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Publishedon:Sat,1January2005

Youcanextractanimportantprincipleofda'wahfromthemanynamesoftheProphet(SS);whichare,the
essenceofda'wahpraiseworthyattributes.Withouthavingpraiseworthyattributesthathavebeeninherited
from the Prophet (SS), it is rare for a person to have Allah (SW) guide others by his hands. Struggling to
acquireandinculcatetheseattributesintoourbeingispreparationfortherealityoftheda'wahthatmustbe
given.Fromamongstthemostimportantoftheseattributesistolovegoodforothers.Whoeverissincereand
a true caller to Allah, and the light of da'wah becomes firm in his heart, will want the greatest good for
everyone.Sohowcoulditweighheavyonone'sheartforpeopletoreceiveblessings?

Asignthatyouhavebeguntolovegoodforothersisthemanifestationofthisattributeinyourrelationship
with your brothers who are near to you. If you see that Allah (SW) singles out one of your brothers with a
particularblessing,eitherworldlyorreligious,itisincumbentthatyousearchdeepintoyourheartandfind
feelingsofsincerehappinessforhim.Itisstatedinahadith,"Noneofyoutrulybelievesuntilhelovesforhis
brotherthatwhichhelovesforhimself."Asignofthisloveisthatyoudonotbecomequicklyangeredifyour
brother makes a mistake while trying to do something good. Rather than opposing or criticizing him, you
shouldassisthimintherectificationofhismistakeinagentleway.Itisnoteasytohavethisattributebecome
firmlyplantedintheheart,becauseenvy(hasad)issubtle,evenamongyourcompanions.However,by
beingsincereandturningtoAllahMostHighcontinuously,thisaffairbecomeseasy.So,ifyouseethatAllah
(SW)hasblessedoneofyourbrotherswithuprightness,enlightenment,orrighteousness,anditweighsheavy
onyourheart,thecureforthisistopraythatAllahincreasehiminwhatHehasgivenhim.Say:

OAllah,increasehim!
OAllah,givehimopenings!
OAllah,givehimDivinesuccess!
OAllah,guideothersbymeansofhim!

Theexistenceofthedarknessofenvyinthesoulisasignofnotlovinggoodforothers.IfAllahbestowsa
blessingupsomeone,youmightsaytoyourself,"MashaAllah,Allahhasblessedhimwiththat."However,if
hehappenstomaketheslightestmistake,youbecomeangeredandsaythingslike,"Hedoesn'tknowwhathe
i s doing! He doesn't understand! He ' s not benefiting people!" Pay attention to what you are saying here.
Whichisgreater,thegoodhewasdoing,orthemistakethathemade?

Another sign that the heart does not desire good for others is hastening to mention people's errors. This
doesnotmeanthatyouremainsilentaboutthemistakes.Rather,itisuponyoutoadviseyourbrotherand
strivetorectifythefault,withoutdiminishingtheirhonor.Yourdutywhenrectifyingistocorrectthemistake,
nottodiminishthestatureoftheonewhomadetheblunder.Thereisabigdifferencethereisbetweenthe
two.Fromthesubtle,evilaspectsofthesoulregardingthis,istheclaimthatyourselfisperfectandtheother
isdeficient.Takeforinstance,whenonesays,"Iammoreknowledgeablethanhim.Howcouldhebetheone
whodoesthat?Howcouldhehavemorestudents?Whyarepeoplepraisinghim?"Thisisclaimingthatthe
selfisperfect.Orwhenonesays,"Ihavebeenstudyinglongerthanhim.Ihavemoresinceritythanhim,"

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I.I.I.Doyouknowwhosaid"I?"Payattention!Theonewhosaid,"I,"wasIblis."Iambetterthanhim.You
createdmeoffire,whileYoucreatedhimofmud."(7:12)He(Iblis),laughsatyouandmakesyouhisstudent
whenyousay,"I"likehedid.YouarestudentsoftheinheritorsoftheProphet(SS),notofIblis.

Asfortheotheraspectofseekingdeficienciesinyourbrother,whenyousaythingslike,"Hedoesnotknow.
He doesn't understand. He made a mistake in that. He didn't organize this, etc." What is your intention in
sayingthesethings?Ifyourintentionistotrytorectifyhismistake,mayAllahblessyoubecauselovinggood
forpeoplenecessitatesthis.However,ifyourintentionwhenhemakesamistakeisthatyoudon'twanthimto
dosomethinggood,sacrifice,orworkhardlookintoyourhearts.Doyouwanttostopagoodactionfrom
beingdone?Payattentiontowhatisgoingon.

Also,fromamongthesignsofnotdesiringgoodforothers,isyourdesiretodisassociateyourselffromyour
brotherandnotadvisehimwhenyouknowhemadeamistake.Youmightavoidspeakingagainst,criticizing,
orbelittlinghim,butthensaythingslike,"Idon'twanttohaveanythingtodowiththeaffair.Leaveittohim.
Lethimmakemistakes.Peoplewillseelaterthatheiswrong."Thisisyourintention?Foryourbrothertobe
exposed?Youknowthatheiswrong,yetyoujustleavehim?Itisyourdutytogivehimadvice.Itisyourduty
toinformhim.Itisyourdutytogivehimahand.Itisyourdutytoprayforhimsecretly.Itisyourdutytotell
someonewhowillbeabletoadvisehimifyouareunableto.However,toseeyourbrothermakeamistake,
andnotsayanythingtohimaboutit,istreachery.Thisattributeshouldneverbeinreligiouspeople.Donot
waittoimplementthisattribute.Thisisaprincipleofdaw'ahthatmustbeimplementednow.Mutualconcern
for one other, giving advice to one another, desiring good for one another, hastening to serve one another,
these are all signs that you are sincere. And if you are sincere, and implement these attributes, Allah will
benefitothersthroughyou.

PeoplefromthewesterncountriescomefromsocietiesthatAllahhasgivenatypeofworldlyadvancement.
Fromthisadvancementistheattributeofseriousnessregardingworldlyaffairsthatcausesonetoconstantly
work hard. If this attribute becomes separated from your connection with Allah Most High, it leads to a
blameworthyattributeinthesoul(selfishness)andnotbeingconcernedwithothers.Wemusttakethegood
aspectsofthesesocieties,suchasseriousnessandhardwork,andconnectthemtoadivinemeaningonethat
entails directing them towards the next life, not towards this world. The f r u i t of implementing this i s
deliverance from the blameworthy aspect of the self. Each one of you must feel that all of your brothers
around you are a sacred trust upon you. You must think of ways to help them in everyway you can. In
adaptingtheseattributesofseriousnessandhardwork,thedifferencebetweenaMuslimandanonMuslim
is that his seriousness and hard work is for the sake of Allah Most High, not for the life of this world. By
focusingonthis,youwillberidofselfishnessandactualizethesayingoftheProphet(SS)that,"Noneofyou
trulybelievesuntilhelovesforhisbrotherthatwhichhelovesforhimself."

Seekthisaffair(oftruebrotherhood)bytakingfivestepsofaction.Thefirststepofactionistohaveadaily
litany(wird)ofsupplication(du'a)foryourbrothers.HabibUmarhasaspecific(du'a)onecanmakeforhis
brothers, which is titled, "The Prayer of Brotherhood." [This translated du'a can be found on page #] Seek
closenesstoAllahMostHighbysupplicatingforyourbrothers.Thisisthefirststepofaction.

The second step of action is to devote a certain time of the day to serving your brothers, outside of your
classes, study time, and other obligations. Don't think that by devoting a short time to the service of your
brotherswillhinderyourdailyroutine.Rather,itwillbeameansforopenings,andwillbenefityoubygiving
youexperienceinservice(Khidma).

ThethirdstepofactionistonotsleepatnightwithsomethinginyourheartagainstyourMuslimbrother;
regardlessofwhathappened,orwhetheryouwererightorwrong.Ifyouareunabletoridyourheartofit,go
and speak to the person, but with love and sincerity. Say: "I feel in my heart such and such towards you.
Maybe I am wrong, but help me rid my heart of this." The one who is content to sleep while harboring
something in his heart against his Muslim brother is treacherous. If you are unable to rid your heart of it,
unabletospeaktohim,orfindithardforhimtoacceptyourapproachinghim,thengotoathirdperson.Go
toanunderstanding,trustworthypersonthatyourelyon,andtellhimthatyouareunabletoridyourselfof
whatyouhaveinyourheartagainstbrother.Askthatperson:"HowdoIgetridofwhatisinmyheart?"This
animosity towards your brother is filth; don't be content to sleep at night with filth in your heart. This is
extremelyimportant.

The fourth step of action is to avoid speaking against any of your brothers. Don't say anything that your
brotherwoulddislikeifheweretobecomeawareofwhatyousaid.Youmayonlyspeaktotheextentthatis
neededtorectifyawrongandgiveadvice.Youmustaddresshimfirst,ifyouareunableto,athirdpersonthat
youknowcouldbenefitthesituationbyinfluencinghim,orspeakingtohim.Buttoletyourtonguelooseand
talknegativelyabouthimsayingthingslike,"Soandsodidthis.Soandsodoesn'tknow.Soandsomadea
mistake. So and so just wants this for himself. So and so just wants to be known." What does saying these
thingsreallymean?Thisisbackbiting(ghibah),andcompletelyimpermissible.

HowcouldthisbeanactionofonewhoispreparinghimselftobefromtheelectoftheUmmahbyseeking
knowledgeandgivingservicetotheDin?Youcanspeaktotheextentthatisnecessarytorectifythemistake,
butitisnotpermissibletocriticizeordishonoryourbrother.Ifyouareabletogentlyalludetoyourbrother's

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imperfection(Aib)torectifythesituation,itisbetterthanspeakingtohimdirectly.Ifyouareabletosimply
move your lips to inform the person, it is better than raising your voice so that others can hear. If you can
speakdirectlytohim,itisnotpermissibletospeaktoanotheraboutit.Ifthereisonepersonthatcanhelp
rectifythemistake,thenitisnotpermissibletospeaktotwo.Iftwopeoplecanrectifythemistake,thenyou
can't speak to three. You must speak to the minimal amount of people needed to rectify the mistake. This
mistake is considered to be from the nakedness (awrah) of your brother so you should strive to veil the
mistake and not expose it. If someone was sitting, and, unintentionally, part of his nakedness became
uncovered,andyouhappentoseethis,thenyoushouldinformhim.Ifheisfarandyouareunabletospeakto
him, don't tell a person to your right or left, or who is in front or back of you, only tell the person who is
closesttohimsothathecantellhim.Whenthepersontellshim,hewillcoverhisnakednessandsay,"May
Allahrewardyou."Butifyouweretoseethenakednessofsomeoneexposed,andthensaytotheonenextto
you,"Look!Hisnakednessisexposed."Andthenhesaystothepersonnexttohim,"Look!hisnakednessis
exposed." And then he says to the one next to him, "Look! his nakedness is exposed." Did you rectify the
situationorhumiliateyourbrother?IsthisanaffairofourDin?Thespiritualnakednessismoreseverethan
thephysicalnakednessregardingyourbrother'shonor.

Thefifthstepofactionistodistinguishbetweenjudgingsomethingthatisfromtheunseenandsomething
that you clearly see. There is a difference between actually seeing a mistake of your Muslim brother and
thinkingthatyourMuslimbrotherhadabadintention.

Forinstance,oneofyourbrotherswearsabigturban,robe,shawl,andcarriesprayerbeads,andifsomeone
wants to kiss his hand, he sticks it out for them to kiss. Yes, this type of action is blameworthy. The
appropriateetiquette,aswehaveseenfromourteachers,eventheelderlyofthem,isthatifsomeonekisses
theirhand,theyalsotrytokisstheirhand.Sotoadviseyourbrotherregardingthisisacceptablebecauseit
wassomethingyouclearlysaw.Buttosaythingslike,"Soandsoisjustshowingoff!Soandsojustwantsto
be known by people!" Amazing! This is an intention that is in the heart, so how did you see it? It is
impermissible to judge something that is from the unseen with a bad opinion (su' aldhann). Maybe your
brotherbecameheedless.Maybehewasnegligent.Maybehedidn'tpayattention.Intermsofhisintentions,
havethebestofopinionsregardingthem,evenwhenhemakesamistake.And,atthesametime,don'tleave
themistake.Rather,givesincereadviceandtrytorectifythesituation.

Anotherexample,forinstance,ifoneofyourbrothersisgivensuccess(Tawfiq)byAllahtoopenaschool
andbuildamosque,buthewantstodoallofthearrangementsandtheactivitieshimself.Hedoesn'twanthis
brothers to take any part. He wants to arrange the mosque. He wants to arrange the classes. He wants to
arrange the Daw'ah activities. Him. Him. Him. This is a mistake because he is unable to do everything by
himself. He must consult his brothers and include them in the work. However, we don't say, "So and so is
selfish,heonlyloveshimself,soandsowantstobeknownbyothers.

Thefirstproblemiswithyounotwithhim!Curethefilththatisinyou!Howcoulditbeheavyonyourheart
for Allah to bring about something good on the hands of your brother? What if someone told him, "Your
brother is saying that you are selfish and that you only want good for yourself?" Then, he says, "And he is
envious!Healsodoesn'twantgoodforme!"Eachoneofthemisjudgingtheotheraboutsomethingthatis
fromtheunseen.Doesthisestablishanything?Da'wahisnotestablishedthisway.

Theproperwaytodealwiththissituationistoofferyourservicetoyourbrother.Youshouldtellhim,"I
wanttoserveyou.Whatdoyouwantmetodo?Doyouwantmetosweepthemosque?Doyouwantmeto
clean the bathrooms? Brother, you are doing something good, and I want to serve along with you in this
good."Don'ttellhim,"Youmusttakemyopinion!Youmustconsultme!Don'tdoeverythingbyyourself!"By
sayingcommentsofthissort,youareprovingthatyourdesiretogiveserviceisforthesakeofyourself,notfor
thesakeofAllah.Atthesametime,youdon'tsay,"Hedidn'tconsultmesoIamnotgoingtohelphim.Hecan
workalone.Idon'twanttohaveanythingtodowithit."Whatisthis?Isthishisda'wahoryours,orisitthe
da'wahoftheProphetMuhammadbinAbdullah(SS)?

Wanting to give your opinion, even with a good intention, desiring good for your brother, is not
praiseworthyinitsessence.Lovingtoserveiswhatispraiseworthy.Thereisadifferencebetweenlovingto
serveandwantingtogiveyouropinion,abigdifference.HabibUmaroncesaid,"Anyonewhoservesthe
Dininanyway,intheeastorthewest,itisincumbentuponustoservehimtotheextentthatweareable."
Wedon'tsay,"Thisismyschool.Thisismyway(Tariqah).Thisismyinstitution.Thisismyorganization.
Thisisours,andthatistheirs."AslongasitisapartoftheDin,donewiththecorrectunderstandingand
methodology,itisincumbenttoservethem.TheyarebuildingafoundationoftheDin,whichisinreality,one
foundation.Ifsomeoneisconstructingsomethingandyoutellhimthatyouwanttohelp,buthetellsyou,"I
don'tneedyou.Youdon'tknowhowtobuild."Don'tleave.Saytoyourself,"Ifhedoesn'twantmetobuild,
thenIwillhelphimbypreparingwhatheneedssothathecanbuild."Ifhesaystoyou,"Youdon'tknowhow
tomixcementproperly."Yousaytohim,"Okay,Iwillbringyouthecementandpourwaterontopofitand
thenyoumixit.Ijustwanttoserve."But,ifhesaystoyou,"Youdon'tknowthecorrectmeasurementsofthe
cement and the water." You say, "Fine. I will bring the cement and the water and you make the correct
measurements." If he says to you, "You don't know how to carry the cement, you will ruin it (he is being
stubbornandjustdoesn'twantyoutohelp)."Yousay,"Okay.Iwillcleanthecarthatcarriesthecement."If
he says to you, "You don't understand anything! You are not able to do anything! You can't help!" Remain

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quietandleavehimuntilhegoesinsidehisroomandtakeshisshoesoff,andthencleanhisshoesforhim
withtheintentionthattheseareshoesthatbecamedustyfromservingtheDin.

Howcanweattaintheseattributesthatwerementioned?Howcanitbecomearealitywithinus?First,by
realizingthatwearecompletelypoorandinneedtoservetheDinandtheDindoesnotneedus.Weshould
feartomeetAllahwithouthavingservedHisDin.Second,byrealizingthatwedon'tdeservetoservetheDin,
rather,weshouldhopethatbythegraceofAllah,HewillhonorustobefromamongthosewhoservetheDin.
Ifthisbecomesfirmlyimplantedinyourheart,AllahwilluseyoufortheserviceofHisDin.But,ifyoubelieve
thattheserviceoftheDinisinneedofyou,andsaythingslike,"Leavethem!TheywilleventuallyknowwhoI
am.Theydon'tknowhowtodoanything.Theywilltry,butfail,andthencomerunningtome.Iamtheone
whoknowshowtodoit."DoesAllahneedyou?Areyoucrazy?!YoubelievethatAllahneedsyou?!TheDin
needsyou?!Ortosay,"Theydidn'tgivemeagoodposition.Ideserveahigherpositionthanthatwhichthey
gaveme."Whatdoyoudeserve?!Orifyousay,"Ihavethisandthis."Whatdoyoureallyhave?!WereAllahto
exposeyoursmallestsin,noonewouldevengreetyou.So,wemustbehumbleandbrokenbeforeAllahand
annihilateourselvesintheloveofservice.

Onescholarrecentlytookadaw'ahtripandwasscheduledtogiveatalkatacertainuniversity.Thepeopleof
thisuniversityhadcertainviewsthatdifferedfromtheviewsofthescholarwhowasgoingtogivethelecture.
Whentheyfoundoutabouttheideologiesofthescheduledspeaker,theycancelledthelecture.Afterthis,the
studentsofthescholarwereupsetandcomplainedaboutwhathappened.Butthescholarsaid,"Let'sgovisit
them." The students then said, "But they cancelled the lecture?" And to this the scholar said, "We are not
going for the lecture. We are going to visit them for the sake of Allah Most High." When he went, the
administrationwassurprisedtoseethescholarandtoldhim,"We'resorry.Ourstudentshaveexams.Weare
unabletohavethelecture."But,thescholarsaid,"Ididn'tcomeforthelecture.Icametovisityouforthesake
ofAllah."Theadministrationgatheredwiththeteachersandtheyallsattogether,andwelcomedthescholar,
and eventually forced him to speak. He spoke a light, gentle speech, without showing any anger, and then
whenhewasleaving,theadministrationwalkedwithhimandaskedhisforgivenessforallhappened.Thisis
thecorrectway(minhaj),mayAllahblessyou.MayAllahgiveallofusopeningsandprepareustoimplement
thesemeaningsandplacetheseprinciplesfirmlyinourheartsandmakeusfromtheelectthatadoptthem
anduntothepresenceoftheProphet(SS).[AlFatiha]

Conclusion

Therearefivestepstofollowwhensettingoutonthepathofachievingtruebrotherhoodintheserviceof
theDin.

Thefirststepofactionistohaveadailylitany(wird)ofsupplication(dua)foryourbrothers.

Thesecondstepofactionistodevoteacertaintimeofthedaytoservingyourbrothers,outsideofyourclasses,studytime,and
otherobligations.

ThethirdstepofactionistonotsleepatnightwithsomethinginyourheartagainstyourMuslimbrother;regardlessofwhat
happened,whetheryouwererightorwrong.

Thefourthstepofactionistoavoidspeakingagainstanyofyourbrothers.

Thefifthstepofactionistodistinguishbetweenjudgingsomethingthatisfromtheunseenandsomethingthatyouclearlysee.

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