Q: Outline the main teachings of the set Hadiths about the conduct of Muslims in

communal life.

Prophet Muhammad SAW was a messenger of Allah as well as a guide for all mankind.
After delivering the message of Allah, he explained it through his words, actions and
silent approvals. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran: “…And We have sent down unto
you (also) the Message; that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and
that they may give thought” The Prophet SAW through his ahadith has taught us how
to fulfil our responsibilities as individuals as well as the members of the community.
His sunnah and ahadith lay down certain cardinal disciplines for a true believer, making
him responsible for not only the way he should communicate with his fellow beings
but also the way he should behave with them. The themes of ahadith can be divided
into 2 branches which are as follows; Individual and Communal themes. Islam declares
the entire muslim community „a single body‟ where each and every member not only
respects others but also empathizes and is ready to share their joys as well as their
sorrows. When the Prophet SAW said “The believers are like a single man….” he
wished to create and develop a society where every member would emerge as a
strong supporter of those in need. The Prophet SAW was mindful of other aspects of
communal conduct as well. To make sure that the society was free of sinful and
shameful behavior, and that piety prevailed throughout, he alerted his followers to be
ready to take timely and appropriate actions if they witnessed any breach in the Divine
laws and find that their fellow beings are committing sins and spreading indecency. All
the ahadith prevailing over such subjects are known to be under the communal theme.
These ahadith are hadith number 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16. According to hadith
number 2, Muslims are bonded together with common faith: “Believers are a single
brotherhood” (49:10) this bond of fraternity has been established by God Himself, and
so, all Muslims should make it part of their faith. A heart without love and care for the
fellow Muslims is devoid of true faith, & so, genuine faith is linked with affection for
the other members of the community. “None of you believes” refers to imperfect
faith, and not absence of faith. This means that any believer might fall prey to a lack of
love for fellows. Muslims should negate selfishness, promote spirit of sacrifice and love
for the fellow Muslims Should develop a sense of collective welfare and make efforts
to ensure comfort and benefits for others as much as for himself: “It is more beneficial
for one to give his land free to his brother than to charge him a fixed rental” and: “That
you desire for others that what you desire for yourself” True believers should not look
down upon others and should not taunt them or call them by offensive nick names.
They are also not supposed to break ties with fellow brothers and should take initiative
in re-establishing good relations. According to hadith 5, Muslims should consider all
their physical powers as a gift of God. This will enable them to express gratitude to God
by helping fellow Muslims in daily matters. They should consider such acts as charity
e.g., settling disputes of the people and removing harmful objects from the roads. Such
acts should be equated with exerting energy in the worship of God. Islam encourages
charity and other measures that benefit others: “The best among the people are those
who are a source of benefit to the people” (Hadith) True believers should shape their
conduct in such a way as can help the fellows in day to day affairs. They should try to
end disputes between fellows because the Quran says: “Believers are a single
brotherhood; therefore make peace between your two contending brothers” (49:10)
They should hurry to offer their prayer, share the burdon of fellows and, wherever
possible, remove anything harmful from thoroughfares. This they should do along with
other acts of charity because Islam has broadened the scope of charity. According to
hadith 8, The Hadith has expanded the scope of martyrdom by including those not
involved directly in any physical fight/struggle (Jehad) in God‟s way. Muslims are
taught to believe that there are a number of non-war martyrs and they include those
who endure any sudden or prolonged pain that eventually kills them. For example,
natural death, death from plague and cholera. The Prophet has repeatedly said “in the
way of God” and that means to die in a state of strong faith in God. Believers should be
ready to lay down their lives in God‟s way only. They should develop the spirit of
withstanding all serious and fatal sufferings with a strong belief that everything is by
the supreme will of God Almighty who alone has power to give life and death. They
should be ready to sacrifice their lives while fighting on God‟s command as well as
while suffering any physical ailment with this Quranic instruction: “…….but give glad
tidings to those who patiently preserve. Who say, when afflicted with calamity: To God
we belong, and to Him is our return” (2:155-156) This way, serious ailments and
sudden trials will not shake their faith. According to hadith10, Islamic teachings train
the believers to develop a sense of fulfilling the rights of God as well as those of the
fellow beings. Islam strictly instructs us to take care of the less privileged in the society.
Such people have been equated by the Prophet to a regular worshipper and the one
who strives in the way of God. The Quran links true faith with a supportive attitude
towards the poor and declares those who fail to do so as the rejectors of faith: “Have
you seen the one who denies the judgement?....... and who does not encourage the
feeding of the indigent”. ( 107, al-Ma‟un) The Muslims should follow the example of
the Prophet who married the widow and often gave away his share of meal to those in
need: “ Nor repulse the petitioner unheard” (al-Duha, 93) They should support those in
need by regular charity and almsgiving in a way that the honour of the needy is not
hurt: “There is a man who gives charity and conceals it so much that his left hand does
not know what his right hand spends” (Hadith) This means there should be no showing
off. The best way of supporting a widow is her remarriage with her consent as it is the
Sunnah of the Prophet. The weak in the society should be supported and taken care of,
just like the Prophet himself did in Makka and Madina. According to hadith 11, Islam
instructs its followers to be caring and considerate towards the unsupported and the
needy. It promises greater rewards for such noble attitude, e.g., earning the pleasure
of God and closeness to His Messenger. It also associates such nobility with the love
for God: “And they feed for the love of God, the indigent, the orphan and the captive”
(76:8) Care and support of the orphan is greatly admired by the Quran and Sunnah, as
both promise huge rewards for those who are kind towards the orphan. This Hadith
guarantees such people closeness to the Prophet in Paradise → for any believer this is
no less than a fabulous award in the Hereafter. The Prophet, himself being an orphan,
always took special care of the orphan and the needy. He was reminded in Surah al-
Duha: “Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? ” He therefore, showered
special love on the orphan. Muslims should imitate his examples in whatever possible
ways. They should donate generously for the orphanages run and maintained by
various charity organizations. They should adopt orphan children in the light of the
admiration expressed by the Prophet, “ the best Muslim house is that in which an
orphan is well treated”. Such noble tasks strengthen the communal bonds among the
members of the Muslim community. According to hadith 12, This Hadith highlights the
importance of the responsibilities of a Muslim ruler. Being the leader of the Muslim
community is a huge responsibility and a great trust of God with the ruler. A Muslim
ruler is required to consider himself the custodian of his people, responsible for their
prosperity and welfare: “Leader of the community is indeed its servant” (Hadith) “Your
best rulers are those whom you love and they love you” (Hadith) Such an attitude is
based on a strong sense of accountability before the people as well as the Supreme
Lord. True Muslim rulers try their best to win the hearts of their people by kindness
and by being very close to them, avoiding any degree of harshness. The Prophet and
his four successors set glorious traditions about how to act as rulers. They devoted
their energies for the general welfare and collective prosperity of their people. Muslim
rulers need to follow these model rulers who ruled not only the state but also the
hearts of their subjects. They should remove all barriers that separate them form their
people and should treat them in a kind and fatherly way so that people do not fear but
respect them with sincerity. Caliph Ali remarked: “The state might survive with
paganism but might not survive with injustice”. They should ensure justice and follow
this instruction of the Prophet: “Make things easy and don‟t make them hard, and
cheer up people and don‟t repel them”. According to hadith 14, economic teachings of
Islam stress on honesty and justice on one hand, while mercy and lenience on the
other. Buyers and sellers should not have any intention of exploiting or cheating each
other: “One who cheats is not among us” (Hadith) Sellers should believe that honesty
and generosity are liked by God. Buyers similarly should not have any ill intention of
exploiting any weakness of the seller. Creditors should believe that God alone enabled
him to be a source of helping those in need and so, he should develop spirit of
magnanimity when some needy person approaches him. The Prophet conducted trade
with full honesty and dedication. He would not hide defects of merchandise while
selling any items. Muslim traders should follow this and should not try to unduely
maximize profits. While buying anything, Muslims should observe some limit of
bargaining so that the seller does not feel uncomfortable. A creditor should be
generous enough to give any relief to the debtor because the Prophet greatly admired
such degree of kindness: “Whoever has a claim on a brother which is payable and he
allows respite to the debtor in his payment, he will be given the reward of charity”.
Islam forbids any usury and instructs to extend “the beautiful loan” (Interest-free
loan). According to hadith 15, Among all attributes of God, mercy is very special
because according to a Hadith-i-Qudsi:“Truly My mercy overcomes My wrath” God,
therefore, loves those who show mercy to others, and He commands the Muslims to
seek His mercy and extend mercy on others. The Holy Prophet is called “mercy for all
creatures” in the Quran (21:107) The Prophet encouraged his followers to keep alive
the spirit of mercy and compassion so that they get entitled to God‟s mercy in the
Hereafter. None can be more ill-fated than the one who gets deprived of God‟s mercy.
The Muslims are required to follow the footsteps of the Prophet who never cursed his
enemies and insultors in Makka, Taif and the battlefield. In the battle of Uhud, when
some companion asked him to curse the Makkans, his reply was: “I have not been sent
to curse” He kindly treated captives of Badr and forgave his fatal enemies on the
conquest of Makka. Muslims today may imitate such noble conduct and generosity of
heart. They should not overburdon their employees and should have the moral
courage of forgiving the insultors because they will receive huge reward from their
Lord: “Be compassionate to those on earth and He, who is in the heavens, will be
compassionate to you”. According to hadith 16, Islam established the universal Muslim
brotherhood when the Prophet migrated to Madina: “The believers are a single
brotherhood” (49:10) All Muslims regardless of social and geographical background
were united as a single community. Since it is a divine arrangement, all Muslims are
bound to observe it. They should develop a strong sense of belonging to the same
community or family so that if any of the fellows experiences discomfort, he too
should feel it. The Prophet also used another comparison : “One believer to another is
like the bricks of a building; each one is holding and supporting the other”. The
believers may follow this Hadith in a variety of ways. The Ansar of Madina
accommodated the Muhajireen of Makka by sharing all their assets with them. During
congregational prayers and the pilgrimage to Makka, Muslims come closer to each
other and this trains them to share joys and sorrows. They should care for fellow
Muslims in hour of need and trials .The Prophet linked true belief with a sense of
brotherhood: “you cannot be true believers unless there is reciprocal love among you”.
They can also promote unity by collectively following the Quranic guidance : “And hold
fast all together the Rope of God and do not be divided” (3:103) The Prophet‟s
(P.B.U.H) teachings are guide lines for establishing a dynamic welfare society where
each member of the society is responsible and caring member of the community and is
always ready to help those who are in need or distressed. Thus, we see that be it
worship or social security, be it financial transactions or environmental issues, the
hadis and sunnah of Prophet SAW along with the Quran, provide guidance on all
matters.