A Warning Against the Means of Disunity

Shaykh ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyá al-Ḥaddādī

The speaker gives a beautiful naṣīḥah concerning the importance of maintaining brotherhood and warns against the harms of disunity, translated by ʿAbdu-Īlāh Laḥmāmī.

Allāh has called us to unity and warned against splitting and differing, and indeed the believers are brothers, and this brotherhood should emanate from our tongues and our actions, and it also has rights which are obligatory in order for that brotherhood to be actualised, and from the rights of this brotherhood is the maḥabbah, (love) that they should have between themselves, not due to worldly affairs but rather for the sake of Allāh. As recorded in Saḥīḥ al-Bukharī, the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) mentioned three qualities if attained will result in the sweetness of faith: they are that Allāh and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else, that he hates to return to kufr just as he hates to be thrown in fire, and that he loves a person only for the sake of Allāh, and this is from the strongest handhold of īmān, that you love for the sake of Allāh and hate for the sake of Allāh.The Shaykh mentioned three aspects which if fulfilled will result in brotherhood: and the first is loving those from īmān, and they are those whom Allāh mentioned in the Qurʾān from the Prophets, the Truthful and the Martyrs and the Righteous, these are from the first and foremost whom we should love; the second aspect is having complete hatred for the kuffār and the mushrikūn and the atheists (hating their beliefs), and the third is a category of people who are from those whom you love and hate, and they are those people who sin, so we love them for the good that they do from righteous actions and obedience to Allāh, and hate them for the sins that they commit and their disobedience to Allāh, and we seek to aid those who fall into error, advise them and aid them from that soul which is inclined towards evil.

Some people will have jealousy for one another, rather than building brotherhood upon īmān, rather we should be that person who aids his brother whether he is an oppressor or an oppressed, as the Messenger of Allāh advised us. From the actions which help increase brotherhood, is to visit one another for the sake of Allāh and from the qualities of visiting one another is to be sincere in this visiting such that you make this intention for the Face of Allāh, and if this individual is busy and excuses himself from your visit, then you should accept the excuse and not be persistent. And from the etiquettes is that you advise your brother to remember Allāh and benefit from knowledge (derived) from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, and you benefit one another, and there is no harm in asking about their family or enquiring regarding wordly affairs.

From the rights of those things which will bring increased īmān and brotherhood is that we should love for our brother what we love for ourselves, and this is from the highest form of īmān, such that you do not have jealousy or seek to cheat your brother, but try and build those aspects of ikhlās. What we see today is much competing between the Muslims in buying and selling, there is no happiness for one another, they become jealous and cheat in order to bring the downfall of another person. Do not love one another for status, but rather we should be from those who smile and are happy for their success, and when your brother falls into trial and tribulation then be there to aid him and help him. These rights, if fulfilled will bring brotherhood and increase īmān, and will keep us away from splitting and differing. Do not have hatred for one another, but rather aid one another and reconcile between one another, and do not boycott one another unless you are guarding yourselves from a caller to evil who spreads much corruption in the land.