A brother is one’s helping hand, supporter and he makes us stronger.
Allah the Almighty has endowed upon the human being the blessing of having a siblings, the latter thus being a priceless gift from Him. Brotherhood is one of the most significant issues in Islam. There are two forms of brotherhood. One is a blood relationship – that is being born of the same parents. This is the closest kind of relationship that results in either one inheriting from the other. This is considered the second level of those who inherit from us according to Islamic jurisprudence. There are certain decrees in this regard. The second form of brotherhood is through common belief. It is the form of brotherhood that has related all the Muslims together. It has become the source of unity of all the Muslims in the world. The Arabic word for brother is “Akh”. Its real meaning is brother, friend or companion. It really refers to two people who have the same mother, father or both. It is also used for someone who has been breast-fed by one’s mother. In a more general sense, it is also used for one’s partner in industry or trade, one who is from the same tribe or one having the same beliefs. There are several instances in the Holy Qur’an when this word is used to refer to real brothers or believing brothers. The importance of the blessing of brotherhood is stressed in the Holy Qur’an as we read in the following verse: “And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God’s favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth God make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.” [The Holy Qur’an, Al-i-Imran 3:103] In the holy Quran, Allah the Almighty has emphasized the special status of a brother as being a means of support to his siblings. An illustration of this can be found in the story of Musa (Moses) pbuh in which Allah the Most Exalted tells him, “We will strengthen your arm through your brother.” (Al-Qasas: 35). That is to say: We will boost your position and give you supremacy by means of your brother. Undoubtedly, a brother is the closest person to the human being and one who cares the most for his siblings’ safety and interests, helping them sincerely and stand by their side with honest will. For this reason, Prophet Musa (a.s) chose his brother Horoon to support him in his mission and share with him the honour of Prophethood. So he invoked Allah the Almighty to grant him forgiveness and show mercy on him. About this, the Most Exalted says, “[Moses] said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us into Your mercy, for You are the most merciful of the merciful’.” (Al-Aaraf: 151). In this Aya, Musa (pbuh) asks his Lord to forgive them their sins by His grace, and with His vast mercy that He endows upon the believers to show mercy on them. Some scholars suggested that there was no one more graceful towards his brother than Musa was to Haroon (pbuh), for the former pleaded to Allah the Most Merciful until He made his brother Haroon a prophet. Allah the Almighty has mentioned this story for us to take lessons from it and example from the two brothers. Ultimately, it shows us the great status of brother and inspires each one of us to maintain their brothers’ affection and strive in the way of doing good to them.
Indeed, a brother to a brother is a protection shield, aid and a source of strength. They stand by one another and help each other with all that which they can afford. As such, a brother becomes the refuge to which his brothers can seek while facing the burdens of life, embodying in this the perfect and most beautiful and honourable bonds. Through their firm ties, brothers impart happiness and tranquillity to the hearts of their parents, consolidation and harmony to their families as well as solidarity and peace to their society. This brings us to a question on what the duties of a brother towards his brother are. O Servants of Allah, the answer to this question was clearly explicated by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). He has advocated us that one’s brother, whether a biological one or a milk kinship, are the most people worthy of one’s kindness and honouring after parents and sisters. To this, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Do acts of goodness towards your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, then the next closest, and then the next closest.” As for the aspects of goodness towards brother, they involve asking about him, about his children and family members, as well as checking about his conditions, showing love to him, visiting him and sharing with him every happy and sad moment in life. Brothers are strongly bonded by the blood relationship as they have been raised up in one house, gathered around one dining table and, thus, share sweet memories of their childhood times with unforgettable occasions during childhood and youth. They remain united with the bonds of love and cooperation as long as they live. In this sense, the essence of the sincere connection amongst brothers is that each one of them should love for his brother in every situation that which he loves for himself. Accentuating this principle, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) once said to one of his companions, “Do you love Paradise?” The man said, “Yes.” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Then you should love for your brother what you love for yourself.” This means, wish for your brother the prosperity and wellbeing that you wish for yourself, for a brother would not only innately hope that his brother attain all that is good, but also strive to benefit him as much as possible. A good example on this is the one of Al Waleed Ibn Al Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, when he sent to his brother, Khalid Ibn Al Waleed, a letter inviting him for what benefits him, raise his status and cause him to be successful. Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “When I received the letter from my brother… I went to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), greeted him and embrace Islam.” Furthermore, one other aspect of the splendid relationship between brothers is that each one of them is a mirror for the other. If one of them sees a flaw in the other, he hastens to correct it; when he finds in him a shortcoming, he strives to perfect it; and when he gives him a piece of advice, he will be honest and sincere in doing so. On this account, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “If one of you was asked for advice by his brother, he should do so.” So, one should advise his brother about the best virtues and deeds and consult him in his matters. The righteous ancestors have set good example in sharing their best knowledge and righteous opinions with their brothers. For instance, it was reported that Abdullah Ibn Al Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, was once asked, “What is the best thing a person is ever given?” He replied, “Innate intelligence.” He was then asked, “And if not that?” He replied, “Good conduct.” He was then asked, “And if not that?” He replied, “A compassionate brother to consult.” O Servants of Allah, Brothers have rights towards each other. Younger siblings should be grateful for the favours of their older ones and, hence, show due to respect to them and attribute to them the status they attribute to their parents in reverence and honouring. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever does not show respect to our elders is one of us.” Another good example that can be brought here is the one of a grandchild of Umar Ibn Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. He was a scholar with vast knowledge of Hadith and whenever he was asked about a Hadith, he used to refer the questioner to his elder brother, in respect to and appreciation of his status. Similarly, the elder brother has duties to be fulfilled towards his younger siblings. They should show sympathy towards them, take care of them and teach them. Elder brother is forgiving, for forgiveness is a noble quality as illustrated by a renowned poet when he said what it meant, “And do not break off with a brother of yours because of a mistake, for forgiveness is an action that only a noble man will take.” O Worshipers, A loving and compassionate brother cooperates with his siblings, hastens to ease their matters in a caring manner, and generously support them financially at times of difficulty. Our Prophet (pbuh) urged brothers to take care of each other and provide for one another as he said, “The hand which gives is the upper hand. One should start giving first to his dependents: your mother, your father, your sister and your brother.” Another token of love that a brother can offer to his siblings is the gift. Giving presents is really conducive to augment sentiments of love in the hearts of brothers. For this reason, giving gifts was an act that the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), many Allah be pleased with them, ensured to do. In this context, it was narrated that Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) once sent a beautiful garment as a gift to Umar Ibn Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, so Umar gave it as a gift to his brother. Thus, the first person that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, has preferred over himself was his brother, so he sent the gift to him. A gift should not necessarily be a material one, it can also be moral like supplication in his absence. There are two groups of brothers: real brothers and superficial brothers. Real brothers are like your hands, wings, relatives or property. Once you find such brothers, you can help them; give them from what you own; be friendly with their friends and be the enemy of their enemies; hide their secrets; cover up their faults, and reveal their good points. Beware that they are very rare. However, use your superficial brothers. Do not stop your friendship and your associations with them. However do not expect any more than this from them. When they treat you kindly and talk nicely with you, respond with gentle treatment and nice words. Bearing this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to make us amongst those who honour their ties of kinship. May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) and obey those He have commanded us to obey in line with His orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (An-Nisaa: 59). May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger (pbuh). I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. O Allah, may we ask You to increase us in faith, assurance, cooperation, success, consolidation and harmony. O Allah, may You also forgive us and our parents and bless us in our offspring. Our Lord, please continue blessing us with happiness with our families and in our homeland, and make us amongst those who are dutiful for their parents and kind to their kith and kin. O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us. O Allah, please admit them to Paradise, who left us. O Allah, we implore to You to continue blessing us with Your bounties, endow upon us Your favours and make us rejoice peace of mind and wellbeing. O Allah, please accept our good deeds and accept our prayers. We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing the world with stability and welfare and increase it in bounties, knowledge, civilisation, happiness, beauty and tolerance. O Allah, please continue blessing it with happiness and security. May Allah have mercy on the honourable martyrs of our nation and gather them with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets. May Allah make the dwelling of the martyrs, their families, parents and relatives with the righteous. Indeed, You are ever responding to the supplications. O Allah, please grant the best reward for the families of the martyrs and offer them patience and solace. May Allah grant victory to the helpless people. O Allah, please protect weak by Your protection and grant them Your victory. O Lord, please guide the people living in conflict zones to everything that is good. O Allah, make them rally for the word of truth and legitimacy, and bless them with welfare and stability, O the Most Generous. O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability and peace. O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth. Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire. In brief, Islam has always protected and encouraged the sacred act of brotherhood and solidarity – meaning that we must strive for unity and kinship not only amongst those in the ummah but also to encourage love and respect for all those around us. Amidst the brutal reality of racism, sectarianism, and intolerance, we must constantly strive towards being better Muslims not only for ourselves and others, but for Allah Himself. We must remember that in trying to make our world a better place for all those living in it, the sole purpose of this all is to serve and worship Allah on a higher level. O Allah, admit us to Your Paradise with the righteous. Indeed, you are Exalted in Might and Forgiving. ……Ameen!
( The authors are real brother. Shockingly brother no 2: M. Altaf suffered a heart recently and left for heavenly abode. Both the brothers had jointly written this article days before the death of M. Altaf. While brother no: 1 Dr Bilal A Bhat is Associate Professor at S K University of Agriculture Scienes & Technology-SKUAST Srinagar, brother no :1 M. Altaf was a businessman by professions. Views expressed are of authors)
[email protected]