Mutual Mercy: Believers as One Body

Occasion: Transcript of an Isha lecture delivered at Bayt Al-Karim Islamic Center on April 20, 2026.Source: transcription of a recorded lecture by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — watch the original video on YouTube

This topic comes to us from the words of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and from his actions as well. But the main question is this: why do we need to talk about it at all? Why do we need to talk about mutual mercy between people?

Why talk about mercy?

Look at the harshness in people's hearts. It is behind so many of the problems between spouses, between parents and children, between neighbors, between relatives. And that harshness shows on our faces. "I cannot stretch my face. I cannot manage a smile. I cannot meet people in a nice way." So we need mercy, and especially the mutual mercy with which the Prophet ﷺ described this community.

A word chosen on purpose

When we hear a word from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, it is not coming randomly; it comes intentionally. He had other words he could have used, did he not? Here he did not say "Muslim" in its place. That means he is speaking of a different rank, a different level of people.^[1]

In another ḥadīth he said that the relationship between Muslims is like a wall, where the stones stick to one another and keep one another strong.^[2] Hear the picture: a wall has to be solid, and sometimes tough. It does not need any kindness; it needs to be strong.

But when he comes to the relationship between the believers, listen to the words he chose: mutual compassion, mutual mercy. He likened them, in their harmony, to one body.^[3] If you have pain in any part of your body, the rest of the body keeps feeling the same pain, and you cannot sleep at night because of one part. If the hurt is in your foot, your mind stays awake. If it is in your finger, your heart still feels it. This is the relationship between the believers.

And once you see harshness, it means those people do not have real īmān. One of the signs of whether I have the full measure of īmān or not is whether I feel with the people around me: whether I excuse them, give them another chance, keep smiling in their faces, and do the good things they expected from me.

Imitating the attributes of Allah

Now think of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah. Which word do we begin with? We say al-ḥamdu lillāh again.^[4] Why does Allah keep repeating those words? Once in a while we find them throughout the Qur'an, and Allah is showing us His mercy. Why? Because we are supposed to imitate the characters of Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā. Allah is the Most Generous, so we need to be generous with other people. Allah is the Most Forgiving, so we need to be forgiving in the same way. From the beginning of the Qur'an, Allah shows us His attributes, His characters, so that we may take them as our model.

Humility toward the believer

Allah also told us in the Qur'an how He describes the relationship within the community. I asked for a volunteer, so let me ask: what is the meaning of the word for putting yourself down out of respect? Modest? Modesty? Anyway, you usually put yourself down when you face your brother because he is your brother; you cannot puff yourself up before him. We can also call it a kind of humbleness.^[5] You show that humbleness to the other side because of what? Can we say it together: because of what? Because of faith.

Now let me ask: does your wife have faith? Is she a believer? (You are laughing, guys; I am just asking.) Does she deserve to have that character? Yes: not because she is my wife, but because she is a believer. You know what I mean?

Mercy at home

When we go this way, we will find ourselves at home with each of us trying to respect the other as much as he can. And here is the key. Usually I will say, "I will not do that; she will take advantage." But she will try to imitate the character of Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā, and what Allah described as her position in the Qur'an, and she will try to put herself down too, to have that humbleness. It is a mutual relationship: I am trying to do it, and you are trying to do it.

So which one is going to be down, and which one is going to be up? Imagine that both of us are trying to put ourselves down. Which one will be up? Both of us will be up, because each of us is trying to make the other side up. Each of us will keep his dignity.

How do we get it?

Now we need to learn how to have this mercy in our lives, in our hearts and in our minds. How can we think kindly about the people around us?

I do not want to take a long time, as it is late and the prayer is waiting, and we ask Allah to help us. But here is the main point to take with you.

Homework

When you go home, search about the concept (its name is lost in the transcript) and study more stories of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Imagine the hardship and the tough time the disbelievers gave the Prophet ﷺ during thirteen years while he was trying to invite them to Islam. Then, once he came back to Mecca, he said...^[6] We have something called (the name is lost in the transcript). Excuse one another. Give other people another chance. Feel the position of the other side. Try to show your mercy when you deal with people. It does not matter whether they are above you in position, below you, or on the same level. We need to feel that mercy ourselves, so that we receive it from Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: the Arabic words of the Prophet ﷺ are missing from the transcript, so which word he used and which word he did not use cannot be recovered from it. The well-known wording is «مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ…»; the lecturer's own emphasis is on the word for "believers" as distinct from "Muslims". ^[2]: Editor's documentation: the well-known wording is «الْمُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ كَالْبُنْيَانِ يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا», narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. In the transcript the lecturer says "Muslim" when introducing the wall image, and the article keeps it as he said it, since his point is the contrast with "believers" in the one-body ḥadīth. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: the ḥadīth of the one body is narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. The lecturer's words are "mutual compassion, mutual mercy"; the full wording also mentions mutual love. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: the Arabic words are dropped in the transcript. The words repeated are not preserved. From what the lecturer goes on to say about Allah showing us His mercy, they may be the words of mercy that follow al-ḥamdu lillāh in the Fātiḥah (al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm); this is the editor's inference. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: the Arabic word and the verse are dropped from the transcript. The description matches the believers being "humble toward the believers" in ﴿أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ [al-Māʾidah: 54]; this identification is the editor's and is not certain. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: the Prophet's words on his return to Mecca, and the name of the concept that follows, are lost in the transcript; nothing is supplied here.