Today we share a Hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which spells out six rights of a Muslim over the other, as mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Book 39 The Book of Greetings كتاب السلام / Chapter 3: One of the Rights of One Muslim Over Another Is (The Greeting Of) Salam باب مِنْ حَقِّ الْمُسْلِمِ لِلْمُسْلِمِ رَدُّ السَّلاَمِ ) as Hadith 2162 b.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ، وَابْنُ، حُجْرٍ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ - عَنِ الْعَلاَءِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " حَقُّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ سِتٌّ " . قِيلَ مَا هُنَّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ " إِذَا لَقِيتَهُ فَسَلِّمْ عَلَيْهِ وَإِذَا دَعَاكَ فَأَجِبْهُ وَإِذَا اسْتَنْصَحَكَ فَانْصَحْ لَهُ وَإِذَا عَطَسَ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فَسَمِّتْهُ وَإِذَا مَرِضَ فَعُدْهُ وَإِذَا مَاتَ فَاتَّبِعْهُ " .
Six are the rights of a Muslim over another Muslim. It was said to him: Allah's Messenger, what are these? Thereupon he said: When you meet him, offer him greetings; when he invites you to a feast accept it. When he seeks your council give him, and when he sneezes and says:" All praise is due to Allah," you say Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah show mercy to you); and when he fails ill visit him; and when he dies follow his bier.
The Hadith lists out six of the most honoured etiquettes a Muslim should show to another Muslim. And when every Muslim follows these six rights imagine how loveable that community of Muslims would be. Everyone greeting each other from depths of one's heart, accepting invitations and giving out one's candid and brotherly advice when asked for.
Non-Muslims when sneeze, normally do not say anything or at best offer a sorry to others nearby. But a Muslim when in company sneezes, he says Alhamdolillah (All praise is due to Allah). Medical science now tells us how important a sneeze is as it throws millions of harmful germs out of one's body and for this, we praise Allah for this automatic cleansing of our bodies. and when sneezes and says Allhamdolillah, the others close by should say: Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah show mercy to you). See how a natural act has been thanked and how others pray for Allah's mercy on him for had he not sneezed, how much harm could have been inflicted to our organs inside our body.
Visiting the sick is yet another right of one Muslim over the other. The mere presence of a friend and a brother really pulls up fainting spirit of the sick and he feels loved for someone has come to specially see him by taking time out of his busy schedule. And obviously, our last right to our brothers is when one dies, we should be attending his funeral and following his bier to the graveyard. Attending the Prayer for the Dead, Namaz e Janaza, is the last act for our fallen brother, praying for his eternal journey, praying for his ease in the hardships of the grave and praying for him to be blessed the Jannah.
Let us follow these simple rights from our heart and let us love and be loved.
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 refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah 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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