🕌 Islamic education

Cooperation and brotherhood

📖 In short

Muslims are brothers and sisters who love and help one another. When we cooperate, we do together what no one could do alone, we're happier, and God loves us.

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
Surat al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread), verse 2

🤩 Did you know?

  • The Prophet ﷺ said: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
  • The Prophet ﷺ made the Muhajirun and the Ansar brothers, pairing them two by two.
  • The Prophet ﷺ worked alongside his companions building his mosque and digging the trench.
  • Ants and bees live in colonies that work together, and each one has a job.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Like one body

The Prophet ﷺ said that believers in their mercy to one another are like one body: when one part hurts, the whole body feels it. So when our friend is sad, we're sad with them and help them.

🔍 Cooperating at home

We set the table together, help our little brothers and sisters with their homework, and share out the jobs. So the work is done quickly and there's time left to play.

💡 Cooperating at school

We explain the lesson to a classmate who didn't understand, lend a pencil to someone who forgot theirs, and work in a team without arguing. But we don't help each other cheat, because that's helping each other do wrong.

🎯 The Muhajirun and the Ansar

When the Muslims migrated to Madinah they left their homes and wealth behind, and the Ansar (the people of Madinah) welcomed them and shared their homes and food, and they became brothers who loved each other.

📚 Key words

Cooperation
Working together towards one goal
The Ansar
The people of Madinah who supported the Prophet ﷺ
Brotherhood
When two people become brothers in love

🌱 Put it into practice today

Choose a big job with your brothers and sisters or friends: tidying the room or decorating a poster. Share out the roles, and see how much quicker and more fun it is together.

🧩 Test yourself

1 What should we help each other with?

2 What did the Prophet ﷺ compare the believers to?

3 Who welcomed the Muhajirun in Madinah?

📚 Read next

🎮 Try it yourself