Islamic Brotherhood (Book chapter): Difference between revisions

As the second in a series of talks regarding the subject of unity, the present article focuses on the concept of Muslim brotherhood and its relation to a united Ummah. Through the use of Qur’anic verses and incidents found within the sacred history of Islam, the validity and necessity of Muslim brotherhood in our times is highlighted. With regard to how the hearts of believers are united, one comes to understand that brotherhood in Islam is one of the greatest blessings granted by Allah to Muslims—a blessing that will continue in the Hereafter. Anything opposed to this blessing—such as nationalism and sectarianism—is an act of ingratitude with lasting consequences.

I came across an important reference after my previous speech in regards to the unified Ummah. It is a strong piece of evidence which officially makes it clear what the Noble Messenger (s) implied when he addressed the Muslims as a unified Ummah. It is found in Sirah ibn Hisham, which is actually a sirah (life history) written by Muhammad ibn Ishaq who lived in the middle of the second century and was a student of Imam Sadiq (‘a) and Imam Baqir (‘a). He wrote a book entitled al-Maghazi which is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet. Parts of this book remain and have been printed. A century after him, Ibn Hisham summarized ibn Ishaq’s work into a book and this has been passed down to us. It is considered one of the most reliable biographies of the Prophet and has been printed and annotated many times.

Then Ibn Hisham mentions the companions one by one and says, “and Hamzah bin ‘Abd al-MuÔÔalib and Zayd ibn Harithah, the stepson of the Messenger, became brothers. <ref>Ibid., p.146-148. </ref>Ja’far ibn Abi Óalib and Ma’adh ibn Jabal became brothers.” He then mentions the names of others and says, “Those who names reached me have been mentioned.”

Of course, this is the case in a religiously sanctified marriage between a husband and wife. But, if two children are born out of wedlock, even though people may consider them brothers, religious law does not accept it and the laws regarding brotherhood does not apply to them; for instance, two brothers born out of wedlock do not inherit from each other.

Certainly We sent to Thamud Salih, their brother. (27:45)

The verse just prior to this one is in reference to conflict between Muslims. It says that in such a conflict, Muslims must intervene and find out who is in the right. They must fight against the oppressor until he corrects his wrongdoing. This verse then states, “the faithful are indeed brothers”—i.e., there is a religious brotherhood between them. The result: “Therefore, make peace between your brothers.”

Here, the two parties that are in conflict and the person that wants to arbitrate between them and make peace are all considered brothers of one another since the verse states: “[you] make peace between your brothers.” There are many other delicate points in this verse which will not be mentioned.

Therefore, this verse considers brotherhood and compassion between believers a blessing from Allah. It states that the divine rope should be clung to. In the previous speech I said that clinging on to the divine rope means clinging on to the religion of Allah. All of the people that have resorted to the religion are the unified nation and make up the brotherhood of believers.

In summary, the verse states that the foundations of Islamic brotherhood is a two-fold matter: holding fast to religion and having the hearts brought together; the hearts must be brought together.

The Qur’an raises a particular issue: just as compassion and brotherhood is found between believers, so too compassion and brotherhood is found between disbelievers as well. In fact, it is found between oppressors as well. But there is one difference. I have collected many verses in this regard and the following is a summary of what I have found.

On that day, friends will be one another’s enemies, except for the Godwary. (43:67)

O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most Godwary among you… (49:13)

The issue of nations and tribes has been mentioned by Allah in this verse. Allah has made the different tribes but He did not cause them to stand up to each other or to negate one another. He did not cause them to overlook each other’s merits. No. Instead, He created them so that they can know one another; so that they could be compassionate with one another. If tribalism grows, especially in the sphere of Islam, it would become the greatest danger for Islam. About forty or fifty years ago we saw works that were published in Arab countries which discuss the issue of tribalism. Many Arab political parties were formed based on tribal affiliation. They did not speak about Islam; they spoke about their Arab tribe. This thought has grown in other Islamic countries as well. If you go to Turkey you will find that Turkish nationalism have entered people’s hearts extensively. The people are Muslims, but their Turkishness might be more important to them than their Islam.

Yes, tribes and nations are legitimate in order for people to recognize one another: to recognize where somebody is from and what characteristics he has; to recognize what one’s identity is. However, in an Islamic environment and in an Islamic society, these forms of tribalism and nationalism must not undermine Islamic unity and Islamic brotherhood which Islam has brought as a divine blessing. If Muslims wake up considering their nationality first—meaning that they wake up and consider themselves Iranian before Muslim for instance—it would be a tragedy. This was prevalent during the period of the Ôaghut (rebel). <ref>This refers to the reign of the Pahlavi regime (Tr.) </ref>

The message of Imam Khomeini (r) could be summarized as follows: Muslims are one Ummah—a single nation—which is called the Islamic Ummah. Their other nationalities must be overshadowed by this Ummah. It is not the case that they should be destroyed altogether; no, they should simply be overshadowed. A Muslim should first take into consideration the interests of Islam, then the interests of his nation, and then his personal interests. If Islam is in danger, all Muslims must volunteer and repel this danger. This volunteering might not be in the interests of an individual, of a tribe, of a city, or of a nation. But, it is in the interests of Islam. Islam calls for such a unity amongst various nationalities.

Of course, at the advent of some madhahib politics did, in fact, have a role to play. There is no doubt about that and, God-willing, I will discuss the originations of some madhahib in detail in the future. Nonetheless, madhahib were formed. We are followers of the Ja’fari madhhab while others are followers of the Hanafi madhhab–which, ostensibly, the majority of Muslims follow. Another may follow the Shafi’i madhhab or the Maliki one, while yet another will follow the Hanbali madhhab. Again, another person may follow the IbaDHi madhhab, and so on and so forth. Can the differences of these schools be so great that they would overshadow Islamic unity?

I do not want to enter a jurisprudential discussion here. It is self-evident that if one is an enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), he is a nasibi. But, thank God, there are none of these people alive today. They fought against ‘Ali (‘a) but all he said was, “These are brothers who rebelled against us.” He preserved Islamic unity to this extent. God-forbid, however, that this battle (of Jamal) could become the pretext for some Muslims to consider others as disbelievers. ‘Ali (‘a) states in his will that was given to Imam Hasan (‘a) and Imam Husayn (‘a): “God-forbid that you fight and kill Muslims” (i.e., with the excuse that the Commander of the Faithful was killed by them).

Last week was Unity Week. I have to thank all good and Muslim Iranians for celebrating this week in a great way. The International Conference of Unity was formed and, God be praised, was successful. Various organizations cooperated with the conference, such as: The Organization of Islamic Propagation, The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly, and The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought. In addition to Tehran, it was held in a few other provinces as well. The guests that came from foreign lands also participated in the ceremonies held in various provinces. A great ceremony was held in Zahidan, as well as Kurdistan and Gurgan where Shia and Sunni brothers participated. Everyone came together in the conference held in Tehran.

Finally, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, must be thanked for following up on this Islamic movement. He founded a number of cultural organizations such as the The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, the effects of which we are currently seeing as a blessing of Allah. In the end, I emphasize that Muslims must consider Islamic brotherhood as a blessing. This is a clear statement of the Qur’an. This blessing must not be given up for any price. No tendency, nationalistic thought, political party, tribe, or madhhab should be allowed to compromise and undermine Islamic brotherhood.