Page 65 - The Basic Concepts in the Qur’an

Brotherhood and Solidarity

Loyalty and sincere devotion to Allah, brotherhood and solidarity are important attributes
of believers. The Qur’an tells that all believers are brothers; they are people sharing the same
feelings, who strive for the same end, adhere to the same book and struggle to reach the same
goal. Consequently, solidarity becomes a natural feature of a community made up of believers.
Allah commends this attachment of believers in the following verse:
Truly, Allah loves those who fight for His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid
cemented structure.
(As-Saff, 4)

As related in the verse above, striving in unison for the cause of Allah is at this behest.
And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and do not
be divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favour to you; for
you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you
became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from
it. Thus Allah makes His Signs clear to you, so that you may be guided.
(Al-Imran, 103)

Believers are modest people who have fellow feeling and mercy for each other. Therefore,
unity and solidarity among them is naturally maintained. But even in a community of this
nature, there can be reasons to be cautious; certain erroneous behaviour may cause harm to
this solidarity and create an unfriendly atmosphere among believers.
The basic reason for such undesirable behaviours is surely the soul (an-nafs): It is true that
a believer is tolerant and warm. Yet, everybody has a wicked side to his soul and in a moment
of moral weakness, a person may well be driven by the negative side of the soul; to put it
another way, he may be influenced by jealousy, selfishness or ambition.
That is why the Qur’an stresses the impact of these negative aspects of soul as a serious
threat to unity among believers. Considering that the soul, which can manifest signs of Satan in
the human being, can mislead believers, they should avoid behaving in a manner that will
provoke the wicked side of other believers.In the Quran, Allah commands as follows:
Tell My servants that they should be courteous in their speech. Satan would sow
dissensions among them: Satan is the avowed enemy of man.
(Isra, 53)

The above verse surely gives an important message: Allah commands believers to address
each other in the best manner possible (not in a good manner, but in the best manner). Here an
important feature of Satan is revealed: Satan aims to create dissension among believers.
The essential method Satan employs to break the unity among believers is to inculcate the
feeling of competition in the hearts of believers. In a state of heedlessness, a believer may well
succumb to delusions of grandeur and develop an ambition to attain a particular status in
society. In such a mood, it is quite possible that he may try to establish supremacy over other
believers. Similarly, he may feel envy of his brother for one reason or another. Though the word
“envy” may sound like a feeling that may be excused, it actually has a more serious
significance: it amounts to an explicit rebellion against Allah. In the Qur’an it is mentioned
thus: “Or do they envy mankind for what Allah has given them of His bounty?...” (An-Nisa, 54)
As the verse suggests, all favours are bestowed by Allah and being envious of the favours given
to others is simply opposing the will of Allah. That is why believers should make a point of