Yes, it would be permissible to refer to or respond to a non-Muslim as a ‘brother’ referring to the common brotherhood of humanity.
According to some scholars, it would also be permissible to greet a non-Muslim with ‘Assalam ‘alaykum’ and respond to their greeting with ‘Wa’alaykum assalam’. The permission is more desirable if one hopes for their Islam. And Allah knows best.
[Sharh Sahih Muslim]
Warmest salams,
[Shaykh] Jamir Meah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There are certain people amongst the servants of Allah, who are not prophets, nor are they martyrs, yet on the Day of Judgement they will have attained to such a position that even the prophets and the martyrs will look at them in admiration”.
The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, asked:
“Who are these people and what sort of good deeds will they have done? Let us know so that we can love them and be close to them, o Messenger of Allah”. The Prophet ﷺ answered:
‘They are such people that though there are no blood relations amongst them, nor any business or trade relations, yet they love each other for the sake of Allah. By Allah their faces are radiant with light and they are upon pillars of light. When others fear, they do not fear, and when others feel sorrow, they do not feel sorrow”.
He ﷺ then recited the following verse:
‘Yes, the friends of Allah will feel no fear and will know no sorrow:
those who have faith and are conscious of Allah, there is good news for them in the life of this world and in the afterlife. There is no changing the words of Allah. That is the great victory!’ (Yunus, 10:62-64)
The Blessed Prophet ﷺ narrated the following story as an demonstration of how loving one’s fellow Muslim for Allah will allow one to attain to Allah’s love.
“One time a man set out to visit his Muslim brother who lived in another village. Allah Most High appointed an angel with the duty of watching him on his way. When the man came to the angel, the angel asked him:
‘Where are you going?’
The man replied:
‘My Muslim brother lives in that village. I am going to see him.
The angel asked him:
‘Is there something that you wish to benefit from that friend?’
The man replied:
‘No, no. It is just that I love him for the sake of Allah and I am going to visit him’.
The angel then said:
‘Just as you love him, so does Allah love you. I am a messenger sent to you by Allah in order to give you this good news’ (Muslim, Birr, 38; Ahmad, II, 292).
________________________________________________________
Abu Idris al-Hawlani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates:
“I had gone to the mosque of Damascus, where I saw a young man there with a smiling face. A group of people had gathered around him. Whenever they fell into dispute about some matter they would immediately go to that young man and ask for and accept his opinion. I asked who this young man was. They told me it was Muadh ibn Jabal .
The next day I ran to the mosque as early as I could. When I got there I saw that that young man was there already performing his prayer. I waited until he had finished and then approached him and greeted him with the greeting of peace and then said to him”:
“By Allah! I love you”.
“Do you love me for the sake of Allah?” he asked.
“Yes for Allah” I said. Then he asked me twice:
“Do you really love me for the sake of Allah?” Both times I answered:
“Yes I truly love you for the sake of Allah”. Then he held me by my robe and pulled me towards him and said:
“I congratulate you. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
“Allah Most High has said: ‘Those who love each other merely for My sake, and those who gather together to please Me, and those who visit each other for My sake and who give charity and do good for My sake… They will be the ones who (will) have earned my love” (Muwatta, Sha’r, 16).
It is said in the Qur’an:
And spend out of what We have given you before death comes to any of you, so that he should say: My Lord! why did You not respite me to a near term, so that I should have given alms and been among the doers of good deeds? (Munafiqun, 63/10).
Inspired by this verse, Hadrat Mawlana (Alaihi Rahma) said:
• “Unfortunate souls are like dwellers in a house full of smoke. Give ear to their cries and respond by opening a window for ventilation. That will refine your soul!”
• “What have you got? What have you treasured up? What kind of pearl did you draw from the bottom of the sea? All this will be clear on the day of your death.”
• “Visiting friends without a present is like going to the mill without wheat.”
“One should pay back what one owes before death takes it by force.”
The following couplet by Necip Fazil puts this point elo- quently:
O stingy jeweler, get another purse!
Save up a currency valid in the grave…
Wise advice is fundamental to the revival of hearts. Those who appreciate the treasures of wisdom become wise themselves. Those who follow wisdom rightly will surely perfect faith.
May our Lord give us the opportunity to live in an atmosphere of wisdom and to perceive the mysteries of reality. May He help us to comprehend the meaning of the Qur’an, of the universe, and of being human.
Amin…
Sincerity shows its effect in everything. As long as it is given out with a sincere intention, the one who gives charity will be rewarded to the degree of their sincerity, even if the charity goes to one who is unworthy of it. According to the degree of one’s sin- cerity there arise positive tendencies towards goodness in those who are given the charity. The Messenger of Allah has indicated this truth as follows:
“One time a man said: “I am going to give charity”.
That night he left his home with his charity and placed it in the hands of a thief without realising who it was. The next day the people of the town started to talk:
“What an amazing thing! Last night someone gave charity to a thief !”
The man said:
“O Allah! Praise be to you. I am going to give charity today as well”.
Again he left his home with his money and this time without realising it, he placed it in the hands of a prostitute. The next day the people of the town began to talk once more:
“It cannot be! Last night somebody gave charity to a prostitute”.
The man said again:
“O Allah! Praise be to you even if I have given charity to a pros- titute. I am going to give charity again”.
Again that night, the man took what he had set aside for chari- ty and left his house, this time placing it in the hands of a rich man. The next day the people of the town began to chatter again in amazement:
“What is this! Last night charity was given to a rich man!”.
The man said:
“O Allah! I am grateful to you for being able to give charity whether it be to a thief, a prostitute or a rich man.
As a result of the sincerity of this man, he saw someone in his dream say to him:
“Perhaps the charity you gave to the thief will embarrass him and stop him from stealing. And perchance the prostitute will regret what she had been doing and become a chaste woman. And maybe the rich man will take heed and give out to the needy from the wealth that Allah has given him”. (Bukhari, Zekat, 14)
And so these are the blessings of sincerity and true devotion… What is indicated in this hadith is the necessary sincerity and devotion that needs to be within the heart of the person who is giving charity. It also expresses the idea that intentions are better than deeds. However, let it not be assumed from this that it is a virtuous act to give out charity carelessly. On the contrary, when giving out charity and alms-giving, the believer should give it to those who are truly in need, and must search out the most worthy person if possible and give it to them.
Allah Almighty states in the holy Qur’an:
…And (as for) those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah’s way, announce to them a painful chastisement on the day when it shall be heated in the fire of Hell, then their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it. This is what you hoarded up for yourselves, therefore taste what you hoarded. (Tawbah, 9/34-35).
Inspired by this verse, Hadrat Mawlana (Alaihi Rahma) said:
• “No matter how rich you are, you cannot eat more than your stomach can hold. Even if you dip your water-pot into the sea, it will carry no more water than it can hold.”
• “There are so many fishes which, because of ambition, swallow the bait, though the sea could safely feed them.”
• “What is this world about? This world is about being ignorant of Allah!”
• “This world, a testing ground, is like a magnet for selfish desires: it attracts them as amber attracts straw. Only the substan- tial wheat, the wise believer whose inner world contains spiritual secrets and wisdom, can escape the attraction of this magnet.”
• “The trap of raw egos is worldly gain. It tricks and allures,and the inner eyes of some people go blind out of desire for it. They drink bitter and salty water out of wet clay. Since they never taste spiritual happiness, they regard what they taste of the worldly life as happiness.”
• “Greed and ambition for the pleasures of this world lead us to obtain what we do not deserve.”
Worldly ambition is the prime drive leading to great ignorance. Ambition makes the heart go blind. Such a heart ceases to draw a line between right and wrong, legitimate and illegitimate. Hadrat Mawlana (Alaihi Rahma) says of heart-blindness, “Even a dog will not eat a bone before sniffing it.” So whoever is heart-blind due to ambition for worldly attractions has less wisdom than a dog. Worldly ambition brings spiritual disaster!
Our master, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), warned of ambition as a human failing. He said, “The son of Adam may have two valleys full of gold: he will still want a third valley. The son of Adam will be satisfied with nothing but the soil of the grave.” (Bukhari, al-Riqaq, 10; Muslim, al-Zakat, 116).
Even if those afflicted with ambition attained all the wealth on earth, they would still wish to get more from the Moon or Mars. Today, the ambition and spiritual rottenness of the followers of materialism seems endless. Such is the sad condition of our world.
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), eloquently expressed how the faithful should view property. He said, “There are three shareholders in any worldly possession. The first is its owner, which is you. The second is fate. Fate does not consult you about whether your possession will bring you good or evil, disaster or death. The third shareholder in any possession is its heir, who wants you to die. Your heir will take your property when you die, but it is you who will be held accountable for it. If you can, try not to be weakest of the three (by giving charity before death). Allah Almighty says, “You cannot reach perfection in spending for the sake of Allah unless you give of what you love.” My most valuable possession my camel; there- fore I am giving it as a charity. I am sending it in advance so that it will welcome me in the Hereafter.” (Abu Nu`aym, al-Hilyah, I, 163).
Worldly possessions are only entrusted to us by Allah. We do not know when what He has deposited will be withdrawn. We may lose our possessions at any time. Life is open to surprises, and we cannot tell what fate will bring. The most inescapable surprise, death, is undoubtedly on the agenda of fate. We may be ready for it always by managing the trusts we administer in the most useful of ways.
-Excerpt from the book, “Such a mercy he is”
Al-Kalimat at-Tawhid:
“La ilaha, illallah, Muhammadun rasulullah”
Translation: “ ere is no god besides God (Allah), and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is his Messenger.”
La ilaha ( ere is no god(s)): I swear that I will not accept those gods that people made themselves and that I will purify my heart from them for Allah. I am preparing my heart, puri ed from other gods, only for Allah and his religion. This must be done because an impure heart cannot hold pure belief in Allah, just as a sound building cannot be built upon a rotten foundation.
Illa Allah: A er rejecting false gods, I accept only Allah as my Lord.
Muhammadun Rasulullah: This means “ is worship of my Lord is not done according to bid‘ah (later innovations in the religion). It is done according to the way that the Quran shows, that the Messenger taught, and in the way that the Messenger has shown us.”
Kalimat ash-Shahadah:
“Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu.”
Translation: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is his servant and Messenger.
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah: This means “I think, understand, accept in my heart, and say with my tongue that there is no god (i.e. power, possessor of absolute power, legislator and subduer of the universe and all the people in it) but Allah. If someone says, ‘I exist in spite of Allah,’ this means: I reject Allah and do not know Him.’”
It is said in the Qur’an:
He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself, and magnifies the name of his Lord and prays. (A`la, 87/14-15).
By the self and Him who balanced it, then inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it: he will indeed succeed who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it. (Shams, 91/7-10).
Inspired with the wisdom of these verses, Hadrat Maulana (Alaihi Rahma) said:
• “O traveler on the spiritual path! If you wish to know the reality, neither Moses nor Pharaoh died. Today they live within you; they are hidden in your existence. They do their fighting within you! So you had better look for those two, who are at enmity with one another, within you.”
• “The human being is like a forest. Just as a forest accommodates thousands of pigs, wolves, and other animals with good and bad natures, so within us live both virtues and vices.”
• “Do not seek to feed your body overmuch, for it will perish one day. It is better to nurture your soul, for that is what will reach the heavens and honor.”
• “Nourish your soul with mature thinking and discernment that will give it strength for its journey.”
• “When you get rid of your lower self, when you fully commit yourself to Allah, you will travel safely in the sea of divine mysteries.”
“No mirror has ever turned into iron again. No bread has ever turned into wheat again. No grape juice has ever turned into grapes again. No ripe fruit has ever become unripe again. So become mature, and prevent yourself from ever being immature again!”
• “Set fire to your lower self, dark as night, if you want to shine like the day.”
Allah Almighty endowed us with life for one time only. We will not be given it again. We should, therefore, use this chance carefully to come close to Allah by reaching spiritual maturity. It is only people who develop mature personalities who do not lose much in this life. Those who yield to raw ego are bound to lose much both in this world and in the hereafter. A self which is not restrained through spiritual training and purification is like a wild horse. A wild horse leads its rider over cliffs and, therefore, to extinction, instead of taking him to his destination. Yet if a horse is trained well, it will carry its rider to her destination no matter how dangerous the journey.
Allah Most High says, “I am near – I answer the call of the one who calls upon me” (2:186).
Yet, many of us wonder: Are my du’as being answered? Is there a certain du’a I have to read for each of my concerns? Do my du’as have to be in Arabic?
Lecture on the Reality and Etiquettes of Du’a
In this series of short talks, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains the reality of du’a (supplication) and how to turn to Allah. It is based on a classical text on the same subject.
Sections covered:
1. The reality of du’a
2. Our being called on to make du’a
3. The great virtue of du’a
4. The integrals of supplication, its wings, and its means
5. The conditions of supplication
6. Its proper manners
7. The times of du’a and the state in which it should be made
8. Signs of acceptance of du’a
9. Explaining the religious ruling of du’a
10. Some encompassing supplications
11. Explaining what the greatest Divine Name is
It is the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, master of all the prophets, who was the unique figure, for it was he who turned time and space into a garden. Over 23 years of mission, he offered humanity a rose garden that does not fade. During his time of prophethood, the right and the wrong, in their entirety, became crystal-clear. Human perceptions about the creator, the universe, and the nature of the self were all clarified by him. At that time, humans grasped that this world is a testing ground. An ignorant society turned into a society based on knowledge. Believers began to understand that the human body emerges from a drop of water, that birds emerge from eggs, and that trees and vegetables emerge from seeds. The faithful began to contemplate the logic and meaning of creation, and their souls set out toward infinite horizons of wisdom.
It was the Prophet’s ﷺ training which permitted the community he led to develop the highest degree of compassion, devotion, sacrifice, and sensitivity toward justice. The Messenger ﷺ became the center of a fellowship whose life was founded upon winning the pleasure of Allah. All hearts were then filled with the excitement of the quest. Everyone asked, “What does Allah wants from us? In what condition would the Prophet ﷺ wish to see us?” In this way, night turned into day, and winter turned into spring. Thus that age of human history became a true Golden Age.
So gracious was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that through his presence, many dark wells were filled with glorious light.
Every living being survives in the environment appropriate to its nature. This natural law holds for humans as well. Bees require blooming flowers, and cannot live without them. Rats inhabit filthy places, and do not flourish in rose gardens. In just this way, sub- lime souls are nurtured by the glory emanating from the Reality of Muhammad ﷺ. Evil souls thrive in malice.
Hadrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to look at the face of the Prophet ﷺ and say in amazement, “O my Lord! What a beautiful face!” What Abu Bakr was witnessing was own his inner world reflected in the Prophet’s ﷺ face. Thus when the Prophet ﷺ said: “I have not made use of anyone else’s property as I have used the property of Abu Bakr,” Abu Bakr replied in tears, “O Messenger of Allah! Do not I and my property belong you?” (Ibn Maja, Muqaddimah 11). These words are clear evidence that Abu Bakr committed himself so fully to the Prophet ﷺ that he united himself with him. He made his inner world a mirror for the Prophet ﷺ. On the other hand, Abu Jahl, the chief enemy of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, used to have an aversion for the face of the Prophet. Looking at him, he would not receive a positive reflection, but was confronted by his own faithlessness and violence. Each saw his own real personality, his inner world, in the Prophet’s face.
Prophets are like shining mirrors. In them, everyone sees his or her image, his or her inner world. No mirror lies to the person who gazes at it. Mirrors reflect the true image of the one who looks.
-Excerpt from the book, “Such a mercy he was”
A woman came to Sayyidina Hassan Al-Basri (rahimahullah) and said,
My daughter passed away and now I wish to see her in my dream.
Sayyidina Hassan (rahimahullah) told her,
Offer four rakat Nafl after Isha and in each rakaat recite Surah At-Takasur (102). Then go to sleep while reciting Salawaat upon RasulAllah ﷺ until you fall asleep.
The woman did so and narrated the dream to Sayyidina Hassan (rahimahullah) the next day. She said,
I saw her in a bad state. She was wearing dirty robes. Her hands were tied and there were chains of fire around her feet.
Sayyidina Hassan (rahimahullah) asked her to give sadqa and hope that her daughter’s affliction gets lessened. The following night Sayyidina Hassan (rahimahullah) himself saw a dream wherein he was in Jannah and there was a beautiful young girl on a throne dressed in magnificent clothes. She told him that she was the daughter of the woman who had visited him. Sayyidina Hassan (rahimahullah) told her,
But your mother told me that she saw you in a bad state.
The girl said,
Indeed what she said was true. We were 70,000 souls who were afflicted with the torture of the grave until a pious person passed by us. He recited Salawat upon RasulAllah ﷺ dedicated it’s sawaab to us. And Allah accepted it in such a manner that we were freed from our tribulations and what you see now is due to barakah of that Durood Shareef.
– Al-Qawl Al-Badee : Imaam Shams Ad-Deen Sakhaawi, p.234-235 –
Marhaba Ya Mustafaﷺ 