Muhammad & our relationship with others (Peace be upon him)
The Theme For The 2022 KZN Juloos Meelad un Nabi.
This article has come about while writing an overview of Surah Al Baqura which the members of the Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi whatsapp group studied over four years, a verse each week.
Our relationships with others is so important that it has a bearing on our Imaam (faith). Imaan, or believing in Allah is what will grant us success in the hereafter.
How we treat others amounts to how we treat our Creator. There are lots of teachings along this line in this surah and in Islam. As an example: it is related in the Hadis that Allah SWT will ask on the Day of Judgment, “when I was hungry why did you not feed Me” and when they would ask, how so, He would remind them of the beggar they chased away from their door.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has also said, you will not believe until you love for others what you love for yourself.
Our Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, spent his life in the service of others. Being good to others, is primarily what Islam is all about.
While Allah SWT teaches us to love and care for others, our open enemy shaitan (the devil), incites us towards enemity. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has said that what shaitaan loves the most is to sow discord between people, especially between the husband and wife. So taking care of our relationships is pleasing Allah SWT and disregarding our relationships is pleasing the devil.
The first relationship discussed in the Holy Quran is our relationship with Allah’s chosen ones. This relationship is so important that it is embedded in Surah Al Fatiha, which is the essence of the Holy Quraan. We are taught to seek out and follow Allah’s chosen ones and in the following chapter, Surah Al Baqura, there are plenty narratives of the relationship between Hazrath Moosa AS and his followers so that we could learn important lessons in this regard. This is the most important relationship. Remember Allah SWT communicates to humanity by them and therefore our link to Allah SWT is through them. Respecting them is respecting Allah SWT.
Everything is created by Allah SWT from His essence and everything reflects His beauty, power and knowledge especially Allah’s chosen ones. Through them we get to be closest to Allah SWT, through them we get to see and experience Allah’s greatest attributes in an interactive way. Spiritual guidance has to experienced first hand and therefore one has to meet a current Saint and pledge alliance to him. This relationship requires us to learn to listen and follow instead of voicing our opinions to show-off.
The next relationship we are reminded of in this Surah, is our relationships with parents and we are reminded of this by this verse: “Safa and the Marwah are certainly the symbols of Allah…” 2:158. The running between these mountains is symbolic of the anguish a mother feels for her child. It’s so important that this act is a part of the fifth pillar of Islam. It is also a part of our second pillar because we pray for our parents in every prayer. We are taught to treasure our parents and bring joy to them because they love and care for us and by doing this we learn to appreciate.
We are then encouraged to have good relationships with our spouses in this surah. Although marital disputes and divorce is being discussed in Surah Al Baqura, the rules and recommendations are such that if we follow them, it would be very difficult to end up divorced. Instead by following these guidelines we will more likely end up appreciating and loving our spouses.
Next, we are reminded of our duty to our children, to love, care and nurture them in the best possible way. 2:23. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has said that the best thing we could give our children is to teach them to have a good character, one of respect, sharing, helping and loving.
So important is our relationships with out neighbours that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has said that a woman that prays all the time but is bad to her neighbors will end up in hell.
Lastly we are reminded of our duty to the poor and needy. This too is so important that it is the forth pillar of Islam. Firstly, by giving charity and secondly by not indulging in usury (taking advantage of the plight of people to make money or exploitation). Usury drives society and the world towards poverty.
From the Holy Quran, we learn that Islam is not just about ritualistic prayer but more importantly, it teaches a way of life for everything we do, focusing on building good, strong, loving relationships in our families and communities.
In the present times that we live in, we are indoctrinated on various platforms, especially social media to follow our passions, to be materialistic and this makes us selfish. Being selfish does not promote good relationships but on the contrary it destroys good relationships. It is because of chasing wealth that countries end up in wars.
A verse from this chapter to sum up.
`….You shall worship none except Allah, and do good to (your) parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the poor (as well), and you shall speak kindly to all people and observe Prayer and present purifying alms.’ 2:83
What we pray for reflects our aims and objects in life. So let our prayers not be for worldly goods but let’s pray to have good relationships with our Spiritual Guides, our parents, our siblings, our spouses, our children, our neighbours and all in our community.
Let’s strive to build these relationships and not allow anything to damage them.
NOTE 1: look out for a beautiful naath on this theme that will be launched on our website shortly.
NOTE 2: look out for our captivating, new novel based on a true story. Join Ahmed Ali on his journey of discovery about life and relationships through his retelling of the real-life experiences of an acquaintance.
Coming soon: our novel, also based on this theme. Its called Doolhun The Bride and its a different concept to the other novels we read. It teaches religion in the form of a story.