The Believers are the Guardians of One Another
There are several verses in the Qur'an that relate to us of believers as the guardians of one another. The following is one of them:
And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer and pay alms, and obey God and His Messenger. They are the people on whom God will have mercy. God is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat at-Tawba: 71)
The word "guardian" means intimate, protector, helper and supporter. In this sense, believers, honest, sincere and conscientious people with high moral values, should support each other, and be helpers and protectors of one another.
Just Saying "I Believe" is Enough for a Person to be Considered As a Good Person
One of the attributes of Muslims and the conscientious is that they do not discriminate between people because of their sex, culture, social status or any other reason. For instance, one does not have the right to say "You are not a believer because you fail to do this..." to someone who clearly maintains that he is a Muslim. No prejudice is held against a person who says he believes. In any case, people should always be eager to help when such a person is in need. God commands in a verse as follows:
You who believe! When you go out to fight in the Way of God verify things carefully. Do not say, 'You are not a believer", to someone who greets you as a Muslim, simply out of desire for the goods of this world. With God there is booty in abundance. That is the way you were before but God has been kind to you. So verify things carefully. God is aware of what you do. (Surat an-Nisa': 94)
The Support of the Good to One Another Should Not be Limited to Words
The majority of people actually have a good grasp of what good, righteous and conscientious conduct is. For this reason, when talking to others, one will find that the majority of people usually accept the good and positive and affirm their commitment to side with the good. However, when it is time to act, most of them remain silent and passive. Although they encounter many situations for which they could side with the good and defend them, they remain ambivalent.
There are many reasons for this silence. Fear of material loss is one of them. For instance, someone defending an innocent person from the alliance of the evil may attract the reaction of the evil and thus, with the fear of some material loss, stop defending him. Accordingly, he may be seized by certain concerns; he may fear that his status, career and reputation may be tarnished, or that he be subjected to slander. Paralysed by fear, they may not say or do what they actually know is just.
However, these people should be aware of the fact that words only please God when they are turned into action. God informs us about people who promise to engage in good deeds but withdraw when it is time to take action:
More fitting for them would be obedience and honourable words. When some matter is resolved, it would be better for them if they acted sincerely towards God. (Surah Muhammad: 21)
For this reason everyone who has faith in God, who is aware that he will give an account of his deeds on the Day of Judgement and, who believes himself to be a sincere and conscientious servant of God, must absolutely ally himself with the good and act with them. God warns people who fail to side with the righteous as follows:
You who believe! Why do you say what you do not do? It is deeply abhorrent to God that you should say what you do not do. (Surat as-Saff: 2-3)
Nobody Should Say "Will My Support Be of Any Help?"
It would be wrong for a person, who witnesses the violence committed against the innocent, recognises the cruelty, mercilessness, immorality, faithlessness around him, and thus feels restless and longs for the establishment of a peaceful and positive environment, to remain passive. Everyone must invest his best effort to spread the moral values of the Qur'an, which is the only way to resolve problems originating from evil, and strive for good and righteousness.
As long as one is determined to do what is right and remain conscientious, there are great things that can be accomplished for the cause of good. For example, let us assume that there is a very heavy weight to carry. If only 4 people among 15 commit themselves to carry this weight while the others stand aside because they think "they are too weak to carry the weight", it would not be a wise assertion. However, when 15 of them take on the responsibility and do their best to carry the weight, it would surely lessen the burden of the first 4. What really matters is not "Who does what, to which extent" but to what extent one exerts his own strength.
In a verse of the Qur'an, God informs us that He does "not impose on anyone more than he can stand". For a good person, there is always an easier way of doing things:
Such people are truly racing towards good things, and they are the first to reach them. We do not impose on any self any more than it can stand. With Us there is a Book which speaks the truth. They will not be wronged. (Surat al-Muminun: 61-62)
