Love One Another Islam gives us a clear definition of unity and brotherhood and how it can be realized and

implemented. The uniting factor of this brotherhood is aqeedah (creed) of Islam, which defines the belief of a Muslim. By virtue of believing in Allah (S) and His beloved Messenger we share a unique bond with all Muslims. Unlike other bonds, which are superficial, reactive, or strictly emotional, the bond of Islam unites man irrespective of race, nationality, and class. Too often we find ourselves succumbing to the days of jahiliya (pre-Islamic era) when asabiyah or tribalism was prevalent. Nowadays, instead of tribal divisions, we create divisions and segregate ourselves by race, nationality, class or social status. It is an unfortunate reality when we see ourselves as better than others because of our country of origin, our income, or the color of our skin. Have we forgotten the profound wisdom of Allah (S) when he declared in the glorious Quran, O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know one another (not that you may despise each other). 49:13. There is great wisdom behind our diverse ummah. There is beauty behind our differences in race and class. Will we heed Allah (S)s command and know one another so that we may learn to love one another? Or will we despise each other and let indifference grow in our hearts? The Prophet Muhammad (S) said, You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I direct you to something, which if you fulfill you will love one another? Spread peace among yourselves. (Muslim). In order to enter Paradise, we must love one another. How do we do this? In this hadith, our beloved Prophet (S) advises we spread peace. This is fulfilled through many things; greeting each other with the kind words, As-Salam-u-Alaykum; spreading a state of peace through reconciliation; and seeing through trivial differences such as race and ethnicity. How can we spread salam to our Muslim brothers and sisters when we choose to divide ourselves into small communities made up of people who look, talk, work, and live like us? How can we reconcile with one another when we refuse to allow our sons and daughters to marry from different races? How can we begin to see through our trivial differences when we refuse to acknowledge a large population of Muslims living in our own back yard who need our help? There are African American Muslims living in Detroit that go to bed hungry each night. What have we done to show them we are one brotherhood? Let us not fool ourselves by thinking we can throw a check in their direction and solve the problem. Instead, let us

build relations with one another, bring our communities together and actually help each other while learning to truly love one another. The beloved Prophet (S) said, "O' servants of Allah, be like brothers with each other. A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; do not hurt him or look down upon him or bring shame on him. Piety is a matter of the heart (The Prophet (S) repeated this three times). It is enough evil for a person to look down upon his Muslim brother. The blood, property and honor of a Muslim is inviolable to a Muslim." (Muslim) If we do not unite and form a strong bond of brotherhood with our fellow brothers and sisters we are never to progress as an ummah and ultimately change our current condition. We have seen the devastating effects of division among communities be it the Middle East or our own communities here in the U.S. We will never unite as one ummah and succeed on earth as well as in the akhira if we are divided and harbor hatred or arrogance in our hearts towards each other. One day Abu Zar (RA) had an argument with Bilal (RA) and called him, "Son of a black woman." Bilal became so sad he went and complained to the Prophet (S). Prophet Muhammad (S) went to Abu Zar and angrily asked, "Did you say that? You are a man who has ignorance in him!" Abu Zar deeply regretted what he did. He put his cheek on the ground and asked Bilal to step on his face saying, "I swear by Allah that you step on my face so that Allah may forgive me," but Bilal refused. Instead he forgave him, and when Prophet Muhammad (S) died, he was pleased with them both. There are many lessons to learn from this story. First, we must acknowledge that we are not perfect and we all make mistakes, like Abu Zar did in this narration. Second, whenever the Prophet (S) was put on notice of any type of mistreatment from one Muslim to another over asabiya, or qawmiya (nationalism), he immediately addressed the situation and corrected the behavior. Third, it is always better to forgive your brother than forsake him. Let us look into our own hearts and correct any traces of racism or nationalism and pray that Allah (SWT) forgives us and purifies our hearts from these diseases. If there is one ailment that is hurting our ummah the most and preventing us from growth and development it is qawmiyah. Our beloved Prophet (S) knew this well before any of us. This is evident in his farewell sermon where he warned against the dangers of racism, All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Brothers and sisters in Islam, we must let go of these superficial diseases of the heart and genuinely love one another if we wish to enter Paradise. Let us forgive each other dear brothers and sisters, let us strengthen our bonds, and revive our brotherhood regardless of

race, nationality or class. Let us see the beauty in our diversity and use it to our advantage and see the splendor and hikmah behind Allah (SWT)s many creations. We must start with ourselves and change our own condition in order for Allah (SWT) to change the condition of our Ummah.