How Tasawwuf Can Reform Society
’’رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْلَنَا وَلِاِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِيْنَ سَبَقُوْنَا بِالْاِيْمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِيْ قُلُوْبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا رَبَّنَآ اِنَّکَ رَءُوْفٌ رَّحِيْمٌ‘‘
O our Lord! Forgive us and our brothers who came before us in faith, and do not let any grudge remain in our hearts towards those who believe. O our Lord! You are indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful.
’’وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبٰی وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنْبِ
"And (treat well) the neighbour who is near, the neighbour who is distant, the companion by your side, and the traveller." (Surah An-Nisa, 36)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"A believer is full of affection and love, and there is no good in a person who neither loves others nor is loved by others."
The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah ﷻ does not show mercy to the one who does not show mercy to people. The Prophet ﷺ said that all the believers are like one body: if the eye hurts, the whole body hurts, and if the head hurts, the whole body hurts.
If society is good, all of us benefit from it, and if there is any corruption in society, it affects all of us. In society, it is never about just one individual; it is the combined effect of all its members. It is said that one fish can make the whole pond dirty. In the same way, even one person can affect the whole of society.
Dealings with others and social life need even more reform. Many people who pray, even those who pray tahajjud (the late-night prayer), do not do business honestly; they cheat and they lie. They harm others and they harm themselves too, even though they are performing acts of worship.
The Prophet ﷺ said that a Muslim should like for others what they want for themselves. The Companions went one step further: they would sacrifice their own needs for the good of others. This quality was so strong in them that sometimes remarkable incidents took place. One Companion of the Prophet (may Allah ﷻ be pleased with him) was very poor. Another Companion brought him something, and he really needed it. But he said, "So-and-so needs it more than I do. Give it to him." When they took it to that person, he said, "So-and-so needs it more than I do." They took it to him, and so it went on, until, after passing through several people, the item came back to the very first man.
On the battlefield, the Companions lay wounded and in need of water. Water was offered to one who was close to death, but he said, "Give it to the one lying next to me." They went there, and he said, "Give it to the next one." They went there, and he pointed to someone else: "Give it to him." When they reached him, he had already been martyred. They came back to the one before, and he too had been martyred. Then they went to the one before him, and he too had been martyred. And when they finally came back to the first one, he too had been martyred. The water was left in their hands.