In Abrahamic Religions Cooperation is Not a Choice but a Duty
By
Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
19 July
2021
Cooperation
Establishes a Spiritual Environment That Creates Humanitarian Ethics in the
Society
Main
Points:
1. 'United we
stand and divided we fall' is the key to life in a culturally diverse and rich
society.
2. Holy Bible
says, a human being can neither live alone nor can die alone.
3. The human being
needs to redevelop a social structure that is based on cooperation to sustain
the social obligations of living in the 21st century.
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(Photo courtesy:
article1000.com/types-cooperation-role-cooperation)
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The saying,
'united we stand and divided we fall' is the key to life in a culturally
diverse and rich society.
All
religions and faiths command their followers to cooperate for an atmosphere of
love and compassion in the world. Where there is no cooperation there is no
spiritual development of the social network. Cooperation establishes a
spiritual environment that creates humanitarian ethics in society.
Allah the
Most Gracious says in the Holy Quran and in the Holy Bible:
O, men,
We created you from a male and female and formed you into nations and tribes
that you may recognise each other. (Al-Hujurat: 13) - Ahmed Ali
Fear
Allah in whose name you ask each other (for your rights), and fear (the
violation of the rights of) the womb-relations. Surely, Allah is watchful over
you... (An-Nisa: 1)
— Mufti Taqi Usmani
For none
of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. (ROMANS 14:7)
The
above-mentioned verses of the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible describe human
beings related to each other as brothers and sisters, this is why the sense of
community is by nature ingrained in our living ethics. The above-mentioned verse
from the Holy Bible says, human beings can neither live alone nor can die
alone. He needs the cooperation of society in birth as well as in death. Being
cooperative towards brothers and sisters is the axis that runs our society
without any hitches. Non-cooperation is the reason for our spiritual and social
downfall. There are various reasons for the birth of a non-cooperative mindset
and the most prominent among them is the sense of supremacism, envy and
materialistic greed.
Unfortunately,
the world is passing through a phase that has converted the world society into
an amalgam of all the negativities a human being can imagine of. The materialistic race has created a society
that is devoid of the ethical positivities that are the beauty of human life. Sense
of non-cooperation is the result of the ethical downfall of human nature.
The human
being needs to redevelop a social structure that is based on cooperation to
sustain the social obligations of living in the 21st century. In this
fast-paced world, it is difficult to live in an uncooperative milieu as it is
capable of breaking the social norms and that is what many of us are doing.
There are no socially acceptable norms that command us to take care of the ones
that need our moral assistance to keep going.
During the
last two years of Covid-19 society witnessed how cooperation along with all
other things saved lives that were left alone to fight the pandemic. People
from all strata of society, irrespective of religious beliefs, castes and
communities came out in hordes and took the responsibility of cooperation for
the safety of the life of the people they never even knew. It was the humane
sense of community cooperation that people from all over the world helped each
other breaking the barriers of international borders and religious animosity.
Humanity
has been a witness to Muslims lighting pyres of Hindus fulfilling all the
religious customs. Hindus and Sikhs running distributing food for the hungry
and destitute. Mosques and Churches and Temples opened their doors to establish
Covid care centres for medical care of the Covid-19 patients. People exchanged
and donated plasmas for the needy to help save human life.
It is said
that ‘hard times reveal your true character and that of those around you and
the Covid-19 revealed human being’s ingrained characteristics of cooperation.
We the human being proved that we are the children of Adam and Eve and have all
the positivities of one of the highest-ranked creations of Allah.
Quranic
Verses Commanding to Create Cooperation in the Society
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but
do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe
in penalty. (Ayah
al-Ma`idah: 2) - Sahih International:
So fear Allah and adjust all matters of
difference among you
(Al-Anfal 8:1)
So make reconciliation between your brothers,
and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy (Al-Hujurat 49:9-10)
Prophetic
Traditions Establishing the Value of Cooperation
People will
continue to be blessed so long as they invite each other towards good,
discourage each other from evil, and cooperate in goodness and piety.
(Tahdhībul AHkām, 6:181)
(You should
group together and beware of separating, because the Devil is always there when
one is alone, and he is further away when there are two people.)) (Ibn
al-Mubarak – Mohammad bin Soukka)
A wolf only
attacks a stray lamb. (Abu Dawud)
We were
people in the days of ignorance, we worshipped idols and ate meat of already
dead animals, we committed evil-doings, cut the ties of relation with
relatives, we treated our neighbours badly, the strong among us abused the
weak. And we were living that way till Allah sent down a Messenger from among
us. We knew his family name, and his honesty, trustworthiness. He called us to
believe in the one God: Allah Almighty, with no associates, and to worship Him.
And to abandon all the idols and statues that we and our forefathers used to
worship. Now listen attentively- and he ordered us to be truthful in what we
say, and to give back what we have been entrusted with, and to join the ties of
relations, and be good to our neighbours, and to stop any fighting) (Narrated
by Ahmad and his team except for Isaac)
“Whoever
relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah
will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. Whoever
alleviates [the situation of] one in dire straits who cannot repay his debt,
Allah will alleviate his lot in both this world and in the Hereafter. Whoever
conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal [his faults] in this life
and the Hereafter. (Muslim)
“O Aisha,
Allah is gentle and He loves gentleness. He rewards for gentleness what is not
granted for harshness and He does not reward anything else like it.” (Muslim).
“Protect
yourself from hell-fire even by giving a piece of date as charity.” (Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
“The
likeness of the believers in their mutual love, mercy and compassion is that of
the body; if one part of it complains, the rest of the body joins it in staying
awake and suffering fever.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The Ash'ariites if they
are widowed in the invasion, or the food of their children in the city, gather
what they had in one garment, and then divide it among them in one pot. - (Abu
Musa al-Ash'ari )
Verses
from the Bible Commanding to Cooperate One Another
And the
LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this
they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have
imagined to do. (GENESIS 11:6)
For if they
fall, the one will lift his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he
falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. (ECCLESIASTES 4:10)
Can two
walk together, except they be agreed? (AMOS 3:3)
If I then,
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet. (JOHN 13:14)
For the
body is not one member, but many. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14)
If the foot
shall say because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not
of the body? (1 Corinthians 12:14)
Submitting
yourselves one to another in the fear of God. (EPHESIANS 5:21)
Judaism
and the Value of Cooperation
He who is
not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:23)
Be of the
same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the
lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. (Romans 12:16)
Now may the
God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind
with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may
with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans
15:5-6)
Make my joy
complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in
spirit, intent on one purpose.
(Philippians 2:2)
Two are
better than one because they have a good return for their labour. (Ecclesiastes
4:9-12)
Nehemiah
4:6 ESV / 72 helpful votes
So we built
the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the
people had a mind to work.
Eager to
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. - (Ephesians 4:3)
A Song of
Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in
unity! - (Psalm 133:1)
But Moses'
hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it,
while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the
other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. - (Exodus
17:12)
And they
came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. - (Mark 2:3)
Photo courtesy: Organization for
International Cooperation
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Scholars
Say Cooperation is a Medium of Success
Alone we
can do little; together we can do so much." --Helen Keller
Coming
together is a beginning. Keeping
together is progress. Working together
is a success." --Henry Ford
Together
ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results. - Becka Schoettle
"No
man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
continent." -- John Donne, English poet
Cooperation
Paves the Way to Success Here and Hereafter
It is said
that ‘there's always something good coming out of something bad and it has come
true in more than one instance during one of the worst pandemics, Covid -19,
the world faced and is still not out of it. The good thing that the world
witnessed is that our human ethos is intact and we are more than ready to
cooperate with our human fellows. In the light of what Allah, the Most Gracious
says in the Holy Quran, ‘Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds’ (Surah
Al-Hud: 114), let us be sure of our misdeeds in the form of war and supremacist
attitude will pave the way and we will be forgiven and guided on to the
righteous path once again.
And
Allah Knows the Best.
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Arman
Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/abrahamic-religions-cooperation/d/125098
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