The Duty of a Muslim towards his fellow Muslim

It is from Allah’s Mercy and goodness that He united us in brotherhood and as such we constantly should thank Him for this. But, as in all things, there are certain rules and duties we must follow. As such, the brotherhood among Muslims also has certain duties and obligations towards one another.

Our beloved prophet reminds us that a Muslim towards his fellow Muslim has 6 duties or obligations among others. Narrated by Ebu Hurraira that the prophet to have said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “حق المسلم على المسلم ست: قيل: وما هنّ يا رسول الله؟ قال: إذا لقيته فسلّم عليه. وإذا دعاك فأجبه، وإذا استنصحك فانصح له، وإذا عطس فحمد الله فشَمِّته. وإذا مرض فعُدْه، وإذا مات فاتْبَعه” رواه مسلم. هذه الحقوق الستة من قام بها في حقّ المسلمين كان قيامه بغيرها أولى. وحصل له أداء هذه الواجبات والحقوق التي فيها الخير الكثير والأجر العظيم من الله.

“The duties and obligations among Muslims to one another are 6″. Someone asked: which ones are those, O Messenger of Allah? He said:

1. When you meet your brother greet him with Selam.
2. When he calls on you, he invites you to respond or answer.
3. When he asks for advise, kindly give him advice.
4. When he sneezes and praises Allah, Pray for him.
5. When he’s sick visit him.
6. When he dies, take part on his “Jannaza” funeral.

1. When you meet each other greet one another with Selam:

It is a Muslim an human principle when two people meet they greet one another. However, for Muslims God Almighty has selected a particular or a unique greeting, which not only merely a greeting in a sense for the sake is of greet, but is a “dua” to one another. God Almighty says in the Qur’an:

(وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُمْ بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيباً (86)

“When someone greets you, greet him with a better greeting or equal to that for Allah takes everything to account”.
The prophet tells us that a greeting with a Salaam is one of the reasons to enter paradise; therefore we should not be neglectful of this.

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم : “والذي نفسي بيده، لا تدخلوا الجنة حتى تؤمنوا. ولا تؤمنوا حتى تحابوا. أفلا أدلكم على شيء إذا فعلتموه تحاببتم؟ أفشوا السلام بينكم” أخرجه مسلم

“I swear by the One who’s life is on His hands none of you will enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I tell you of something of which if you follow you’ll love one another? Greet each other with Salaam”. Therefore, an Islamic greeting is a duty upon every Muslim.
2. When he calls on you, he invites you to answer or respond:

Perhaps it might not seem important to some, but this duty upon us is not merely to answer but rather it is a response of respect and honor. Therefore, when one among you calls or invites you to something weather it’s a meeting, organizing something and so on, it is an obligation to answer your brothers call unless you are busy with work or have no means to attend or if that meeting or that particular invitation is contrary to Islamic values and teachings. The Prophet has said:

عن علي رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “لا طاعة في معصية. إنما الطاعة في المعروف” متفق عليه.

“There is no conviction in bad deeds. There is conviction only in good things”.
3. When he asks you for advise, give him advise:

عن أبي تميم بن أوس رضي الله عنه ، أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : ( الدين النصيحة ، قلنا : لمن يا رسول الله ؟ قال : لله ، ولكتابه ، ولرسوله ، ولأئمة المسلمين وعامتهم ) رواه البخاري و مسلم

Temim ibn Ebu Eus transmits that the prophet to have said: “Religion is advice. We asked him, for whom O Allah’s messenger? He replied: For Allah, His Books, His messenger, for the Muslim leaders (imams) and their masses”.
Advice is among the most important duties for Muslims since it has to deal with things in this world and hereafter. Therefore, when a Muslim asks for advice then give your maximum effort to help him in a right way same as you would expect to be treated if you were seeking help. If he’s doing something good, encourage him even more to pursue that path. But if he; he’s doing something harmful, and then try to stop him from that. If someone asks you of your opinion regarding marriage, business and so on, be prepared to advise him within Islamic principles as much as you can, but OWE to those if you betray him or lie to him because betrayal is among the most hated thing and most punishable. The prophet has said:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :{ من غشنا فليس منا } وفي رواية: { ليس منا من غشنا } [رواه مسلم].

“Whoever betrays us he is not among us”. While in another Hadith he said: “He is not among us, he who betrays us”.
4. When he sneezes and praises Allah, pray to Allah for him:

Sneezing is one of the among God’s bounties given to men, because when a person sneezes he releases perhaps thousands or millions of foreign elements in a form of germs or microbes cleaning your system from these elements. Therefore we are obligated to thank Allah. When a person sneezes he thanks Allah and says: “Elhamdulilah” ( Praise be to Allah), while we are to respond: Jerhamullah ( May God’s Mercy be upon you). Then the person responds: Jehdina ve Jehdikumullah (May Allah guides us).

5. When he’s ill visit him:

Among the duties that we have towards our Muslim brother is when someone gets sick you should visit him. This is the criteria that connect us in Islam. Also, in this there is a great reward in which whoever heeds on this principle it will increase on his bounties given by Allah while visiting the sick. Our beloved prophet has said:

عن ثوبان مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : من عاد مريضا لم يزل في خرفة الجنة حتى يرجع .

“When a Muslim visits his brother, he has earned paradise until his return”.
Again the Prophet has said:

عن جابر بن عبد الله قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : من عاد مريضا لم يزل يخوض في الرحمة حتى يجلس فإذا جلس اغتمس فيها .

“Whoever visits a sick person he has received Allah’s Mercy until he sits down. When he sits down he is submerged completely with Allah’s Mercy”,

6. When he dies, take part in his “Jannaza” funeral:

Procession and taking part in a Muslim funeral is the last of the duties which we’ll be covering today. This duty as well, is indebted to us not merely to take part on rituals but it has greater significance than this. It is a prayer for the deceased and Asking for Allah’s Mercy for the deceased. The prophet has said:

عن عثمان رضي اللّه عنه قال: كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا فرغ من دفن الميت وقف عليه فقال :” استغفروا لأخيكم وسلوا له التثبيت فإنه الآن يُسأل (سنن أبي داود والبيهقي، بإسناد حسن

“When the burial of a deceased Muslim had finished he would say: Ask forgiveness for your brother and pray for him because he is being questioned right now”.

Secondly, when we take part on these occasions it is a reward for us. The Prophet has said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( مَنْ شَهِدَ الْجَنَازَةَ حَتَّى يُصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا فَلَهُ قِيرَاطٌ ، وَمَنْ شَهِدَهَا حَتَّى تُدْفَنَ فَلَهُ قِيرَاطَانِ . قِيلَ : وَمَا الْقِيرَاطَانِ ؟ قَالَ : مِثْلُ الْجَبَلَيْنِ الْعَظِيمَيْنِ ) رواه البخاري (1325) ومسلم (945)

“Whoever takes part in a funeral procession of a deceased brother until the end prayer of the deceased he has one “kirat”. Whoever takes part until after he’s buried he has two “Kirat” Someone asked: How much are two kirats? The prophet responded: “They are as big as two mountains”.
Brothers and sisters, there are some of the duties which we have towards each other. Our presence in this Mosque, specifically Fridays should be a reminder that we may heed to these principles and perhaps to increase our brotherly Islamic values and that our weekly congregational gathering should be fulfilled completely and on time. Allah has honored us by giving us this deed and that we may be His obedient servants. Therefore we should hold fast to this honor while fulfilling our duties in practicing these principles in our daily lives and our obligations towards each other.
May Allah help us and Guide us. AMIN!