The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers.'' (49:10)

Secondly, from the Ahadith:

1.
Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Do not desert (stop talking to) one another, do not nurse hatred towards one another, do not be jealous of one another, and become as fellow brothers and slaves of Allah. It is not lawful for a Muslim to stop talking to his brother (Muslim) for more than three days.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

2.
Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert (stop talking to) his brother beyond three nights, the one turning one way and the other turning to the other way when they meet, the better of the two is one who is the first to greet the other.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

3.
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "It is not permissible for a believer to forsake his (Muslim) brother for more than three days. If three days have passed, he should meet him and greet him; and if other responds to it they will both share the reward; but if he does not respond, he will bear his sin and the one who (has taken the initiative to) greet (the other) will be absolved of the sin of forsaking (one's brother in Faith).''
[Abu Dawud]

Alhumdulillah, this topic was suggested by a sister; may Allah reward her. This is a perfect example of how one can contribute to this project, bi idhnillah.

This topic is being covered because we see cases like this in our communities. The point is to rectify these cases and to not allow it to happen to us. Not only does Islam focus on the individual, but it also focuses on the community and the society at large. As a matter of fact, there is more focus on the latter. Hence, issues such as the one we are talking about here must be controlled for the sake of Allah. May Allah protect us all and guide us unto the Straight Path. Ameen.

You are most welcome to direct any Feedback/Comments/Suggestions/Nominations to albosnawi@gmail.com

May Allah reward you all.
Praise be to Allah and may the blessings be upon the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).

Wa Salaamu Alaykoum,

Kemal Smajlovic