Ep. 42: Honour Your Brother | Best Conduct

Honour Your Brother

The prophet (SAW) was once performing tawaaf,and when he looked at the Ka’bah he said, “O Ka’bah, how beautiful and pure you are. What great status Allah (SWT) has given you that you are so sacred. A believer is even more sacred in the sight of Allah (SWT).” The prophet (SAW) explained this by saying, “Allah has definitely made you sacred, but for a Muslim, every aspect of them is sacred and untouchable.” Their wealth cannot be taken without permission, their blood cannot be shed, and it goes even beyond that – their honor and reputation is also sacred and no one is allowed to tamper with someone else’s reputation, just like how we cannot tamper with someone else’s wealth. This hadith goes on to say, “It is even haram for us to have incorrect judgements and assumptions about other Muslims.” We cannot pass a judgement about someone without having facts in front of us and we cannot assume bad things or view others in a negative light. The prophet (SAW) taught us how sacred each person is. What does this mean? It means that it is our responsibility to look at each other with an eye of love and respect. We must respect each others’ life and reputation. We must recognize that every person is entitled to their own respect. Everyone is entitled to that, and no one has the right to take that away from them. Everyone has the right to be looked at in a positive way instead of being judged based on hearsay and false rumours. We are not allowed to mistreat each other.

Sometimes, the intention is not to mistreat another person and just to joke around. Once, the prophet (SAW) was sitting with a group of his companions. One of them got up to do something. As he was gone, one of the companions took his slippers and put them underneath him. When this person who had left came back, he said, “My shoes were right here. Where did they go?” Everyone acted like they did not know where they went. Then, after some time, the one who had them said, “Here they are.” The prophet (SAW) was told that this happened in the gathering. The prophet (SAW) said, “How could you frighten another believer?” Right away, he said, “O prophet of Allah, I was just joking.” Again, the prophet (SAW) repeated himself. Other incidents of this nature also happened in the time of the prophet (SAW), and right away, he addressed it. Once, a sahaba fell asleep on top of his animal on a journey. Another sahabi came by and took the arrows from his quiver. When he woke up, he felt that his quiver was empty and became scared. He was given the arrows back eventually, but when the prophet (SAW) learned of this, he was displeased. He said, “You frightened him.” The prophet (SAW) has told us that, “If you are going to pass someone a sharp object, do not point the pointed end towards them.” If it is anything dangerous or anything that could possibly harm another person, keep the sharp point to yourself. He even taught us that if we must move from one place to another, we should not carry it with the sharp end sticking out so that we are not doing anything to frighten people.

The prophet (SAW) had a great deal of love for his Ummah, and he could not bear to see the pain and the suffering of his Ummah. He also did not want people in this Ummah causing others pain and disturbance. The prophet (SAW) showed us how to deal with any unpleasant experience, so that the people around us feel comfortable. This is how we must live amongst each other. These are the teachings we must implement in our movements. Everything becomes harmonious in this way. If we think, “Nobody can do that to me and get away with it,” we are not doing our part in making sure that we are not causing trouble for other people, and we are not fulfilling the expectations that the prophet (SAW) had for us. Remember that, when you cause that kind of emotion and fear to someone, it stays with them, and we all have to face the consequences of our actions one day or another. May Allah (SWT) enable us to respect each other the way the prophet (SAW) taught us.