THE BELIEVER'S BROTHERHOOD AND ALLAH'S BOSOM FRIENDSHIP
Friday Sermon by
Dr Mahmud Abul-Huda Al Husaini
Al 'Adiliyya Mosque, Aleppo, 20\7\2007
As is mentioned in the agreed upon sound Hadith, transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim, the beloved, Al Mustafa (PBUH), stood among his companions and said:
"Oh people! I renounce to have a Khalil (a bosom friend) from you. If I were to choose a Khalil, I would have definitely chosen Abu Bakr as my Khalil, but he is my brother and my cordial companion in Islam."
This abbreviated sermon is comprehensive, expressive and indicative of the greatest two elements man can have to be an honest and true representative of this great religion. When man desires to perfect his religion, when he wants to enhance the uprising of his Ummah and the development of its civilization, definitely, he needs the following two elements:
1-Allah's bosom friendship.
2-Islam brotherhood and cordiality.
One may ask the question:
Isn't cordiality the highest level of love?
As is known, cordiality is the highest step in the ladder of love and inclination, but is the bosom friendship greater than cordiality and greater than love?
When the Exalted Allah referred to the relationship between husband and wife, He said:
"and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts)" (Ar Rum, v. 21).
But how can we understand the difference between cordiality and brotherhood on the one hand, and Khullah (bosom friendship) on the other? And how can man possess these two feelings simultaneously.
-Brotherhood joined with cordiality is the result of harmonious integration in qualities, as well as unity of goal, purpose and direction.
Cordiality does not cancel your identity, nor does it nullify your characteristics. It rather makes your attribute an integrated element with the attribute of your brother. By this integration that is interrelated, harmonious and consistent, you will have one joined goal and purpose. You will have a bond that guarantees cooperation and bring about power, and disapproves of any discord, hatred, and jealousy…
-On the other hand, Al Khullah (bosom friendship) is something different. It implies change and cancelling of qualities. This word is derived from the Arabic word Khal (vinegar). Khal is given this name because the impure liquid of its juice is completely changed into a purified one.
Al Khullah is vanishing of a quality within another one. It is cancelling of a will within another one. In brief, it is complete surrender to a bosom friend.
No human being deserves to be a substitute for another one. It is completely unacceptable to have somebody's identity cancelled because of the identity of another human being, nor is it acceptable to have somebody cancel his attribute to assume the attribute of another human being. This is the description of Al Khullah.
- Al Khullah (bosom friend)
" It is not fitting for a Believer, men or women, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision" (Al Ahzab, v. 36).
When your Lord desires something, you should comply with His desire and have no desire of your own:
"no choice have they (in the matter)" (Al Qasas, v. 68).
"But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, (because the Messenger's judgment is identical with that of Allah, therefore, there are no two types of judgment), "and find in their souls no resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction" (An Nisa', v. 65).‏
Concerning Allah's bosom friend, Ibrahim and his son Isma'il (PBUTH), the Exalted Allah said:
"So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah)" (As Safat, v.103).
As is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, the Exalted Allah's bosom friend, Ibrahim (PBUH), said:
I have turned my face towards Him Who has created the heavens and earth, worshipping none but Allah alone and I am not of the disbelievers polytheists" (Al An'am, v. 79).
When you surrender everything to your Lord ( your will, your knowledge, your might and power), so that everything you own becomes in His authority, in His knowledge, in His will, in His instruction and in His judgment, only then you deserve to attain the bosom friendship.
Concerning those who consider people their bosom friends, the Exalted Allah said:
"Friends on that Day will be foes, one to another, except the Righteous" (Az Zukhruf, v. 67).
The Prophet's Hadith (PBUH) related to this issue makes us confirm the Exalted Allah's words "except the Righteous" to mean that those who fear Allah and become righteous will never consider any human being a bosom friend. Consequently, their bosom friend will be their Lord.
"Friends on that Day will be foes, one to another, except the Righteous". On that day, the fact that a human being does not deserve to be worshipped, nor does he deserve to be completely surrendered to, will be manifest. It is Only Allah to whom everything should be surrendered, and he is the only one worthy of that.
The prince of the Egyptian poets, Shawqi (MBUH), described his sweetheart saying:
I adore a slender gazelle fear of tattlers made her roam
A set up fascinating statue whom I love but I worship not
The above mentioned lines mean that however fascinated and attracted by his beloved the poet becomes , he finds her unworthy of worship, because she is a human being.
Our teacher, As Shaghouri (MBUH), rivals Shawqi concerning this meaning, but he experienced love and worship simultaneously, whereas the Prince of poets experienced only love. As Shaghouri said:
If someone claims to love with no worship,
I say I do love him and worship.
If my adoration becomes weary,
I five times renew it daily.
I prostrate to my bosom friend, to my Master, to the One I had as intimate Beloved. I prostrate to the One whom I allow nobody else, but He, to change my attribute:
"When He desires to commune with you, He veils your attribute with His, and covers your epithet with His."
In the prophetic traditions, it is said:
"Adopt the manners of Ar Rahman (the Most Merciful)." That is, veil your meanness with His tolerance, your miserliness with His generosity, your weakness with His might, and confess that affairs are out of your control. When you choose something, make the Exalted Allah your only Master. Only when you apply all that, you will have chosen well.
The Exalted Allah said: "He will love them as they will love Him" (Al Ma'ida, v. 54). He also said: "Allah did take Abraham for a bosom friend "(An Nisa', v. 125).
Mercy be upon Jalal Addin Ar Rumi when he said:
"Everything, except seeing His Face, even if it were the knigdon of the earth, is mere illusion and superstition. Until when does the fool embrace a dead beloved? His religion and what he adores are mere trick and hypocrisy. He has to sleep".
Is the sugar more valuable than the one who makes the sugar?
Is the moon more beautiful than the one who makes the moon?
The child knows nothing but the milk he sucks, and the lover knows nobody but his beloved.
Jesus (PBUH) was intoxicated by the Truth, while his donkey was intoxicated by barely.
Jesus (PBUH) went to heaven, while his donkey stayed below, and I stayed on the earth, while my heart soared up on the high horizon."
Thus the first element, i.e., Al Khulla, makes you set out in your straight way not turning around. It makes you free from any impediment, whether it is temptation or terrorizing, because you seek one of the two glorious things, and because you desire His satisfaction. You will be in the status of Al Khullah similar to that of Khabib when he stood among the enemies of Allah and said:
I don't mind if I die a Muslim,
In which way I am killed,
As long as I am killed for the cause of Allah
Who if He desires, will bless my torn limbs.
You will be in the status of Al Khullah similar to that of the magicians of Pharaoh when the latter threatened them of cutting their arms and legs and crucifying them on the trunks of the palm trees. They stood fast before that threat and said:
"for Allah is best And most abiding" (Taha, v. 73).
They meant to say to Pharaoh that he had the authority to execute his judgment on them in this world:
"They said: never shall we regard thee as more than the Clear Signs that have Come to us; or than Him Who created us! so decree whatever thou desirest to decree: for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this world" (Taha, v. 72).
After Pharaoh said to them:
"So shall ye know for certain, which of us can give the more severe and the more Lasting punishment" (Taha, v. 71),
the magicians answered him from their status of Al Khullah saying:
"for Allah is best And most abiding" (Taha, v. 73).
The status of Al Khullah makes you free from the eight impediments which, outwardly you abide with, but inwardly, your heart is directed towards the Exalted Allah:
"Say: if it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger or the striving in his cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision" (At Tawbah, v. 24).
The other attribute that makes the believers have emotional interrelationship, unity of feelings and solidification among them is:
Islam brotherhood and cordiality
This issue leads to one unified goal, and makes all the believers seek the face and satisfaction of the Exalted Allah.
If you seek worldly desires while your brother aims at the satisfaction of Allah, there will never be cordiality and brotherhood between you and him. What unites you both is emotional coherent bond of united feelings and purposes. On the other hand, when there is discrepancy in purposes, you will disagree. So is the case when the material and secular desires join you, for you will separate and disagree with each other too, unless one of you is the bosom friend of the other. In this case, one will cancel the identity of the other which is an unhealthy relationship among people.
In brief, cordiality among brothers in Islam is a relationship based on integration and cohesion, on mutual respect, veneration and love.
It is unity of purpose and participation in feelings.
If you happen to find a free man, hold fast to him
For nowadays, such a man has become a rarity.
The free man has a heart free from being attached to anything connected with worldly desires. So if you are free like him, strong ties of cordiality and brotherhood will join you together.
The Exalted Allah said:
"We will certainly strengthen thy arm through thy brother" (Al Qasas, v. 35).
Brotherhood in Islam changes the 'I' into the 'we'.
The Exalted Allah said to His Beloved:
"He it is that hath strengthened thee with His aid and with (the company of) the Believers" (Al Anfal, v. 62)."
The Prophet (PBUH) and his companions had one united purpose, so they received the support from the Exalted Allah.
The Exalted Allah said:
"and their similitude in the Gospel is: Like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem" (Al Fateh, v. 29).
The Exalted Allah said: "He hath put affection among their hearts", that is He united their purpose which is turning towards the Exalted Allah, and calling for righteousness and doing good deeds:
"And (moreover) He hath put affection among their hearts: not if thou hadst spent all that is in the earth, couldst thou have produced that affection" (Al Anfal, v. 63).
The material never unites the hearts. It rather separates the close friends. The material never joins people but temporarily like the gathering of dogs on a carrion. When this carrion ends, they separate to look for a new carrion each separately.
The material does not united people, for "what is for the sake of Allah is connected, but what is for other than Allah is disconnected."
As related by An Nisa'I in Sinanihi, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to Ali (GBPWH): "The illiterate Prophet's covenant to you is that no one loves you but a believer, and no one hates you but a hypocrite". This was a testimony to emphasize the faith of our master Ali (GBPWH) given to him by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
If a believer happens to meet another believer, they will naturally love each other because there is participation between them in attribute and in meaning. This does not mean identification in attribute. It is rather a process of integration that is harmonious in meaning. Concerning this meaning, I remember a similar experience I had through my university study that explains best the meaning of integration in attribute. The relationship between the Enzyme and Co-enzyme is based on interrelationship, or colloquially speaking, it is like a picture cut into pieces. You have to gather the pieces to make a complete picture out of the separate pieces to produce a complete beautiful one of the whole.
Thus is the perfect tie of brotherhood.
Thus is the ideal bond of cordiality.
Thus is the harmony in brotherhood so that one united power, a solidified building and one body are produced.
Al Jeneid (MBUH) said:
"If you want to have a brother who would support you, and tolerate your injury, you could hardly find one. But if you want to have a brother in Allah whose provision you would be responsible for, and you would tolerate his injury, I have a lot of people to make you acquainted with."
If you enter the sphere of brotherhood having in mind your obligation towards the others, you will continue in the bond of brotherhood and cordiality, but if you think only of your own rights upon the others and their obligations towards you, you will soon be out of this circle.
This is the rule of brotherhood and cordiality in Islam.
This is the way by which the believer can perfect his religion. It is when he, inwardly, has the Exalted Allah only as his bosom friend, joined with the bond of brotherhood in Islam towards the others.
When we are able to join the two concepts, I expect to see plenty of young and old people who would produce the waited for civilization. But if otherwise happens, we will not be able to move from building the individual to building community and society.
Allāhum…Guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask God's forgiveness.