On the authority of Abu Hurairah, who said: the messenger of Allah,
alayhi as-salaatu was-salaam, said:
“Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices one to another; do not hate one another; do not turn away from one another; and do not undercut one another, but be you, O servants of Allah, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: he neither oppresses him nor does he forsake him in the time of need, he neither lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. .. »
[Forty Hadith Nawawi, Hadith 35]
Ash-Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him said:
“His statement
“nor does he forsake him in the time of need”
if he were to see him being humiliated, then therefore he should assist him and prevent him from being forsaken. He should aid him and he should not abandon him to the enemies. If he were to witness someone speaking
ill of him in the gatherings, then he must defend him because if he were to forsake him and to be silent, then that is considered to be deserting him in the time of need. So if you were to see your brother being oppressed, then you should aid him and prevent him from oppression in all of its types, He, alayhi as-salaatu was-salaam, said
“help your brother oppressor or oppressed whichever he may be” So a man said ”oh Messenger of Allah, I can aid him if he is being oppressed. However, how do I aid him if he is a oppressor? “he, alayhi as-salaatu was-salaam, replied “by preventing him from oppression for verily by that you have aided him”
So, do not oppress your brother by transgressing [him] in regards to his rights and likewise do not abandon him to be oppressed while you are capable of removing oppression from him, no matter if the oppression is of wealth or in regards to one’s honor or other than that. [This is] because the honor of your brother is like your honor”.
[Sharhu Arba’een an-Nawaweeyah page 214, print: Daarul Hidaayah]
Translated by
AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr