Imam Muslim narrated from the route of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
<<The one who relieves the distress caused by a worldly grief of a believer, Allah will relieve him of one of the distresses of the Day of Judgement. The one who makes it easy for an indebted person, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter. And the one who doesn’t expose a defect of a Muslim; Allah will not expose him in this world and the in Hereafter. Allah aids His slave as long as this slave aids his brother. Allah facilitates the route to Paradise for the one who follows a route seeking the knowledge of the religion. No people gather together in one of the mosques, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon them, mercy spreading over them, the angels surrounding them, and Allah making their ranks higher. The one is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his ancestry>>.
The Prophet peace be upon him started this hadith by saying: <<The one who relieves the distress caused by a worldly grief of a believer, Allah will relieve him of one of the distresses of the Day of Judgement>>. Relieving a hardship involves removing it or lessening its impact. The kurbah (meaning the hardship or the disaster) is the severe difficulty that causes sadness and depression for those whom the kurbah befalls.
The Prophet then said: <<The one who makes it easy for an indebted person, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter>>. The indebted person is a person who has incurred large debts which he is incapable of repaying. Making it easy for such a person entails rescheduling his payments until a time when he is capable and can afford to repay them, or reducing his debts, or granting him some money so that his need ends.
Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah related that the Messenger of Allah said: <<There was a merchant who used to loan people. So when he knows of a debtor who is in need, he would say to his boys (servants or workers who collect his debts), erase or reduce his debts, that Allah may erase our sins for us, and Allah forgave him>>.
The Prophet then said, <<The one who doesn’t expose a defect of a Muslim; Allah will not expose him in this world and the in Hereafter>>. Muslims love for their believing brothers what they love for themselves of goodness. Therefore, when a Muslim witnesses a shortcoming or a mistake by his Muslim brother, he asks Allah to grant his brother firmness on the Right Path, and advises him in secret.
Muslims neither rejoice when they see or hear their Muslim brothers committing mistakes nor do they make such mistakes the subject of their conversations. They avoid exposing their brethren, thus obeying Allah's and His Messenger's commands in this regard.
The Prophet then said, <<Allah aids His slave as long as this slave aids his brother>>. Helping one another in goodness and righteousness enhances the unity of the Muslim community.
This Hadith further delineates the spirit of brotherhood that should dominate the Muslim community and gives specific examples of how members of that community should treat each other. It states that a Muslim who helps his brother in any way will have God’s help in this life as well as in the Hereafter. The Hadith, moreover, stresses the importance of seeking religious knowledge and shows the great reward of those who seek it. Lastly, the Hadith decides in clear terms that man’s real value lies more in his deeds than in his kinship or ancestry.
In the end, I ask Allah to enable us to be among those who follow the directions of our Prophet, grant us Paradise and make our gathering in the obedience of Allah and to what is beneficial to us in this life and in the Hereafter. Ameen.
