The Ethics of Brotherhood in Islam according to Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (a)

Rebecca Masterton

Mehfil-e Ali (as)

23rd May

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

Thanks and praise be to the One Reality that brought us into being and to which we will
return, and salutations to the Messenger who was sent to inform us of this Reality,
Muhammad the Chosen One, and to his purified progeny who protected the Message.

The ethics and spirit of brotherhood are one of the foundations of Islam, and an integral part
of walaya, consisting of love and loyalty to the Imam (as), and love and loyalty to those who
also love and are loyal to the Imam (as). Such ethics can be seen in the bond that existed
between the Holy Prophet (s) and Imam ‘Ali (as), and also in the teachings of Imam Ali (as)
to his Shi‘a. This discussion examines the importance of cultivating and nurturing the bonds
of brotherhood in light of the sacred knowledge that the Holy Prophet (s) transmitted to his
noble successor, Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibnAbiTalib (as). Before starting, it should be
emphasised that brotherhood, in this case, extends to sisterhood.

In 49:10, the Holy Qur’an says: ‘Inna maa al-mu’minun ikhwatun fa aslahu bayna akhwakum
wa attaqqu Allah la’allakum tarhamun.’: ‘Indeed the believers are brothers, so make peace
between your brothers and be wary of Allah, so that you may receive His mercy.’ There are
many narrations in this tradition that speak of the sacred nature of the bonds of brotherhood
in Islam.The Holy Prophet (s) said, ‘Looking at the brother you love for the sake of Allah
(swt) is ‘ibadah’. (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 74).In speaking of the Holy Prophet (s) himself,
Imam Ali (as) has said, ‘Through him Allah buried mutual rancour and put off the flames of
revolt. Through him He [Allah] gave them affection like brothers and separated those who
were together (through unbelief).’ (Sermon 95).We only have to look at the bond of
brotherhood between the Holy Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (as) to see an example of perfect
mutual trust and an enduring bond of mutual protection throughout life. It can also be seen
how the Holy Prophet (s), some thirty years older than Imam Ali (as), saw the qualities in
him of someone who would be worthy of bearing the knowledge that the Holy Prophet (s)
had to ensure was safely transmitted and implemented.This was a friendship and a
brotherhood that went against the norms of the time. As we know, it was considered

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laughable by Quraysh that Imam Ali (as) should be selected as the wasiyof the Holy Prophet
(s) and that the elders of Quraysh should follow him, but again, it shows the clear, and strict
Islamic ethics of evaluating a human being by the qualities of their character and nothing
else.

Imam Ali (as) has spoken about love, mahabba, which is worth reflecting upon in
light of the rivalries and jealousies that can exist among the people of this umma. Love for
one’s brother or sister on the path is again shown to be something sacred. He says that, ‘Love
(mahabba) is purified through cultivating friendship for the sake of Allah.’ (Ghurar al-
Hikam).A friendship based upon supporting each other in attaining knowledge and in
assisting each other to be better human beings is therefore the zakat of love. Many
friendships are cultivated through loving the same sport; the same movies; the same sense of
humour, or sometimes, having the same enemies; the same hatred of certain people. Love
may be cultivated because of the desire for social status or to be close to an influential family.
Friendship for the sake of Allah is no easy task: a friendship that is built solely upon the love
of Allah (swt); the love of Islam and the desire to elevate the soul; yet it is this which forms
the fabric of the umma. The brotherhood of the umma is not one where individuals are
punished by being boycotted, or not spoken to. I have come across families where even the
parents refuse to speak to the children; or where relations have broken down so badly that the
child has cut off from the parent and all but disappeared. The same can happen in friendship;
where once two people were almost as close as blood brothers, and visited each other all the
time, trusted each other and supported each other, and then gradually something arises in the
heart of one of them, and the love turns to bitterness, and eventually two people who virtually
shared their lives no longer speak, and one does not know whether the other one is even dead
or alive. So part of cultivating love for the sake of Allah is to try to retain some kind of
softness in the heart, in case there may come a day where relations can be repaired. Imam
‘Ali (as) says: ‘If you want to cut off relations with your brother make sure to leave a place
for him in your heart, so he can return to it one day when he so wishes.’ (Nahj al-Balagha,
Letter 31); but then, let us think about people who are close to each other and supposedly
brothers or sisters sharing a love of Allah (swt) and Islam, but one deceives and betrays the
other, even putting the fellow mu’min in danger, causing him stress and distress, upset,
anxiety and illness. Brotherhood in the umma is not unconditional. The Imam warns that:
‘The one you need to safeguard yourself against is not your brother.’ (Ghurar al-Hikam)

Thus, what is a brother in Islam? Not just someone who shares a love of the Din, but
someone who, as Imam Ali (as) was to the Holy Prophet (s), is trustworthy; with whom one
can find peace, security and shelter; whom one knows will not ever knowingly betray one or
go out of their way to hurt someone, or put their life in danger. The believer has a right to
guard themselves against a believer who has two faces.

In looking at Imam ‘Ali (as)’s letters in Nahj al-Balagha, one finds just how much the
Imam valued true brotherhood. Threaded throughout these sermons are the prime themes of
loyalty and treachery; and even though he was an Imam supported by Allah (swt), we see
how, at the material level of existence, where matters operate according to the laws of cause
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and effect, how much he needed the support of good companions to assist him in his cause,
and how much he lamented that those who first paid allegiance to him then turned away. The
bonds of brotherhood are therefore the building blocks of the citadel of Islam; without firm
bonds of brotherhood, matters fall into disarray and the citadel begins to collapse. Neither is
this a brotherhood founded upon a trite idea of unity; rather it is founded upon the noble
qualities of the Shi‘a and genuine love and support for one another, which derives from
understanding one’s place in maintaining the stability of this citadel.

In looking at Nahj al-Balagha, we learn that true brotherhood is founded upon sincere
intentions. In Sermon 12 it is narrated that, at the time of the victory of the Battle of the
Camel, one of the Imam’s companions approached him and said, ‘I wish my brother had been
present and he too would have seen what success and victory Allah had given you.’ To this
the Imam (as) replied, ‘Did your brother consider me a friend?’ The companion answered,
‘Yes,’ to which the Imam said, ‘In that case he was with us. Rather, in this army of ours, even
those persons were also present who are still in the loins of men and wombs of women.
Shortly, time will bring them out and faith will be strengthened through them.’ (Nahj, p. 152-
253). Brotherhood with the believers, and here, brotherhood with the Imam (as), is not
confined by the limits of time. The bonds of brotherhood in the umma rather are
transcendent. Hearts are connected beyond time and space through this sincerity of intention.
This is a spiritual brotherhood, where those who have not been born yet are the companions
of the Imam, again, through their character, and through their upholding continuity in
struggling for the cause of the sacred Message.

The Imam (as) teaches his Shi‘as about the attitude that they need to have towards one
another, in order to have this sincerity. In Sermon 23 he reminds them that ‘verily, Divine
orders descend from heaven to earth like drops of rain, bringing to every one what is destined
for him whether plenty or paucity. So if any one of you observes for his brother plenty of
progeny, or of wealth, it should not worry him. So long as a Muslim does not commit such
an act that if it is disclosed he has to bend his eyes in shame, and by which low people are
emboldened [he will be secure].’ In other words, just as the Holy Qur’an tells the believers
not to stretch their eyes towards the bounties that certain couples have been given, the Imam
affirms this to those who are united in brotherhood around him: be free of envy; do not be
insecure if someone has more children and wealth than you; rather, what is important, is that
you live a life of honour in the sight of Allah (swt); that your actions are honest and noble
and that your conscience is clear. This is freedom and wealth.

He reminds his comrades of the fact that all human beings need the support of
comradeship in this world: ‘O people! Surely no one, even though he may be rich, can do
without his kinsmen, and their support by hands or tongues. They alone are his support from
the rear and can ward off from his his troubles, and they are the most kind to him when
tribulations befall him.’ (p. 173). In times where we see people going out their way to cause
distress and tribulation to their kinsmen and brothers and sisters in faith, we see here, in fact,
the divinely ordained model as set out by the Imam (as): that wealth cannot protect the human
being from being in need of faithful and trustworthy companions; that these companions are
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the ones who are meant to go out of their way to protect him and to assist him if he is in
trouble. This is the true brotherhood of believers.

We see the Imam (as)’s love and praise for his true brothers in Islam, where he
addresses them, saying ‘You are the supporters of Truth and brethren in faith. You are the
shield on the day of tribulation and my trustees among the rest of the people. With your
support I strike the runner away and hope for the obedience of him who advances forward.’
(Sermon 117); and again, in the midst of the chaos and dissension around him, we see how he
misses those true brothers in faith who have sacrificed or are willing to sacrifice their livesin
standing beside him: ‘Where are those who were invited to Islam and they accepted it? They
read the Quraan and decided according to it. They were exhorted to fight and they leapt
(towards it) as she-camels leap towards their young. They took their swords out of the sheaths
and went out into the world in groups and rows. Some of them perished and some survived.
[…] Their eyes have turned white with weeping. Their bellies are emaciated because of
fasting. Their lips are dry because of constant praying. Their colour is pale because of
wakefulness. Their faces bear the dust of the God-fearing. These are my comrades who have
departed. We should be justified if we long for them, and miss their separation.’ (Sermon
120)

I find that whenever Imam Ali (as) speaks about the battlefield, one can really see that
as a metaphor for life. One of my favourite of his exhortations is where he advises his
brothers in religion: ‘When you face your enemy in battle, then lessen your speech and
increase in the remembrance of Allah.’ (Al-Khisāl) I have also mentioned his advice to his
comrades on the battlefield before, but it is worth saying again, for its beautiful metaphor for
life. We find in two of his sermons his exhortation for the strong to support the weak. In
Sermon 122, he says, ‘Whoever among you feels spiritedness of heart during the action and
finds any of his comrades feeling disheartened, should ward off (the enemies) from him just
as he would do from himself, because of the superiority that he enjoys over the other, for if
Allah had willed He would have made the former also like him.’ Again, we see this pure
advice to his followers and comrades: ‘Everyone should deal with his adversary and also help
his comrade by his own life […] By Allah, even if you run away from the sword of today,
you would not remain safe from the sword of the next world.’ (Sermon 123)

The Holy Qur’an, the Holy Prophet (s) and his Purified Progeny have all stressed the
importance of fulfilling pledges. Being true to one’s word is part of ethics of brotherhood and
part of upholding the honour of brotherhood. Here again, the Imam (as) reminds people of its
sacred importance, saying, ‘Surely the fulfilment of a pledge is the twin of truth. I do not
know a better shield (against the assaults of sin) than it. One who realises the reality of return
(to the next world) never betrays.’ (Sermon 41); but likewise, he laments the treacherous
behaviour of those of the times in which he was living, which again may be seen reflected in
our own times: ‘We are in a period when most of the people regard betrayal as wisdom. In
these days, the ignorant call it the excellence of cunning. What is the matter with them?
Allah may destroy them.’ (p. 200). We see from this the perfection and beauty of remaining
true to one’s word; of acting according to one’s promise; of not disappointing one’s brother
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or sister. More importantly, we see from this how betrayal, whether in word or deed, can be
taken lightly by some; that one who reneges on his word to his brother may consider it as
something of no consequence; yet one who reneges on his word cannot, according to the
ethics of brotherhood in Islam, be considered a true believer or true brother to another
believer.Iman and betrayal can never go together.

One of the actions most deplored, and spoken about by the Imam (as), as mentioned
above, is the betrayal in different forms committed by those around him; their sheer lack of
trustworthiness. He goes so far as to say ‘Even if I give you charge of a wooden bowl, I fear
you would run away with its handle.’ (Sermon 25). We see the duplicity and fickleness of
those who had been called companions. He says, ‘You are brethren in the religion of Allah.
Dirty natures and bad conscience have separated you. Consequently, you do not bear the
burdens of each other, nor advise each other, nor spend on each other, nor love each other.’
(Sermon 112). He warns them: ‘You should derive lessons from your occupying the places of
those who were before you and from the departure of your nearest brothers.’ (Sermon
116).Here, he is advising them to reflect upon the deaths of their brothers in the religion of
Allah, those whom they were meant to be close to in heart and mind.

We can conclude again by turning to the example of love and brotherhood that existed
between the Imam (as) and the Holy Prophet (s), where the Imam remembers his younger
days: ‘I used to follow him like a young camel following in the footprints of its mother.
Every day he would show me in the form of a banner some of his high traits and commanded
me to follow it. Every year he used to go into seclusion to the hill of Hira, where I saw him
and no one else saw him.’ (Sermon 190,p. 419)

On the special occasion of the birth date of Amir al-Mu‘mineen Imam Ali (as), we
pray that the hearts can be purified of rancour and envy; that tranquillity and trust can be
instilled among the brothers and sisters in the religion of Allah and that on the Last Day, we
can greet him as one those who he mentioned in his speech, who were not yet born in his
time, but who are his brothers and sisters in the Din through purified intention and actions.

Ameen