Brotherhood in Islam

God states in the Quran, “The believers are brothers.” [49:10] This passage is the foundation of the concept of brotherhood in Islam. God reminds the disciples of the Messenger Muhammad of his favour upon them and how He united their hearts, “Remember the blessings of God upon you when you were enemies before Islam, fighting each other for the slightest reason, and He brought your hearts together through Islam, so that you became brothers in your faith through His grace.” [3:103]

Brotherhood in Islam is about loving the believers for God’s sake, treating them kindly and with respect, and advising them and cooperating with them upon God’s obedience and commands. The Messenger Muhammad said, “None of you truly believes until they love for their Muslim brother what they love for themselves.” He also said, “Do not hate one another, envy each other or turn away from one another. Rather, be as brothers, servants of God. It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert his fellow brother for more than three days.”

It is this sense of love and brotherhood that God mentions in Quran 3:103 and that the Messenger Muhammad instilled within his disciples. We should care for one another and feel their pain and share in their joy. The Messenger Muhammad told us that as Muslims we have rights upon one another. There are so many rights that Muslims have on one another. From those rights is to reply to another’s greeting, respond to their invitation, supplicate for them when they sneeze, give them sincere counsel when they solicit it, visit them when they are sick, and follow their funeral procession when they die. The Messenger Muhammad said, “The example of the believers in their mutual love and compassion is like the example of a single body. If part of it is feeling pain, the rest of the body is overcome with fever and sleeplessness.”

If another Muslim commits harm or oppression, we should do our best to stop them in a wise way that doesn’t lead to greater harm. When other Muslims across the world are suffering, we should supplicate to God and ask Him for His help and assistance. We should do what we can for others, by helping them financially in charity, or providing them with medical assistance. If we have the ability to lobby on their behalf and raise awareness of their plight and situation, we should do so to the best of our ability.

It is this brotherhood that will last and be rewarded on the Day of Judgement. God states, “Those who befriend each other upon disbelief and deviance will be enemies to one another on the Day of Judgement except for those who are mindful of God by fulfilling His commands and refraining from that which He has prohibited. Their friendship is everlasting and will not break.” [43:67]