Foreword
Causes of Disunity
Important Copyright Information

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and may salutations, prayer, peace and blessings descend upon His beloved, the best of creation, Prophet Muhammad. 

The contents of this booklet titled ‘Causes of Disunity’ have been adapted from one of a series of talks given by this humble servant on various topics at the Jami Masjid, Birmingham, as well as at other venues across the country. On numerous occasions my honoured teacher and guide, Hadhrat Moulana Yusuf Motala sahib impressed upon me the need to transcribe these talks and make the material available to a wider reading audience. This booklet, which will hopefully be one of many, is a result of his encouragement, devotion and attention. May Allah reward him, lengthen his shadow over us and enable us to benefit from his company. This book would also not have reached publication without the effort and contribution of many of my friends and colleagues, who transcribed, typed and edited the work. May Allah reward them all in both worlds. Ameen. 

Readers should remember that the talk was delivered in an informal manner before a live audience, and although amendments were made to adapt the original and bring it to its present form, the final written script has retained the structure of a talk and still reflects its flow and style; it should, therefore, not be expected to read like a book. 

May Allah make this modest effort sincere, grace it with divine acceptance, and make it a source of light in both this world and the Hereafter. Ameen

Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq 

Birmingham, U.K. 

7 Rabi' ul Awwal, 1419 / 1 July, 1998 

One of the issues covered in Surah al Hujurat is that of the harmony and brotherhood that Allah has created amongst the believers. We are given an explanation of how this brotherhood is to be maintained, cultivated and nurtured and thus developed to its full potential. We are taught how to achieve this by way of an explanation of the diseases that can cause friction and disunity amongst the believers and thus need to be avoided. We are also given the remedies for such ailments and shown what can be achieved by their application. 

The verses of the above surah carry such importance and depth of meaning that if every Muslim was to memorise these verses (with the correct understanding) and be mindful of them everyday, they - through the application of these verses - would surely begin to love the believers for the sake of Allah and themselves develop a character that would be loveable to all. 

In this surah Allah reminds us that the "believers are brothers amongst themselves" and therefore we must strengthen this brotherhood, and reconcile ourselves. To achieve this we are told to "Fear Allah that He may have mercy upon you" for indeed the fear of Allah is the most basic and essential ingredient in the creation of brotherhood and solidarity. 

Once a person develops taqwa and has the fear of Allah in public and in secret, in the company of others, as well as in solitude, then he will insha Allah move one step closer to sincerely loving his fellow Muslims and being loved by them. This can only be achieved, though, if the fear of Allah is truly present in the individual. 

This leads us to a very important question, what is taqwa? Sayyiduna Ali defined taqwa as being the ‘fear of Jaleel (Allah), acting upon the tanzeel (Quran), being content with qaleel (little), and preparing for the day of raheel (journeying from this world). Therefore, in the words of Sayyiduna Ali taqwa consists of the following four things which if embedded in the character of a Muslim would include him in the group of muttaqeen: 

1. The fear of Allah. 

2. Acting upon the Quran. This would mean being observant of all the laws of the Quran and the ahadeeth, and acting upon the Shariah in its entirety. 

3. Being content with whatever Allah has decreed as one’s share in life, even though it may apparently be meagre. 

4. Preparing properly for death and the ensuing journey of the Hereafter.

The issues mentioned in this surah cover some of the greatest and most important aspects of Islam such as huquqal ibad (the rights of fellow Muslims and other human beings), which sadly the Ummah is very neglectful of in this day and age. As Muslims we need to be mindful of these huquq and remember that on the Day of Judgement a person’s reckoning will not be complete until his account with his fellow Muslims is cleared. If he has failed to fulfil his duties towards his fellow Muslims and neglected their rights then acts of worship alone, no matter how excessive and great in number, will not be sufficient to secure his salvation. This can be clearly understood from the following hadeeth: 

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahreports that the Prophetasked the Sahabah, 

‘Do you know who is the destitute?’ They replied, ‘The destitute amongst us is he who has, no money or possessions.’ The Prophet replied, ‘The destitute of my Ummah on the day of judgement will be one who will come with prayers, fasts, and zakah. But he will come having abused this person, slandered that person, unlawfully consumed the wealth of such a person, shed the blood of such a person, and having hit such a person. This (wronged) person will be compensated from his good deeds and the other (wronged) person will also be given from his good deeds. If the good deeds of the wrong doer expire before what is due upon him is repaid, then the sins of the wronged people will be taken from them and thrown upon him and then he shall be thrown into the fire.’ (Muslim.)

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah narrates that the Prophet said, 

Sahabah

Sayyiduna Salamah bin al Akwa’ reports, 

‘We were seated with the Prophet when a funeral was brought and the people requested him to pray over it. He asked, "Does the deceased have any outstanding debts?" They replied, "No." He asked, "Has he left any wealth?" They replied, "No." The Prophet offered the funeral prayer over the deceased. Then another funeral was brought. They requested, "Oh Prophet of Allah pray over it." He asked, "Does he have any outstanding debts?" They replied, "Yes." He asked, "Has he left any wealth?" They replied, "Three dinars." The Prophet then offered the funeral prayer over the deceased. Then a third funeral was brought and they said, "Pray over it." He asked, "Does the deceased have any outstanding debts?" They replied, "Three dinars." He said, "Pray over your companion." Abu Qatadah said, "Pray over him Oh Prophet of Allah and I shall bear the burden of his debt." The Prophet then offered the funeral prayer over him.’ (Bukhari)

These issues have been explained in great detail in the ahadeeth of the Prophet . Our iman will only be complete when we take these ahadeeth into account and fulfil the rights of others as well as the rights of Allah. Our relationship with our fellow Muslims should not be limited to the simple fulfilment of their rights but should transcend even that stage to the level of desiring for them that which we desire for ourselves. 

Sayyiduna Anas reports that the Prophet said, 

We must also understand in relation to the above verse that this laughing and mocking can be in deed, word or even by sign. Although we may explain away our jokes and jibes and protest that our words and actions of jest are merely innocent, we often fall into the prohibition of this verse. It is reported that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Masud said, ‘Calamities hinge on words. I fear mocking a dog lest I be turned into a dog.’ How many of us can say with a surety that we do not, or have not, ridiculed another Muslim in any manner? 

Once Ummul Mu’mineen Aishah said to the Prophet , 

‘Safiyyah is a woman who is… (like this).’ She then motioned with her hands indicating that she was short. The Prophet said, ‘Indeed you have said a word which if mixed with the water of the ocean it would dilute it.’ (Abu Dawood)

Our persistence in observing the faults of one another is also major obstacle in the way of achieving harmony and brotherhood, for it makes us arrogant and contemptuous of others. At times we may even openly deride and taunt one another because of these misdeeds, failing to realise that we can fall into the same error unless Allah protects us. 

Sayyiduna Muadh bin Jabal narrates that the Prophet said, 

Allah says, 

Abu al Dardaa narrates that the Prophet said, 

Allah says: 

‘Oh believers abstain from suspicion, for indeed much suspicion is a sin. And spy not.’ (49:12) 

Unfortunately this disease is another prevalent evil of today. We merely hear someone say something or see them do something and immediately jump to conclusions, giving the words or actions an unfavourable interpretation. We must learn to avoid suspicion about everything related to another believer: his actions, words and statements, his beliefs and aqeedah, his character and manners, in his social and financial affairs and in his private and public life. Sayyiduna Umar bin al Khattab is reported to have said, ‘Do not think anything but good about a word uttered by your believing brother as long as you can find a good interpretation for it.’ No one should ever be suspicious of or entertain an unfavourable opinion about someone as this is part of the dignity of a Muslim that is more sacred than the Ka’bah itself. 

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar says, 

‘I saw the Prophet performing tawaf around the Ka’bah and saying, ‘How pure you are! And how pure is your fragrance! How great you are! And how great is your sanctity! By He in whose hands lies the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than even your sanctity. (The sanctity) of his wealth, his blood, and that we think nothing of him but good.’ (Ibn Majah)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet said, 

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet asked (the companions ), 

‘Do you know what is backbiting? They replied, "Allah and his Prophet know best." He said, ‘You saying something about your brother that he dislikes.’ Someone asked, "How about if what I say is the truth about my brother?" The Prophet replied, ‘If what you say is the truth about him then you have backbited him. If it is not the truth about him then you have slandered him.’ (Muslim)

Allah says, 

The Prophet then travelled onwards until he came across the carcass of a donkey. He enquired about the two people who had conversed earlier and said to them, ‘Dismount and eat of the carcass of this donkey.’ They replied, ‘May Allah forgive you, Oh Messenger of Allah. Can this be eaten?’ The Prophet said, ‘What you consumed of your brother a short while ago was a worse devouring than this. I swear by Him in whose hands rests my soul, he is now diving into the streams of paradise.’ (Narrated by Abu Ya’laa al Mawsili in his Musnad) 

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik narrates that the Prophet said, 

May Allah Almighty grant us the tawfeeq to identify these sins of mockery, ridicule, defamation, taunting, suspicion, and backbiting as the causes of our strife and disunity. May He enable us abstain from them and fear their punishments and consequences, and grant us harmony and unity. Ameen. 

Copyright

Causes of Disunity 1998. This publication is protected by international copyright law. To copy this publication written authorisation is required from: 

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