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Wednesday 25 October 2023

Help your brother: Whether he be an oppressor or an oppressed one (Hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)

Islam is fraternity of brotherhood: That is each Muslim, whether man or woman, must extend help to his brethren when in need or when one needed to be helped, whether asked for or not. That is, it is the intrinsic feeling for others that strengthens the bondage between one another, even if one is not known to the other.

In the backdrop of the premise above, we share a mindboggling hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which on the face of of it is very puzzling and makes one wonders the wisdom behind such a statement. But when it is explained none by the revered Prophet of Allah himself, one starts to understand to what an extent one must go to help his Muslim brethren. 

This Hadith is mentioned in Sahi al-Bukhārī  (Book 46 - Oppressions /  كتاب المظالم / Chapter 4: Help your brother / باب  تأَعِنْ أَخَاكَ ظَالِمًا أَوْ مَظْلُومًا) as Hadith 2444, given herein under:

Narrated by Anas:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By preventing him from oppressing others."

Arabic Text:
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مُعْتَمِرٌ، عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ انْصُرْ أَخَاكَ ظَالِمًا أَوْ مَظْلُومًا ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَذَا نَنْصُرُهُ مَظْلُومًا، فَكَيْفَ نَنْصُرُهُ ظَالِمًا قَالَ ‏"‏ تَأْخُذُ فَوْقَ يَدَيْهِ ‏"‏‏.‏

Now, imagine how important it is to help a Muslim brother who has gone astray and his arrogance, based on his position or wealth, makes him a demagogue and a tyrant who then oppresses his own brothers and sisters in Islam and makes their living miserable. It is therefore stressed by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that one must persuade a Muslim who is an oppressor and use all means to him hos disposal to take him away from his high headedness and be a helper rather than an oppressor. 

Likewise, one must help another Muslim from oppression and ease and save his life from misery meted out to him from his very own brother, though an oppressor and tyrant. 
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Please also refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah / Hadith of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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