and wickedness, wrongdoing, indecency and the like.

As for the term “zaʿīm,” it is synonymous with kafīl, qabīl and damīn, meaning a guarantor. Allah Most High says:

“Whoever brings it shall have a camel-load, and I guarantee it.”

Anyone who undertakes responsibility for the affairs of a group is called its zaʿīm. If what he undertakes is good, he is praised for it; if it is evil, he is blamed for it.

As for the “head of a group,” this means the leader of people who band together to form a group. If they unite upon what Allah and His Messenger have commanded, without adding or omitting anything, they are believers, with the rights and obligations that this entails. But if they have added to this or omitted from it—for example, by siding with those who join their group, whether they are right or wrong, and turning away from those who do not join it, whether they are right or wrong—this is part of the division condemned by Allah Most High and His Messenger. Allah and His Messenger have commanded unity and harmony and forbidden division and discord. They have commanded cooperation in righteousness and piety and forbidden cooperation in sin and transgression.

It is reported in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet (may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace) said:

“The believers, in their mutual love, mercy and compassion, are like a single body: when one part suffers, the rest of the body responds with fever and sleeplessness.”

It is also reported in the two Sahīh collections that he (may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace) said:

“One believer is to another like a building whose parts support one another.”

And he interlaced