These rights are great in number. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him) said: "A Muslim owes six obligations towards another Muslim viz., when you meet him, salute saying: "peace be on you"; when he invites you, you should accept his invitation; when he solicits your advice, advise him sincerely; when he sneezes and praises Allah, respond with the supplication: "Allah have mercy on you"; when he falls sick, you should visit him; and on his death, follow his funeral procession." (Muslim) First: Salutation, it is a Sunnat Mu"akkadah (compulsory tradition) and the Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him) had always emphasized it for the amity and attachment that it could yield among the Muslims, and said:

"I swear by Allah, you shall not enter Paradise so long as you do not have firm Belief (in all the articles of Faith) and you will not have Belief as long as you do not love one another. Shall I direct you to a thing which, if you do, you will foster love amongst you" Spread salutation between you (by saying each other: As-Salam Alaikum "peace be on you"" (Muslim)

And this was his practice all his life; he even used to extend greetings to lads when he passed by them.

It is Sunnah (tradition) that the young should greet the elders, the smaller number greet the larger number, people riding should greet the people walking. However, if this order has not been observed, it is important that the second party do it to win the reward, on one hand, and preserve the practice of salutation in the Muslim society, on the other.

Ammar bin Yasir said,

"His Faith is complete who adopted three things: Making justice with his own self; saluting to all persons; spending (in Allah"s cause) while in adversity." (Bukhari)

If taking initiative and giving salutation is Sunnah (Prophetic tradition), and responding to it is, for the more reason, Fard Kifaya (a collective duty), i.e. if one of a group responds, then the others are exempted from it.

Allah says:

"When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally..." (4:86)

We have to give kindness and courtesy without asking, and return it in even better terms than we receive it, or at least in equally courteous terms.

Second: If you are invited, to a meal at a Muslim's home, you should accept the invitation because it is a Sunnat Mu"akkadah (compulsory tradition) intended to produce a spirit of fraternity and amity. The Walima (wedding feast) is an exception. Responding to such an invitation is stipulated by certain prerequisites that should be met: It is sent on the first day of the festivities, the host is a Muslim, the invitation is made specific to a specific invitee, no prohibited wealth is involved, no evil is there impossible to remove. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him) said:

"Whosoever turns down an invitation certainly disobeys Allah and His Messenger." (Bukhari and Muslim)

The Noble Prophet"s exhortation to acceptance of a Muslim"s invitation could even embrace the meaning of giving a co-religionist help and assistance. A Muslim is always under obligation to render any sort of help when it is required and the Noble Prophet"s words go to the same purpose:

"The bond of brotherhood between two Muslims are like parts of a house, one part strengthens and holds the other." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Third: If a Muslim holds counsel with you it is then incumbent to offer him sincere advice because this derives directly from the purview of Islam. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him) said:

"Religion is sincerity to Allah, His Book, His Messengers and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk." (Muslim)

Suppose a Muslim did not solicit for advice from his brethren and was about to embark on something implying harm, then his co-religionists should take the initiative and counsel him because this magnanimous behavior runs in the channel of providing security and eliminating seeds of harm and evil from the Muslim society, in general.

Fourth: Should anyone of you sneeze and say Al-Hamdu lillah (Praise is to Allah) it is then incumbent upon every Muslim to respond to his brother-in-Islam saying: Yarhamu kallah (May Allah have mercy on you). Responding to him is a duty and in which case the first should reciprocate saying: Yahdikum-ullahu wa yuslih balakum (May Allah guide you to the right path and set your mind at best). Excellence of praising on sneezing is valid due to the benefit of retaining one"s physical aptitude following the issue of congested vapors out of the body. Should that person forget to praise Allah, then the Muslims are not bound to reciprocate. If he went on sneezing, the Muslims would reciprocate three times, and on the fourth they would supplicate to Allah to cure him by saying: Afak Allah.

Fifth: If a Muslim falls ill, you have to visit him and the nearer he is in kinship or neighborhood the more stressed is his right on you to call on him and see what help you can offer. On visiting a sick Muslim, you have to ask about his well-being, supplicate Allah for him and then induce him to keep the gate of deliverance and hope wide open because this provides the best means of recovery. You have also to remind him, in cordial manners, to repent and tell him that illness is the best opportunity for him to expiate for all his sins, and that confinement to bed would gain him a great reward through continuous supplication and forgiveness seeking.

Sixth: You Muslim brother has the right over you to follow his bier when he dies. Following the bier is generously rewarding. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him), in this regard, said:

"He who attends the funeral till the prayer is offered (for the dead), for him is the reward of one Qirat; and he who attends (and stays) till he is buried, for him is the reward of two Qirat." It was said: "What are the Qirat"" He said: "They are equivalent to two huge mountains." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Seventh: A Muslim has full right over his Muslim brother to abstain from any act that implies harm to him. Inflicting injury and harm on Muslims, as Allah says, is a heinous sin:

"And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear on themselves the crime of slander and plain sin." (33:58)

And the Noble Prophet (peace be upon Him) said:

"Do not hate one another; do not turn away from one another, but be brothers, O slaves of Allah. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: He does not oppress him and he neither fails him nor does he hold him in contempt. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. The whole of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim: his blood, property and honor." (Muslim)

In general, the rights of a Muslim over his Muslim brother are great in number, but the Noble Prophet"s words:

"The Muslim is a brother of the Muslim".

Are sufficient in indication to comprehend all means of good and brotherly obligations due to one's co-religionists.