COOPERATING IN GOODNESS

Allah has ordered to cooperate with each other in goodness, so Allah says:

وَتَعاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى

And cooperate in righteousness and piety [Qur'an: 5:2]

Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged such cooperation stating:

وَاللَّهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَوْنِ أَخِيهِ

Allah will be in the aid of His dutiful servant as long as he is in aid of his brother. [Sahih Muslim: 2699]

Cooperation is the mutual putting forth of assistance to the other. This is from the best of ways to be, from the most praiseworthy of attributes, is from the character of the Prophets and Messengers and the traits of those who are righteous and noble. By way of example, let us look to the Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) and when Allah ordered him to build the Sacred House. He went straight to his son Ismail (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي بِأَمْرٍ. قَالَ: فَاصْنَعْ مَا أَمَرَكَ رَبُّكَ. قَالَ: وَتُعِينُنِي؟ قَالَ: وَأُعِينُكَ. قَالَ: فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ رَفَعَا الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ، فَجَعَلَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ يَأْتِي بِالْحِجَارَةِ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ يَبْنِي

[Ibrahim said to his son Ismail:] 'Allah has given me an order.' Ismail said: 'Do what your Lord has commanded you to do.' Ibrahim asked: 'Will you assist me?' Ismail responded: 'I will aid you.' ...The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then added: 'Then they (i.e. Ibrahim and Ismail) raised the foundations of the House (i.e. the Ka'bah). Ismail brought the stones and Ibrahim was building [the House]. [Sahih Bukhari: 3364]

In this manner, Allah has mentioned in the Surah al-Kahf the best of examples of mutual cooperation in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. He arrived at a people, they did not know him nor did he know them. Yet when they asked for his aid and his cooperation to bring about the good and to repel evil they found him forthright, as Allah says:

قَالُوا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَى أَنْ تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّا

They said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?"

[Qur'an: 18:94]

So he responded to them, and they mutually invested their energies, where he encouraged them to cooperate in achieving and building.

قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّي فِيهِ رَبِّي خَيْرٌ فَأَعِينُونِي بِقُوَّةٍ أَجْعَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ رَدْمًا* آتُونِي زُبَرَ الْحَدِيدِ حَتَّى إِذَا سَاوَى بَيْنَ الصَّدَفَيْنِ قَالَ انْفُخُوا حَتَّى إِذَا جَعَلَهُ نَارًا قَالَ آتُونِي أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا* فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا

He said, "That in which my Lord has established me is better [than what you offer], but assist me with strength; I will make between you and them a dam. Bring me sheets of iron" - until, when he had leveled [them] between the two mountain walls, he said, "Blow [with bellows]," until when he had made it [like] fire, he said, "Bring me, that I may pour over it molten copper." So Gog and Magog were unable to pass over it, nor were they able [to effect] in it any penetration.
[Qur'an: 18:95-97]

O You Who have Faith:

We will find in the books on the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) pages full of illumination about mutual cooperation. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to constantly help his companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), assisting them in their labor and the building of structures, always helping them in whatever needs they may have had. Sayyidina Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: "Indeed, I swear by Allah, we kept the companionship of the Prophet during both travel and during his stay and he used to console us with both the little and the lot." [Musnad Ahmad: 504] The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) put forward for us several examples in how to interact with society in light of the best of ways, cooperation that brings about results in a manner that may not be attainable were we to remain isolated individuals. For example, when Sayyidina Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) had to plant three hundred palm trees, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said : "Aid your brother." Salman states: "So they aided me with the [planting of] trees: someone came with thirty saplings, someone else came with twenty, another came with fifteen, another with whatever is with them, until three hundred saplings were collected. The Prophet then commanded me to plant them and said: "If it is finished then come to me, I will be the one to plant them with my hand" Salman says: "So I dug the holes and I was helped in this with the companions, until when I finished, I came to him and informed him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then came with me, so we would present with the sapling and he would plant them in with his hands. [Musnad Ahmad: 23737]

So the Sahaba learnt from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) this characteristic. From them was the community of Abu Musa al-Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him), who actualized mutual support amongst themselves. So whenever there would be a shortage or lack of food and provisions they would all gather and collect together what they had in one garment, then equally divide it amongst themselves. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praised them for this with his saying: "They are from me and I am from them." [Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]





Dear believers;

The Prophet implanted into the hearts of his Sahaba this desire to help others in the good in all aspects of life. From these aspects is mutual help in work. So we see Abu Dhar al-Ghifari repeatedly asking the Messenger of Allah: "What is the best of deeds?"  Until the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) responded by saying: "Aid someone in their labor [when they are incapacitated]" and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "A believer is the brother of another believer. He protects him against loss and defends him behind his back." [Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad: 239]. In these Hadith is an encouragement to help other people, to take on their responsibilities if they fall ill or are incapacitated, to perfect one's care and concern. The phrase "defend him behind his back" means to literally defend and protect his honor in his absence, and to come to his aid as much as is in one's capacity. All of this is from the understanding of mutual cooperation.

From such mutual cooperation is the exchange of expertise and knowledge and experience. In this regard, the Sahaba have put forth the best of examples too. For example we see Sayyidina Umar ibn al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "Me and my neighbour from the Ansar...used to take turns in our going to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would go one day, and I would go the next day. So the day I would go, I would bring him whatever information I could from revelation that had descended or the like from instruction, and when he would go, he would do the same." [Sahih Bukhari: 89]. So my neighbor whenever he would hear anything from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) he would tell me about it and I would do the same to him. All of this being a practical demonstration of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

نَضَّرَ اللَّهُ امْرَأً سَمِعَ مِنَّا حَدِيثًا فَحَفِظَهُ حَتَّى يُبَلِّغَهُ

May Allah illuminate a person who hears a tradition from us, memorizes it and passes it on to others. [Sunan Abi Dawud 3660]

So this is all from the mutual cooperation in righteousness which the Prophet sowed amongst us, so that we may attain the Divine pleasure of our Lord.

Dear brothers and sisters;Indeed the mutual aid which Islam has exhorted us to, aims to combine our efforts, unite our visions, and integrate all of our energies and potentials, such that we become one family, each member helping the other. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ؛ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى

The similitude of believers in regard to their mutual love, affection, compassion is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.

[Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

So let us instill in the hearts of our sons and daughters the value of such cooperation with the entirety of humanity, because this would bring much good for individuals and the collective.