All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thanks for your good feelings and we implore Allah earnestly to grant the Muslim Ummah victory over their enemies, Amen.

It is the duty of every Muslim to lend his fellow Muslims all forms of support each according to his means. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim. So, he should never oppress him or hand him over (to his enemies) or forsake him (in times of difficulty).”

It goes without saying that Muslims constitute one brotherhood and one body; when an organ aches, all other organs feel pain. In this sense, all Muslims feel the pains of one another and try their best to help alleviating the sufferings of their Muslim fellows in every part of this vast Muslim homeland.

Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi wrote in this sense:

“We are all Muslims as you all see,

Regardless of the place where we may be.

Brother in India, in Morocco and wherever!

To me you are my heart and liver.

Climb the hill and cry for sure,

“I am a Muslim” and nothing more.”

Thus, Muslims who wants to back their fellow Muslims who are oppressed everywhere should firstly try their best to reform themselves and stand firm on the Straight Path. Their first concern should be drawing near to Almighty Allah and observing the very rulings of His religion and avoid the traps of the accursed Satan. Never allow Satan to overcome or mislead you. This is, indeed, the first step towards giving support to your Muslim brothers.

Secondly, let all Muslims try to make da`wa in your surroundings and call others to have a better and true understanding of Islam. In doing so, a Muslim should offer the best example for abiding by the teachings of Islam, for example is better than a precept. Try to guide others using the good word and the kind deed without any offence.

After this comes the role of making Dua`a’ for all Muslim brothers and sisters who are suffering everywhere and implore Allah to grant them a way-out and overwhelming victory. This is another way of alleviating the sufferings of those Muslims. If one is able of supporting financially, then do not hesitate to offer them a helping hand. If not, then Du`aa’ will be sufficient. Right after this comes offering Vigil Night prayer and imploring Allah to help removing the cries of the oppressed, the sufferings of the wronged and the estrangement of the homeless.

In his response to the question, Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal Nadvi, Imam of Calgary Mosque, Canada, and Former Professor at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, states the following:

First of all, we have to remember the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which says, “Always defend your brother, whether he is oppressed or oppressor” The Companions asked how could the Muslims defend his Muslim brother when he is the oppressor. Thereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered, “By stopping him (the oppressor) from doing oppression, that way you will defend the oppressive Muslim brother.”

Actually, the help of the oppressor is conditional, while it is required for all the Muslims to support the oppressed people. We also need to understand that there are two levels of help. One level is through the state, the other one is through the individuals.

Allah the Almighty reminds us about the state level duty in chapter 4, verse 75, where He says:

(And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help! ) (An-Nisaa’ 4: 75)

And there is another verse in Chapter 8, verse 72, where Allah says:

(Those who believed, and adopted exile, and fought for the Faith, with their property and their persons, in the cause of Allah, as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid, these are (all) friends and protectors, one of another. As to those who believed but came not into exile; ye owe no duty of protection to them until they come into exile; but if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them, except against a people with whom ye have a treaty of mutual alliance. And (remember) Allah Seeth all that ye do.) (Al-Anfal 8: 72)

As we know, Muslims everywhere are living under miserable conditions because they are not getting the response from the Muslim Ummah.

On the individual level, we have two options: to denounce the oppression by all possible means available, and to use all the available sources to help the oppressed Muslims financially and morally.

But a very crucial point I have to state here is that in defending our oppressed Muslims brothers and sisters, we have to use only legal and peaceful means to show our support for those people, as the last part of the 2nd verse explains the importance of agreements.

In any situation, the minimum thing you can do if you can’t lend any help is to make Du`aa’ for your oppressed people so that Allah can relieve their situations.