Steps for Uniting the Ummah | Taghribnews (TNA)

The Arabic word "ummah" as it is used in these verses means: "people united by faith". This particular meaning for the word "ummah" is often seen in the Quran.

For instance, Allah says:

{Humanity was a single ummah and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings...} (2: 213)

{This ummah of yours is a single ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship me.} (21: 92)

This verse is preceded by a lengthy account where Allah relates to us the stories of various prophets like Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Zachariah, John, and others (peace be upon them all). Then Allah praises them, mentioning Mary, the mother of Jesus along with them, though she was not a Prophet, and concludes by saying:

{This ummah of yours is a single ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship me.}

This context allows for two possible interpretations.

The first is that the Prophets themselves are a single ummah, and the second is that the verse is talking about the followers of the final Prophet. The commentators of the Quran differ on this matter.

The best interpretation in my view - and Allah knows best - is that these verses establish the fact that the ummah is one ummah, giving all the stages of development that it has gone through during the course of history, starting with Adam and culminating with Muhammad (peace be upon them both).

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Seal of the Prophets and their leader in this world and the Hereafter. The ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the best and last ummah. It has inherited the guidance and teachings of all the Prophets who came before it.

No other ummah since the time of Muhammad (peace be upon him) has ever carried with it anything like the illumination of the Quran, the book that Allah has protected from corruption and alteration. It is the book about which Allah says:

{Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it.} (41: 42)

{We have indeed sent down the Message, and We are indeed its guardians.} (15: 9)

This ummah that, from generation to generation, represents the values set forth in the Quran, carries out its commandments and eschews what it prohibits, no matter how imperfectly, is superior to every other scriptural ummah.

It retains within its active life the knowledge, guidance, and faith of the Prophets to a degree that no other nation can boast. It carries with it a light by which it would completely reform itself if it would only act upon it. This light is the Quran and Sunnah.

Then Allah says:

{But they were cut off from one another in the matter of their unity, and yet they will all return to Us.} (21: 93)

Here Allah is speaking about the scriptural communities that came before and how they fell into division and disputations. It is a warning for the Muslim ummah that it must remain a single ummah and strive to maintain its unity and not share the fate of the People of the Book who had been united in faith at one time, then fell into dispute, each faction

taking with it a part of the truth. Allah has established the bonds of brotherhood between the believers.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) stressed this relationship on many occasions when he talked about the rights a Muslim has on his brother Muslim. Some of these rights are as follows:

1. Rights on the Heart

By these I mean the love and affection that a Muslim must harbor in his heart for his fellow Muslim. He should avoid beings suspicious of his brother and harbor no malice towards him in his heart.

A Muslim should share in his fellow Muslim's joys and sorrows. When a Muslim learns of something good that has befallen his brethren, he should rejoice. He should feel as if he were the recipient of such good fortune.

Likewise, he should feel the pain of his fellow Muslims anywhere in the world who have been stricken by tragedy. He should feel the pain when Muslim women are being raped or when a Muslim country is being afflicted with hardships or attacked.

This grief and commiseration is the least of his obligations towards his fellow Muslims in such times. Allah has not commanded us merely to feel grief. However, such grief is the fuel that carries people to action.

2. Rights on the Tongue

Your fellow Muslim has the right upon you that you return the greeting of peace when he greets you.

You should pray for Allah's mercy upon him when he sneezes. You must praise him when he does something deserving of praise. You must teach him when he is ignorant. You must enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. You must pray for him.

These are all outward expressions of the feelings that you must cultivate in your heart for your fellow Muslims. Praying for them is not a minor thing. Allah might remove some affliction from the Muslim Ummah because of your prayer. Allah commands us in the Quran to pray to Him and tells us that he will answer our prayers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Supplication is worship.” (Abu Dawud)

If nothing comes out of all of these feelings and all these good words but a true realization of belonging to this Ummah, then that would be enough. A person cannot rightly claim to belong to this Ummah and fail to share in any aspect of life with its other members, neither feeling joy at the Ummah's success or sadness when tragedy befalls it.

We must identify with our religion and feel for our brothers and sisters in faith, and profess this with our tongues. The least we can manage is to speak the truth publicly and offer prayers for our fellow Muslims when we are alone.

3. Rights on the Purse Strings.

These include the duties of Zakah and of charity that are imposed upon us. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and fulfill all the other rights that Allah has granted to our fellow Muslims with respect to our wealth.

Allah says:

{And in their wealth, the beggar and the needy have their rights.} (51:19)

Some scholars have said that there are rights on money other than the prescribed Zakat tax. There are times of hardship, poverty, and severe need when those who enjoy affluence must spend their wealth to support and assist their brothers.