Brotherhood
Before the Hijra, Rasulullah (saw) used to establish brotherhood bonds between some of the male converts. It all started when he saw Abu Bakr (ra) and Omar (ra) approaching him hand in hand. Upon witnessing this sight, our Master said:
“After the Rasuls and Nabis, among the believers, those who are the most perfect in faith are the ones who are the best in character. So, whoever among you wants to look at the most perfect believer in faith, let him look at these people who have come.”
With these words, Rasulullah (saw) was referring to those who were over the age of forty, as undoubtedly, Hadhrat Ali (ra), who had also received numerous great virtues and was honored with the Rasul’s statement “I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate,” was among them.
After this, Rasulullah (saw) made Hadhrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hadhrat Omar (ra) brothers. Then, he proceeded to make the following individuals, brothers in pairs:
- Hadhrat Osman and Hadhrat Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Hadhrat Hamza and Hadhrat Zaid bin Haritha (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Hadhrat Zubair and Hadhrat Abdullah bin Masud (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Hadhrat Sad bin Abi Waqqas and Musab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Hadhrat Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah and Hadhrat Abu Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Ubaydah bin al-Harith and Bilal bin Rabah (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Sa’id bin Zaid and Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with them).
Immediately after this brotherhood was established, Hadhrat Ali (ra) went to our Master (saw) and asked, “O Rasulullah, you have made all the companions brothers with one another, but you have not made anyone my brother, leaving me alone. Why is that?” Rasulullah gave Ali the comforting answer: “You are my brother in this world and the hereafter.”
Following the establishment of this first brotherhood, the second brotherhood took place in the fifth month after the migration to Medina. The Muslims who had migrated to Medina had to leave behind many of their belongings in Mecca, and upon their arrival in Medina, they were facing extremely challenging circumstances.
Seeing the hardship endured by the Muhajirun (the emigrants from Mecca), Rasulullah devised a solution. The Muslims of Medina, known as the Ansar, would become brothers with the Muhajirun.
Following this decision, our Master established brotherhood bonds between the Ansar and the Muhajirun as follows:
Hadhrat Ali with Sehl bin Huneyf
Hadhrat Osman bin Affan with Evs bin Sabit
Hadhrat Abu Bakr with Harice bin Zeyd
Hadhrat Omar with Uveym bin Saide
Hadhrat Talha bin Ubeydullah with Ubey bin Ka’b
Hadhrat Zubair bin Awwam with Kab bin Malik
Jafar bin Abi Talib with Muaz bin Jabal
Abu Darda with Salman al-Farisi
Hadhrat Hamza with Kulsum bin Hidm
Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah with Muhammad bin Maslama
Amir bin Fuheyre with Haris bin Aws
The brotherhood established among the Muslims was extremely beneficial and virtuous. None of them exploited this bond, nor did anyone belittle their brothers. Each one placed everything at the disposal of their brother solely for the sake of Allah. They lived for Allah, spent for Allah, and maintained their brotherhood for Allah.
Abdurrahman bin Awf (ra), who migrated from Mecca, narrated his experience of brotherhood in Medina as follows:
“After migrating to Medina, Rasulullah made me brothers with Sa’d bin Rabi. After this brotherhood was established, Sa’d said to me, ‘O Abdurrahman, I am the wealthiest among the Ansar in terms of wealth. I have decided to give you half of my wealth from this moment onwards. Additionally, I currently have two wives. Whichever one you choose, I will divorce her for you, and after her waiting period, you can marry her.’
Sa’d’s words deeply moved me, and I thanked him, saying, ‘May Allah bless you and your wealth and family, O Sa’d. However, I have no need for any of these. Just show me the way to the marketplace tomorrow morning.’
The next morning, Sa’d took me to the marketplace, and I started trading a bit of pure butter and cheese there. Through Allah’s grace, my situation improved rapidly. It didn’t take much time before my circumstances became much better.
After some time had passed, I got married to a woman from the Ansar. The next day, I went to the presence of Rasulullah (saw). When he noticed the effects of saffron on me, which is typically used by newlyweds, he asked, “Have you gotten married, Abdurrahman?” I replied, “Yes, O Rasul of Allah.” He then asked, “Whom did you marry?” I answered, “I married a woman from the Ansar.” The Rasul inquired further, “How much dowry did you give?” I said, “I gave her a piece of gold weighing approximately five dirhams.”
Upon hearing this, Rasulullah advised, “Then, even if it is only with a sheep, make a feast for the people, O Abdurrahman.”
Afterward, I became quite wealthy in a short period. It seemed that wherever I lay down, I would find either gold or silver beneath me.”
During the establishment of brotherhood between the Muhajireen and Ansar, Rasulullah was in the process of completing the Masjid al-Nabawi. At that time, the mosque did not have minarets. The construction of the first minarets took place during the time of Omar ibn Abdulaziz.
While the construction of the Mosque was underway, another issue arose: how would the Muslims be called to prayer? Before the completion of the mosque, Muslims would gather in the mosque when they estimated that prayer time had come. However, with the mosque’s completion, the question of how to call people to prayer needed to be addressed.
Rasulullah (saw) asked the companions for their thoughts on this matter. Several suggestions were made, but our Master did not find them suitable. These included erecting a flag on the mosque when it was prayer time, blowing a horn similar to the Jewish Shofar, or using bells to announce prayer times. Rasulullah did not approve of these suggestions.
Indeed, a solution had to be found that was appropriate for Muslims. The next suggestion was:
“Let’s light a fire on a high place! Everyone will see the fire and come!” Our Master again indicated that this proposal was not suitable for Muslims. Lighting a fire was the practice of the fire-worshippers.
Afterward, a decision was made based on the Rasul’s command: When it’s prayer time, people would ascend to a high place and call out “As salatu jamiah!” (i.e., “The prayer is ready to be offered, come together!”).
This arrangement continued for some time. Then, one day, Abdullah bin Zeyd from the Ansar came to the Rasul of Allah and shared a dream he had:
“O Rasulullah, I had a dream. In my dream, I saw a man wearing a green robe with two pieces, and he was holding a bell. I asked him:
“Will you sell me that bell in your hand? He asked me, “What will you do with that bell?” I explained, “I will use it to call people to prayer.” He then offered me an alternative: “Shall I teach you something better?” I asked, “What is it?” He recited:
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar! (Allah is Great, Allah is Great!) Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah! (I bear witness that there is no god, only Allah!) Ashhadu anna Muhammadur Rasulullah! (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Rasul of Allah!) Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah! (Hasten to prayer!) Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah! (Hasten to success!) Qad qamatis Salah! (The prayer is ready to begin!) Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar! (Allah is Great, Allah is the Great!) La ilaha illallah! (There is no god, only Allah!)”
Then, he stepped back a bit and said:
“When you want to call for prayer, recite like this:
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah!
Ashhadu anna Muhammadur Rasulullah!
Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah!
Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah!
Qad qamatis Salah!
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
La ilaha illallah!”
Upon hearing this dream, our Master said: “InshaAllah, this is a true dream! Bilal, get up and let him teach you what he saw. Let Bilal recite the call to prayer, for his voice is louder than yours!” Bilal, the Abyssinian, followed the instructions and became the first Mu’adhin (the caller to prayer).
Bilal and our Master stood up together, and as Bilal recited the call to prayer, the melodious sound reached the ears of the Muslims who quickly gathered at the mosque. Even though they heard it for the first time, they were deeply moved by the call to prayer.
When Omar (ra) heard the adhan, he rushed to our Master and said: “O Rasul of Allah! I swear by the One who has sent you with the Truth, I saw the exact same thing twenty days ago.” Rasulullah replied: “Alhamdulillah! Why didn’t you mention it before, Omar?” Omar felt ashamed and answered: “I felt shy and embarrassed to speak about it.”
After this incident, Bilal would recite the call to prayer every morning. However, one morning, when Bilal called the adhan but did not see our Master rise for prayer, he added the following words to the adhan: “As-Salatu Khayrun Minan Naum (Prayer is better than sleep).” Hearing this addition, Rasulullah rose, and he was pleased with this modification. He instructed Bilal to include these words in the call to prayer, and this became a permanent part of the adhan.
Despite the acceptance of the adhan, some Jews and non-Muslims in Medina mocked it. Allah revealed the following verse in response to their mockery:
And when you call to prayer, they take ridicule and make fun of it... This is because they are people who are unable to use their intellect.[1]