1Nation Helping Paint A Better Picture Of Islam
By His Eminence Shaikh Ahmed al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate — Enlivening the spirit of solidarity among the sons of the Muslim nation can be attained through good education and readying the souls to undertake the rights of the needy, thus contributing to rebalancing the nation and strengthening it by consolidating co-operation and solidarity. Such a spirit can spread among the people by convincing them that solidarity brings people together and eliminates bitterness stemming from class differences. It is only when the rich provide for the needs of the poor that the social gap can be bridged and rancour removed. At this point the poor no longer feel jealousy or hatred towards the rich as they become a source of good for them. The rich themselves become accustomed to sympathising with the poor and having mercy on them, and thus give them the rights that Allah the Exalted ordered for them. Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, said: “The believers in their mutual love, mercy and sympathy are just like one body; if one of the organs is afflicted, the whole body responds to it with sleeplessness and fever.” Solidarity should be first at the family level for strong ties among the family members. The rich should help the poor, show them only the good and care for them as far as they can and by doing this the family becomes more coherent and the bonds get stronger. Similarly, solidarity should be at level of the clan; there can be a co-operative society within the clan to protect the interests of all the clan members. No doubt, the strong and harmonious clan is the one with good relationships between its members until everyone loves his brother as he loves himself. Then comes the level of the entire society which will certainly be quite healthy when the smaller components are strongly built.
