It is necessary for me first to take up the matter of virtues of my master, Ali, the Victorious Lion of Allah and it is brotherhood of the Holy Prophet with Ali. That is, establishing of brotherhood by the Holy Prophet. It mentioned in a large number of narrations of both Sunnis and Shias. The Prophet made Ali his brother by selecting him for himself. This is in addition to the general command of, “The believers are but brethren”. It is indeed a wonderful narration. Muhammad wants to establish Islamic brotherhood. All know what kind of selection Muhammad has. What an important selection! For example, he established this sort of brotherhood between Abu Bakr and Umar, Talha and Zubair, Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Uthman, Salman and Abu Dharr and between Miqdad and Ammar. This brotherhood was so wide that, for instance, if one of such two brothers goes to war front in jihad, the other who does not go should take care of the household requirements of the former. In short, the Holy Prophet made pairs of such brothers among the Muslims. The only one for whom he did not mention a brother was Ali bin Abi Talib.
Now, according to both Shia and Sunni narrations, Ali became gloomy. He said, “O Prophet of Allah! What has happened? You fixed brothers for everybody but not for me!” The Holy Prophet replied, “I have reserved you for myself.” Then the Prophet went up the pulpit and declared, “O people! This man is my brother. O Umar! Your brother is Abu Bakr. O Uthman! Your brother is Abdur Rahman. But as for Ali, his brother is Muhammad: You are my friend and helper. You are my brother. You are my flesh and blood. You are my inheritor…”
Sometimes Ali himself lamented and said, “O Muslims! Who among you was the one whom the Holy Prophet made his brother except me?” That is, O unjust ones! O those who went forth and brought others ahead of me! What ruthlessness and what perversity!
Making brothers is a recommended deed
It is from this matter of making brothers by the Holy Prophet that the Islamic jurisprudents and scholars have derived that it is a recommended deed to make such brotherhood with one or two or more Muslims. So it is mentioned in the narrations of Ahle Bait that it is desirable that a believer should find out a brother-in-faith for such brotherhood. So see who among the believers is more suitable for such brotherhood and give hand in his hand so that he may be your brother and helper, not only till the time of death but also right upto Paradise. Such brother forever has no selfishness, passion, lust or greed to weaken the bond of fraternity. Such brotherhood is not possible where there is self-interest. With such selfishness the claim of brotherhood is false. Anything against ones wishes ends this brotherhood.
Eternal spiritual fraternity requires that there must not be any selfishness and passion. Egotism destroys brotherhood. My comfort, my rest, my pleasure my taste, my entertainment; it takes one away from real friendship. Faithful friendship demands that ‘I’ and ‘my’ should become ‘We’ and ‘Our’. One must become a lowly servant having humility, who sacrifices himself for other good persons among his brothers. Only such behavior fulfills the covenant of spiritual brotherhood.
This is why, the Imam in a narration, points out two signs for such persons. If these two signs are present the brotherhood will last. One when the time for prayer arrives, he sets aside all other affairs and proceeds to pray. Another sign of a faithful and reliable friend is that he helps his brothers in faith both in ease as well as in hardship.
In other narrations, it is also mentioned that a faithful friend not only ever gives trouble to others for his comfort but he also distributes his own comfort to his friend who does not have it. So much so that if one has two wives and his friend has none, he divorces one of his two wives and gives her away to his friend in marriage.
If he has two houses he gives one to his friend for the sake of equality. If he has only one servant, and if his friend has none, the former asks his servant to give some hours’ service to his friend. Not only monetary help but there is sacrifice of life also in a real spiritual brotherhood.
“And those who made their abode in the city and in the faith before them love those who have fled those who were driven from to them, and do not find in their hearts a need of what they are given, and prefer (them) before themselves though poverty may afflict them, and whoever is preserved from the niggardliness of his soul, these it is that are the successful ones.”
I am afraid if I explain this fully you may say this is strange and that now man is without a friend. I tell you a story of self-sacrifice for brotherhood in Islam.
Example on self-sacrifice
It is mentioned in Tafsir Majma-ul-Bayaan that once someone brought a gift for the Holy Prophet. The Prophet gave it to one of his neighbors. The latter too had a neighbor. So he gave it to his neighbor, as he was poorer than himself. Thus the gift went over to seven houses and, at last, came back to the Holy Prophet. How wonderful!
In this Tafsir it is also mentioned that Hisham said, “During the battle of Uhad, I went to see my cousin. When I saw him I found that he was breathing his last. I knew from his dry lips that he was extremely thirst and was unable even to speak. So I brought some water. When I tried to drop that water in his mouth, he closed his lips tightly and pointed towards another wounded brother-in-faith near him. When I went to the other person I found he also was about to die of thirst. I tried to drop some water in his mouth but he also closed his lips and pointed towards a third wounded warrior.
When I reached the third man I found that he had already died. So I returned to the second gentleman and I saw that he also was no more. Then I turned towards my cousin who also had already met his Lord. So I returned with the pot of water.” Now what Almighty God will give to such selfless Muslims? And what about those who snatch things from one another? But a true believer sacrifices his own life so that the life of his brother-in-faith may remain safe. The one who observes the rights of others gives benefit only to himself. Helping others is, in truth, helping oneself.
“The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren and be careful of (your duty to) Allah that mercy may be had on you. O you who believe! Let not (one) people laugh at (another) people perchance they may be better than they, nor let women (laugh) at (other) women, perchance they may be better than they; and do not find fault with your own people. (49:10-11)”
Material and spiritual aspects in social life
Man is in need of unity, co-operation and joining of hearts for securing of safety in this worldly life and for success in the Hereafter. If man wants that is worldly life and should pass with happiness and comfort, it is not possible by his own self alone. He needs a house, a wife/husband, clothing and food and also a carpet or a floor. This cannot be secured from one person. Therefore, he is obliged to co-operate with one another. If people become one hearted and in one direction their lives pass with ease and nicety. Man and wife should be sympathetic with one another, so also a seller and a buyer both must have a co-operative integrity. If a happy life is desired, one must never trouble another due to selfishness. No one should play any trick with anybody. One must never fear another. This peaceful life is for this world.
Meaning: Paradise is where nobody troubles anyone.
But as regards the Hereafter, Faith, Piety and good deeds too cannot be acted upon solitarily. One cannot improve his Hereafter by sitting in a far off corner and remaining away from the world, the Faithful, the Religious brotherhood. How can Faith be obtained in this way? Faith is not a thing, which can be proud in someone’s throat. One must, sufficiently, sit with a scholar, have contacts with the Faithful, so that the light of Faith and knowledge may benefit him. This cannot be attained by remaining aloof and alone.
It is mentioned in Usul al-Kafi that some people praised, before Imam Sadiq someone saying, “This person never comes out of his house. He forever and at all times remains busy in remembering God and the Hereafter.” The holy Imam asked, “This one who sits in a lonely corner, how does he improve his religious behavior without seeing anybody?” These gentlemen do not attend Mosque for years. They never see a scholar; they do not read books. How do they inculcate Faith?
If there is anything, it is following collective discipline. It is not a thing, which can be taken to grave with oneself. Faith in heart has to be earned with effort. A faith, which is obtained after research and study and through knowledge, brings light (Noor) in one’s heart. This is with regard to the origin or foundation of Faith.
Satanic obsessions, a result of loneliness, for loneliness
Every man always has Satans around him. They do not leave him to the lucky and successful. They put doubts and hesitations in his heart in order to shake his Faith. Such doubts are both about deeds and beliefs. The author of Urwathul Wuthqa has very rightly said that these Satans insert doubts at least about the appropriateness of the prayer leader so that one may not offer the prayer in congregation. So long as a believer is alone, Satan wins over him but if he is accompanied by another believer he becomes strong. It is a popular saying that is you break a stick once and then, after putting the two broken pieces one upon another, again try to break, it becomes difficult as the two became one. Their strength has also doubled.
So long as a believer remains alone, Satan is able to pressurize him. He puts more and more pressure on him until he takes away his Faith. The Satan does not leave man until he makes him deprived. But if one Faithful person acquired true friendship with another true believer and makes spiritual unity, Satan is not able to create doubts in their hearts. Some persons become doubtful about Cleanliness, doubtful in recitation. Such things are due to loneliness. But if a believer befriends another believer properly and they become one hearted, then Satan cannot defeat them. There is a narration that our Shias do not fall in doubts that is; they are joined with us. The one who joined with Ja’far, who becomes united with another believer than Satan has no power to play mischief with them. Satan waits for a disagreement or dispute between the two. Satan makes efforts to separate them. All the endeavor of Satan is for not allowing two Believers to join with one another. Satan tries his utmost to create rift between the two, by pouring a doubt in one’s heart. Anything, which is against one’s liking, is the net of Satan. Then Satan fans the fire of dispute and disagreement to make the two brothers separate.
It is mentioned in Usul al-Kafi that the Imam says, “The Satan remains happy as long as a believer is separate and away from another believer. When the two brothers join together, Satan shrieks and falls down on earth.”
Who is the man who makes Satan shriek? He is the one who suppresses his own desires and passions. If such a faithful man, with a true heart and on the basis of truth and as per the Command of Allah, joins with a perfect Muslim, Satan and his doubts fail. Man is very much in need of a spiritual friend, especially at the time of his death.
The last Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that when one is about to die, he sees the faces of those with whom he had remained connected during his worldly life.[69] If he had good friends he observes good faces. Otherwise he sees ugly faces. Woe unto you if you were a friend of a bad fellow. Woe unto you if you had friendship with a Satan. At your last moments that Satan appears before you. You face only misleading temptations. If you had a spiritual friend, his spiritualism helps you at the time of your death. Man requires much help (at the time of his death), which is provided by a spiritual friendship, which continues in the other worlds also after death. As I told you yesterday, a permanent friend is for this purpose. Such a friend strengthens your religion and faith. The number of such persons was always less and it is lesser in the present times, such spiritual persons who have no personal desires and passions, friend who joins with you for God’s sake. Only God can grant us that.
The things which join hearts are ordered
The happiness and in this world and success in the Hereafter is, as I have said earlier, based on the joining (unity) of hearts. That is why, God Almighty, because of His Far-reaching Wisdom, through the mouths of His Prophets and Imams, commanded us to observe all those things, which are effective for the purpose of unity of hearts. Likewise prohibited and banned are all those matters, which create disinterest and dislike and hatred and separation of hearts so that the Muslims may not become disintegrated and both of their world and the Hereafter may not be destroyed. For example, at present, really speaking the lives of Muslims is not very different from the lives of the deniers. They are in adversity and so are we too due to disunion and discord.
No two hearts are united. You can see. Two twelver Imami Shias are observing the same prayer, fast and piety. Yet they are not at good terms with one another.
There is a strange disunity because of self-interests and selfishness. Their life is totally like the life a denier. They are being hit by deniers! For so many times it has been said how three million Israelis have overpowered two hundred million Muslim Arabs! Why so? Here I must cry out that the lives of Muslims are just like the lives of non-Muslims. As their world is like theirs, I am afraid their Hereafter too will be like theirs. Moreover the deniers have power and strength but the unlucky Muslims do not have even that. It shows how will be their life in the Hereafter!
