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Silence is complicity

Silence is complicity
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February 02, 2024
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Muslim brotherhood

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ ‏- صلى الله عليه وسلم: “اَلْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو اَلْمُسْلِمِ, لَا يَظْلِمُهُ, وَلَا يَخْذُلُهُ, وَلَا يَحْقِرُهُ”. مسلم.

“A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down upon him”. [Muslim]

عن عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما – أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏:”‏ الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ، لاَ يَظْلِمُهُ، وَلاَ يُسْلِمُهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي حَاجَةِ أَخِيهِ، كَانَ اللَّهُ فِي حَاجَتِهِ ‏”‏‏.‏ متفق عليه.

Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:

“A Muslim is a brother of another a Muslim. So he should neither oppress him nor hand him over to an oppressor. And whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

There are many narrations in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) about how Muslims should interact with each other in their community. Indeed, the revelation came to establish a loving, caring, supportive community. It came to draw a line on ignorant pre-Islamic practices and introduce practices that were in line with divine guidance. It came to establish a bondship of imaan between Muslims, regardless of colour, race or nationality.

The consequences of letting your brother down

All believers are brothers and sisters and accordingly they must behave as such. This is why in this hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying the Muslim is the brother of another Muslim, so he should not humiliate or oppress him, he should not look down on him nor hand him over to an oppressor.

Jabir ibn Abdullah and Abu Talhah ibn Sahl al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

عن جَابِرِ بْن عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَأَبَي طَلْحَةَ بْن سَهْلٍ الأَنْصَارِيّ رضي الله تعالى عنهما يَقُولاَنِ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ (ﷺ):

“مَا مِنِ امْرِئٍ يَخْذُلُ امْرَأً مُسْلِمًا فِي مَوْضِعٍ تُنْتَهَكُ فِيهِ حُرْمَتُهُ، وَيُنْتَقَصُ فِيهِ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ، إِلاَّ خَذَلَهُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوْطِنٍ يُحِبُّ فِيهِ نُصْرَتَهُ،  وَمَا مِنِ امْرِئٍ يَنْصُرُ مُسْلِمًا فِي مَوْضِعٍ يُنْتَقَصُ فِيهِ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ، وَيُنْتَهَكُ فِيهِ مِنْ حُرْمَتِهِ، إِلاَّ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوْطِنٍ يُحِبُّ نُصْرَتَهُ ‏”‏. رواه  أبو داود، وأحمد، والبخاري في الأدب المفرد.

“There is no person who betrays a Muslim in a situation where his sanctity is violated and his honour is diminished, except that Allah will abandon him in a place where he loves to be supported by Allah. And there is no person who supports a Muslim in a situation where his honour is undermined and his sanctity is violated, except that Allah will support him in a place where he loves to be granted victory by Allah.” (Abu Dawoud, Ahmad and Bukhari in “Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)

Here we see that if you see a Muslim being humiliated before you, and you do something to save him, Allah will support you. By contrast, if you do nothing to help him, when you had the chance, you will be humiliated on the Day of Judgement. This governs the relationship between Muslims. Wherever they are, if you can help but you did not, you will be humiliated. How will we answer when we are asked what have we done for the people of Palestine?

Some might say we tried but for those who are not bothered, what will they say? Especially our rulers, who can do something, but they decided to do nothing while people are being massacred. What will they say?! The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned us clearly that doing nothing will bring humiliation. They will be let down as they let the Palestine down.

We have now reached 100,000 deaths and casualties as well as those under the rubble. The population is no longer 2.3 million. There is a deafening silence all over the world as the biggest massacre in the 21st century is unfolding before our eyes. The International Community is incapacitated by the veto of Uncle Sam.

Uncle Sam’s Veto

The veto of Uncle Sam is suffocating innocent people. They are hungry and thirsty but human life has no sanctity for them. Hospitals, schools and places of worship are not sanctified. What are they waiting for? Being bystanders to killing is complicity. Being complicit is not acceptable. This is not allowed in any religion or any law. Saying that you asked the aggressors to stop killing but they didn’t listen is no excuse when you are arming them. If you want the killing to stop, stop supplying them with ammunition!

If you really care about human life, then you have to act. Violence is not the answer. It does not bring peace; it only breeds hatred. It will never achieve peace. If it always fails, then you should take the path of peace. Real peace and justice. Violence breeds more violence. Since the Oslo Accords there has been no peace because there is no genuine intention for peace. The politicians are saying they will work on it but if they are genuine then they need to be serious about creating the two-state solution. People are losing lives every day. How many more lives will it take before a ceasefire is called?

While we keep hearing about the Israel’s right to security, don’t Palestinians also deserve security and safety? Why are there double standards?

From our side, we need to do our best to support our brothers and sisters through all legitimate means and raise our voices for peace, so that this killing comes to an end. Otherwise, it will only create a new beast.

Oppression will lead to more violence. Peace is the solution. Justice is the solution. Fairness is the solution.

Stop being complicit and silent. Justice is the right of every person.

Support your brothers

The sunnah is filled with hadith that encourage us to be supportive of our brothers and sisters.

Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

عن أبي موسى الأشعري رضي الله تعالى عنه أن رسول الله  صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :«المُؤْمِنُ للْمُؤْمِنِ كَالبُنْيَانِ يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضَاً» وشبَّكَ بَيْنَ أصَابِعِهِ.الصحيحان.

“The relationship of the believer with another believer is like (the bricks of) a building, each strengthens the other.” He (peace be up upon him) illustrated this by interlacing the fingers of both his hands. [Bukhari and Muslim]

خرج الإمام أحمد من حديث أبي أمامة بن سهل بن حُنَيف عن أبيه عن النبي (ﷺ) قال: «من أُذِل عنده مؤمن فلم ينصره، و هو يقدر على أن ينصره، أذله الله على رؤوس الخلائق يوم القيامة».

Sahl bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“He who sees a believer humiliated before him and does nothing to help him when he has the ability to support him, will be humiliated in front of all creatures on the Day of Judgment.” [Ahmad]

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ‏:‏ الْمُؤْمِنُ مَرْآةُ أَخِيهِ، وَالْمُؤْمِنُ أَخُو الْمُؤْمِنِ، يَكُفُّ عَلَيْهِ ضَيْعَتَهُ، وَيَحُوطُهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ‏.‏الأدب المفرد.

“A believer is the mirror of his brother. A believer is the brother of another believer. He protects him against loss and defends him behind his back.” [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]

Despite all the pain we are witnessing, we are reminded that no matter what befalls a believer, there is good in it so long as they respond in the prophetic manner – with gratitude and patience.

Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinan (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

وعن أبي يحيى صهيب بن سنان رضي الله عنه قال‏:‏ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏عجبا لأمر المؤمن إن أمره كله له خير، وليس ذلك لأحد إلا للمؤمن ‏:‏ إن أصابته سراء شكر فكان خيراً له، وإن أصابته ضراء صبر فكان خيراً له‏”‏ ‏(‏‏(‏رواه مسلم‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

“How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything, and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him”. [Muslim]

No might is greater than Allah. We should try our best to help and support those who are suffering. The least we can do to support our brothers and sisters in Palestine is make dua. We can write to our MPs to stop arming the oppressors and end the violence.

We beg Allah to bring peace and justice to the people of Palestine. Ameen

Based on the Khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim 2nd Feb 2024

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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