Rights of Fellow Muslims

There are six rights of fellow Muslims, this is important to pay attention to, some are obligatory, some are sunnah.

Bulughul Maram Kitabul Jaami'

Hadith #1447

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ – رضي الله عنه – قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ – صلى الله عليه وسلم – – حَقُّ اَلْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى اَلْمُسْلِمِ سِتٌّ: إِذَا لَقِيتَهُ فَسَلِّمْ عَلَيْهِ, وَإِذَا دَعَاكَ فَأَجِبْهُ, وَإِذَا اِسْتَنْصَحَكَ فَانْصَحْهُ, وَإِذَا عَطَسَ فَحَمِدَ اَللَّهَ فَسَمِّتْهُ وَإِذَا مَرِضَ فَعُدْهُ, وَإِذَا مَاتَ فَاتْبَعْهُ – رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ

From Abu Hurayrah radhiyallahu 'anhu, he said that the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "There are six rights of Muslims towards other Muslims. He shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "(1) When you meet, say hello to him; (2) if you are invited, fulfill the invitation; (3) when you are asked for advice, advise him; (4) if he sneezes and then he praises Allah (saying 'alhamdulillah'), pray for him (saying 'yarhamukallah'); (5) if he is sick, visit him; and (6) when he dies, accompany his corpse (to the cemetery).” (HR. Muslim) [HR. Muslims, no. 2162]

Takhrij Hadith

This hadith was issued by Imam Muslim in the Book "Greetings"in Chapter"The right of one Muslim to another is to answer the greeting”, hadith number 2162 from Isma'il bin Ja'far, from Al-'Ala', from his father, from Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said as stated in the hadith above.

This hadith was also issued by Imam Bukhari in his authentic book, hadith number 1240 and Muslim, hadith number 2162 from Sa'id bin Al-Musayyib, from Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu, he said that he heard the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "There are five rights of fellow Muslims ….” The hadith does not mention "When you are asked for advice, give advice to him"

Hadith Vocabulary

• "Muslim rights” is an order that is required to be carried out, really emphasized and not to be abandoned. This right includes obligatory 'ain, obligatory kifayah, and cases that are sunnah.
• "There are six” does not deny the mention of five cases in another hadith. As the rules in the science of ushul "al-'adad laa mafhuuma lahu”, the number here is not used as a benchmark because the rights of fellow Muslims are many. The rights of fellow Muslims are included in the words of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam,

Allah

"None of you will believe until he loves his brother as he loves himself.” (Narrated by Bukhari, no. 13 and Muslim, no. 45; from Anas bin Malik radhiyallahu 'anhu). This is also covered in a hadith that is meaningful to this hadith.

• "When you meet, say hello to him", meaning starting greetings punished sunnah 'ain if alone. There is a discussion that is meant here is a kifayah law.
• "If you are invited, fulfill the invitation”, meaning if invited to attend walimah or other than that, then fulfill the invitation. This sentence is actually a general sentence that includes any calls including calls to ask for help to bring something.
• "When you are asked for advice, give advice to him”, the intention is to ask for advice, namely to ask that kindness be given to those who are given advice both in words and deeds.
• "If he sneezes and then he praises Allah (saying 'alhamdulillah'), pray for him (by saying 'yarhamukallah'”. It means ''yahamukallah' (may Allah have mercy on you) is may Allah give you mercy by returning the sneezing limb back to its original state and unchanged. But sentence tasmit or tasymit is a good prayer. Everyone who prays for others with kindness is called tasymit.
• “If he is sick, visit him”, the intention is to visit him when sick. Mentioned with the word 'yes because it could be visiting it repeatedly. The person who is sick here means general, whether he is known or not, whether he is a close person or a distant person.
• "When he dies, accompany his corpse (to the cemetery)”, the meaning is to walk behind his body from the house or from where he was prayed to to the cemetery.

Benefits of Hadith

1- Islam is a religion of compassion and teaches to pay attention to the rights of others.

2- The Muslim referred to in the hadith whose rights are granted here is a Muslim who has a confession of faith la ilaha illallah and do not do things that invalidate his Islam.

3- Saying salam is a sign of love and kindness for a Muslim. It contains (1) prayers for safety from various diseases, ugliness, immorality, and safety from hell; (2) a prayer for mercy to get goodness; (3) prayer for blessings so that goodness lasts and increases.

4- Some lessons on greetings:

• Say hello to the known and the unknown;
• Still greeting anyone, even if they are a member of immorality, as long as they are Muslims;
• It is not permissible to say hello to the opposite sex if it creates temptation, especially those who are young;
• Starting to say greetings is sunnah. Ibn 'Abdil Barr and others stated that the scholars agreed upon 'ijma' (agreed), starting to say greetings is considered a sunnah. As for answering greetings, it is obligatory according to the understanding of surah An-Nisa' verse 86;
• A simple greeting is “Assalaamu 'alaikum”, while the most perfect is “Assalaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh”;
• A simple greeting is “Wa'alaikumus salaam” (can also be with 'alaikumus salaam), while the most perfect is "Wa'alaikumus salaam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh”;
• It is not permissible to start greeting non-Muslims. But if he says greetings, let him return the greeting with a greeting like what he said (nothing more than that), it means if he says "Assalaamu 'alaikum", then replied "Wa'alaikumus salaam”. Likewise if he says "Assaamu 'alaikum (woe to you)", then replied "Wa'alaikum" or "Wa'alaikumus saam” (woe to you too);
• Greetings are nobler than greetingsGood morning" etc. Greetings of this kind are not syar'i greetings and in no way can replace greetings;
• Replying to greetings is not by saying "ahlan" or "Welcome”, this is not a syar'i greeting in response to greetings. In the verse it is stated (which means), "If you are honored with an honor, then repay that honor with something better than him, or repay that honor (with something similar).” (QS. An-Nisa': 86);
• In the hadith it is stated that if you meet, then say hello. Do you also greet when parting? There is a hadith that says, "If present in the assembly, should give greetings. If standing from the assembly, should give greetings. The one who says it first is more important than the one who says it later.” (Narrated by Abu Daud, no. 5208; Tirmidhi, no. 2706; Ahmad, 12:47. The Sanad of this hadith is hasan. Shaykh Al-Albani mentions this hadith in Lineage of Al-Ahadith Ash-Shahihah, no. 183);
• Those who are afdal are those who are juniors who start greeting the seniors, those who are few to those who are many, those who ride vehicles to those who are walking, those who walk to those who are sitting. But if no one starts first, then the greeting is still said, that's better. In the hadith it is stated, "Khoiruhaa alladzi tabda'u bis salaam”, it is best to be the first to say the greeting.

5- Be sure to attend the invitation, the hadith studied here shows that the invitation is public, whether it's an invitation walimatul 'ursy (wedding invitations), or other invitations. Some scholars state that attending any invitation is obligatory because it is for the sake of honor and for the sake of establishing good relations. This is the opinion of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, some tabi'in, Zahiriyah scholars, and some Shafi'iyah scholars. While the jumhur (majority) of the scholars stated that the law on attending invitations in general was sunnah fed up. While Imam Ash-Shan'ani wombahullah in Subul As-Salam stated that what was obligatory was to attend the walimah marriage invitation because there was a threat in the hadith if they did not attend, while other invitations were punished as sunnah.

6- It is obligatory to give advice to our brother when he asks for advice. Means if he does not ask, then it is not obligatory. However, if we are not asked for advice, then if there is harm or sin, it is obligatory to continue to advise because this is a form of eliminating evil from Muslim brothers. Meanwhile, if our brother does not ask for advice and there is no harm or sin at that time, and also thinks that other than us it is more useful in giving advice, then we are not obliged to advise (it is only sunnah) because it is included in the form of giving good instructions to others.

7- Must say tasymit (yarhamukallah) when someone sneezes then say Alhamdulillah. Means if the sneeze does not utter Alhamdulillah, then no speech tasymit (yarhamukallah). In essence, if you escape from saying Alhamdulillah, there will be two losses: (1) the favor of praising Allah is lost; (2) the pleasure of being prayed for by his brother when he heard him recite Alhamdulillah also lost. Tasymit is utter yarhamukallah if someone says alhamdulillah three times. If it is the fourth time, then say a prayer so that he will be healed because those who sneeze mean they are sick, then say "yahdikumullah wa yushlih baalakum" (may Allah give you guidance and improve your condition). Then if non-Muslims say alhamdulillah when they sneeze, they don't reply with yarhamukallah, but directly pronounce yahdikumullah wa yushlih baalakum" as the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam practice this.

8- Visiting sick people according to the majority of scholars is sunnah. However, visiting a sick person may become mandatory if the person being visited is a close relative (still has a mahram relationship). For example visiting a sick father or mother, the law is obligatory because it is part of serving both of them. Also visiting sick relatives is obligatory because it is part of friendship with relatives. The rule, the closer the relatives are and the closer they are in a relationship, the more emphasized it is to visit them when they are sick.

9- Those who are visited here are sick people in general, whether the sick person is still conscious or not. Likewise, it is recommended that those who come to visit are not known to be present by those who are sick. Because visiting sick people has the following benefits: (1) reducing the grief of his family; (2) pray for goodness to those who are sick; (3) visiting him alone bears the reward.

10- We are ordered to take the body to the cemetery and the law is fardhu kifayah. This applies to both known and unknown corpses.

Reference:  

1. Fath Dzi Al-Jalali wa Al-Ikram bi Syarh Bulugh Al-Maram. First printing, Year 1435 H. Shaykh Muhammad bin Shalih Al-'Utsaimin. Madarul Wathan Publisher. 15:7-23;
2. Minhah Al-'Allam fi Sharh Bulugh Al-Maram. First printing, Year 1432 H. Shaykh 'Abdullah bin Salih Al-Fauzan. Publisher Dar Ibnul Jauzi. 10:7-16.
3. Subul As-Salam Al-Muwshilah ila Bulugh Al-Maram. Second printing, Year 1432 H. Muhammad bin Isma'il Al-Amir Ash-Shan'ani. Publisher Dar Ibnul Jauzi. 8:131-137.

Source: rumaysho.com