Avoiding Harm to Fellow Muslims

📖Sahih al-Bukhari 10
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr: The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands. And a Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden.”

This hadith outlines the true character of a believer, not the one who just claims the name “Muslim,” but the one who reflects Islam through their actions.

• A real Muslim is someone whose speech and actions are safe for others—he doesn’t gossip, slander, insult, or attack his fellow Muslim in any way.

• A real Muhajir is not just someone who physically migrated but someone who leaves all sins behind, he “migrates” from disobedience to obedience.

Yet, in today’s world, some people wear the title “Muslim” like a badge but harm others with their tongues sharper than swords and hands that type more curses than du’as. They lie, cheat, curse, mock, backbite, and then wonder why they feel distant from Allah, Are you a Muslim just because your ID says so? Or are your tongue and hands ruining your claim? And for clarity: Islam does not teach to harm non-Muslims either. Kindness and justice apply to everyone unless someone openly fights Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ was the best in mercy, even to those who rejected him.

📖Sahih al-Bukhari 6914
Narrated Anas: The Prophet ﷺ said,
“Whoever kills a Mu’ahid (a non-Muslim under treaty or protection) shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found at a distance of forty years.”

This is a clear warning: Harming innocent non-Muslims goes against Islam. You’re not being righteous—you’re being rebellious.

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Quranic Context:

📖Quran 49:11-12
O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another or call each other by [offensive] nicknames…
O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other…

📖Quran 5:8
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.

📖Quran 4:36
Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and be good to parents, relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are arrogant and boastful.

📖Quran 60:8
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes—[from] being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.