ARE YOU TRUE MUSLIM?
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA,
ABUJA, NIGERIA
http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com
https://web.facebook.com/abba.abana
emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com;
abba.abana@gmail.com
TUESDAY 6TH JUMMA AL ULA 1439 AH – 23RD
JANUARY 2018 CE
Bismillah Walhamdulillah
Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.
Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with
Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah
guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one
can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness
that Muhammad (Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.
1. ARE YOU TRUE MUSLIM?
IF, YES; WHO IS A TRUE MUSLIM?
Let us see what the
Almighty Allah and His Messenger (Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) have to say about
their lives and hearts:
Allah Says (interpretations):
{Say: My prayers and my sacrifices, and my living and my dying are for Allah
Alone, the Lord of all the worlds. No partner has He. Thus I have been
commanded, and I am foremost among those who surrender [themselves unto Him]}
[Holy Quran Chapter 6: 163–4].
The same theme is
elucidated by the Prophet (Sallalahu Alihi Wa Salaam) “One who loves for the
sake of Allah Alone and hates for the sake of Allah Alone; and whatever he
gives, gives for the sake of Allah Alone, and whatever he withholds, withholds
for the sake of Allah Alone –indeed, he perfects his Iman (faith).” [Abu
Dawood]
The Quran makes clear
what Allah Almighty demands of you. You should devote yourselves wholly to the
service of Allah Almighty, you should live for Him Alone, you should die for
Him Alone. You, and the world around you, entirely belong to Allah Almighty;
let nobody have a share in what belongs to Allah The Most High. That is to say,
you should not serve anyone but Him, nor live or die for anyone but Him,
Almighty.
The Prophet explains what
the Quran has said. To be a true believer, your love and enmity for everything,
all your affections, all relations and transactions in your lives, should have
only one purpose: to seek Allah's Pleasure. Without this your faith itself will
not be complete; the possibility of rising higher in the Sight of Allah the
Almighty does not arise. The greater the deficiency in this respect, the more
defective the faith.
Some people think that
these qualities are required only to reach higher spiritual stations and are
not essential to Iman (faith) and Islam. In other words, even without these
qualities a person can be a good believer and a Muslim. This mistaken notion
has arisen because people in general do not differentiate between legal Islam
and true Islam which alone is truly authentic in the Sight of Allah Almighty.
2 TWO TYPES OF ISLAM
Here, let’s have a short
summary about the two types of Islam mentioned above as ‘the legal Islam’ and the
‘true Islam’
2.1 LEGAL ISLAM
Under legal Islam, on
which jurists and states must base their dealings, what lies in your hearts and
minds is not taken into account, nor can it be. Your verbal affirmation and
those essential signs which must flow out of that affirmation are accepted as sufficient
evidence of your Islam. Anyone who affirms by word of mouth belief in Allah,
the Messenger, the Quran, the Hereafter and other articles of faith, and who
also fulfils those necessary conditions which provide proof of his affirmation,
is considered part of Muslim society and all dealings with him are to be
conducted as with a Muslim.
This definition provides
the legal
and cultural basis on which Muslim society is organized. Its purpose is
no more than that all those who enter into the Muslim Ummah (Nation) are
recognized as Muslims: nobody from among them can be called a disbeliever;
every one of them must have the same mutual legal, moral and social rights;
they should be entitled to marry among Muslims; they should be eligible to
receive the share in inheritance; all other civil relations should be
established with them.
2.2 TRUE ISLAM
However, in the
world-to-come (hereafter), you cannot be judged as Muslim and a believer on the
basis of this legal affirmation, nor on this basis will Allah Almighty accept
you as one of His chosen servants. What will count then is having faith in
hearts, and willingly and wholly submitting lives to Allah Almighty. Whatever verbally affirmed is meant for
courts and for the common man and the Muslim society. For they can only see the exterior, but Allah Almighty Sees deep into
your hearts and knows precisely the degree of your faith.
How will He judge a man?
Allah Almighty will see whether he lived
and died for Him Alone, whether his loyalties to Him superseded all other
loyalties, whether his obedience and his service, indeed his entire life, were
devoted only to Him Almighty. If they were solely for Allah Almighty then
he will be adjudged a believer and a Muslim, but if they were for someone else,
then he will not be adjudged a Muslim nor a believer. Whoever falls short of
this criterion will, to the extent he falls short, be lacking in faith and
Islam, irrespective of how important a Muslim the world may judge him and of
any high positions he may hold. With Allah only one thing matters: whether or
not you have given away in His way all that He Almighty has given you.
If you have, you will be
granted the reward which is reserved for those who are loyal and render the
service that is due. But if your
submission has been less than total, if you spare any part of your life from
His service, your claim to be Muslims which implies that you have wholly given
up yourselves to Allah Almighty, will be a deceptive claim. Although you
may be able to mislead the world and persuade the Muslim society to grant you
its membership and all the rights of Muslims, Allah The All-Knowing cannot be
deceived into assigning a place for you among His faithful.
Reflect on the
differences between legal Islam and true Islam and you can see that their
consequences will vary greatly, not only in the Hereafter but also in this
world; the life pursuits, character and disposition of a true Muslim will be
totally different from one who merely parades the outward trappings of faith.
You will always encounter these two types of Muslims... to be cont.
3.0 THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF MUSLIMS TO
DISCUSS HERE
Now let’s talk about the
two kinds of Muslims which are the ‘Partial Muslims’ and the ‘True Muslims’
3.1 THEN WHO ARE PARTIAL MUSLIMS?
Some Muslims profess
faith in Allah Almighty and the Messenger and declare Islam as their religion;
but then they confine this Islam to only a part of their lives. To the extent
of this part, they express great attachment to Islam, extensively perform
worship rituals like Prayers, use of the rosary, remembrance of Allah Almighty.
They are very particular in conforming to outward piety in matters like food,
dress and other external social, cultural customs. Thus they are fully
'religious'.
But beyond these
conventions their lives are not according to what Allah Almighty commands. If
they love, they love for the sake of their own selves, their country, their
nation, or for anything else, but not for Allah Almighty. If they become
displeased, are angry, hate someone, make enemies, or wage war, it too is for the
sake of some worldly or selfish interest. Their relations with their
businesses, their wives and children, families, societies — will all be to a
great extent unaffected by Islam and based on secular considerations. As
landlords, traders, rulers, soldiers, and professional people — in all spheres
they will behave as if they are autonomous, having no connection with their
position as Muslims. When such people establish cultural, educational and
political norms and institutions, these have nothing to do with Islam, even
though they may seem Islamic.
3.2 THESE ARE TRUE MUSLIMS
The second kind of
Muslims are those who completely merge their personalities and existences into
Islam. All the roles they have become subordinate to the one role of being
Muslims. They live as Muslims when they live as fathers, sons, husbands or
wives, businessmen, landlords, laborers, employers. Their feelings, their
desires, their ideologies, their thoughts and opinions, their likes and
dislikes, all are shaped by Islam. Allah's guidance holds complete sway over
their hearts and minds, their eyes and ears, their bellies, their sexual
desires, their hands and feet, their bodies and souls. Neither their loves nor
their hatreds are formed independently of Islamic criteria. Whether they fight
or make friends, it is purely for the sake of Islam. If they give anything to
anybody, it is because Islam requires it to be given. If they withhold anything
from anybody, it is because Islam wants it to be withheld.
And this attitude of
theirs is not limited to personal lives; their public lives, their societies
are also based entirely on Islam. Their collectivity exists for Islam alone;
their collective behavior is governed by the precepts of Islam alone.
3.3 WHAT KIND OF MUSLIMS ALLAH ALMIGHTY
DESIRES?
The above two kinds of
Muslims are significantly different from each other, even if, legally, both are
included in the Ummah (Nation) and the word `Muslim' is applied to both
equally. Historically the first kind of Muslims have made no achievement which
may be worthy of mention or which merits our being proud of it. Nothing these
‘Muslims’ have done has left an Islamic imprint on the pages of world history.
The world has received no benefit from their existence; indeed, Islam has
suffered decay because of them. Because of the preponderance of such `Muslims'
in Muslim society, power and world leadership largely passed into the hands of
rebels against Allah Almighty. For these `Muslims' have been content merely
with ensuring that they enjoy the freedom to live religiously within the narrow
confines of their private lives.
Allah Almighty never
desired to have such `Muslims'. Nor did He Almighty send His Prophets or reveal
His Books to make them. Indeed it is the second kind of Muslims who are desired
by Allah Almighty. Only they can ever accomplish anything worthwhile from the
Islamic point of view.
3.4 SUPREME LOYALTY TO ALLAH ALMIGHTY
This is not a phenomenon
peculiar to Islam. In fact, no way of life can ever prevail in the world if its
followers accord their faith and commitment a subordinate position in their
lives. Or, if they live and die for causes other than their faith. We see even
today that only those are considered real and true followers of a creed or
ideology who are loyal to it with their hearts and souls. Every creed in the
world desires such adherents and no creed can prevail in the world except
through such followers.
However, there is an
important difference between Islam and other creeds and ideologies. Although
others demand from men total loyalty and dedication, they in fact have no such
right upon him, their claims are entirely unjustified. The objects they place
before men are not the kind of objects for which a human being should sacrifice
anything. But Allah the Almighty for whom Islam demands the sacrifice of life
has a right upon us. Everything must be given in His way, for whatever exists
in heaven and on earth belongs to Allah Almighty. Man himself, whatever he
possesses, and whatever lies within him, all belong to Allah Almighty. It is
therefore in perfect harmony with justice as well as reason that whatever
belongs to Allah Almighty must be reserved only for Him Alone. Whatever
sacrifice man makes for others or for his own benefit or to gratify his desire
is indeed a breach of trust unless it be with the permission of Allah Almighty.
And whatever sacrifice is made for Allah Almighty is in reality a payment of
what is due.
But, one lesson Muslims
must learn from those who are sacrificing everything for the sake of their
false ideologies and false gods: how strange it is that, while such
unimaginable dedication, sacrifice and fidelity is being shown for false gods,
not even a thousandth part of it is shown for the True God by those who profess
faith in them.
3.5 WHERE DO WE STAND BROTHERS AND SISTERS
TODAY?
Let us examine our lives
by the crucial criteria of Iman and Islam as laid down by the Quran and the
Prophet (Sallalahu Alaihi wa salaam):
1. If you claim that you have accepted Islam,
have you oriented your living and your dying towards Allah only?
2. Are you living for His cause alone?
3. Are your hearts and minds, your bodies and
souls, your time and efforts, being devoted to the fulfillment of Allah's
commands?
4. Is that mission being accomplished through
you which He wants to be fulfilled by the Muslim Ummah?
5. Again, do you obey and serve only Allah?
Have you eliminated from your lives subservience to selfish desires and
obedience to family, brotherhood, friends, society and state?
6. Have you made your likes and dislikes
totally subordinate to what Allah Desires? If you love somebody, is it really
for the sake of Allah?
7. If you dislike somebody, is that too for
the sake of Allah?
8. Is no element of selfishness involved in
this?
9. Do you give and withhold only for the sake
of Allah?
10. Are you spending on your own selves and
giving wealth to other people, or withholding the same, because that is what
Allah Almighty wants?
11. Is your motive nothing but to gain His
pleasure?
If you find such a state of faith and submission within
yourself, you should thank Allah that He has bestowed upon you the blessing of
Iman in its fullness. And if you feel any deficiency, you must give up every
other concern and worry and concentrate wholly on remedying this deficiency.
For on its removal
depends your wellbeing in this world as well as your success in the Hereafter.
Whatever success you may enjoy in the present life will not compensate you for
the loss you will suffer in the Hereafter due to this deficiency. But if you
make up for this deficiency, even if you gain nothing in this world, you will
benefit immensely in the life to come.
Do not use this criterion
to test or judge others and determine whether they are Believers or hypocrites
and Muslims or disbelievers; use it only to judge your own selves and, if you
detect any deficiency, try to remove it before you meet Allah Almighty. How a
mufti (religious jurist) or a court judges you should be of least concern to
you; it is only the judgment of the Supreme Ruler and Knower of the seen and
unseen which matters. Do not become happy merely on seeing your names
registered as Muslims, but remain anxious about how and where your names are
entered in the Register of Allah Almighty.
Real success consists in
your being judged as believers and not hypocrites, obedient and not
disobedient, faithful and not unfaithful, by that God who is the final Judge.
4.0 TAFSEER OF THE VERSE “THUS WE HAVE MADE
YOU A JUST (AND THE BEST) NATION”( [HOLY QURAN CHAPTER AL-BAQARAH 2:143])
Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Thus We have made you [true Muslims — real
believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad and his
Sunnah (legal ways)], a just (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over
mankind and the Messenger (Muhammad) be a witness over you” [Holy Quran Chapter
al-Baqarah 2:143]
There are saheeh
ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which
explain this verse and state that what is meant by ummatan wasata is just and
best, and what is meant by bearing witness over mankind is bearing witness
against the nations on the Day of Resurrection, that their Messengers conveyed
the Message to them. The words of the mufassireen do not refer to anything
other than that.
Al-Bukhaari (4487)
narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Nooh
(peace be upon him) will be called on the Day of Resurrection and it will be
said to him: ‘Did you convey (the message)?’ He will say: ‘Yes.’ Then his
people will be called and it will be said to them: ‘Did he convey (the message)
to you?’ They will say: ‘No warner came to us and no one came to us.’ It will
be said to Nooh: ‘Who will bear witness for you?’ He will say: ‘Muhammad and
his ummah.’” He said: “That is the words of Allaah, ‘Thus We have made you a
just (and the best) nation.’” Ahmad (10891) added: He said: “And they will be
called and they will bear witness that he conveyed (the message), then I will
bear witness for you.”
Imam Ahmad (1164) and Ibn
Maajah (4284) narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “A Prophet will come on the Day of Resurrection accompanied by one man,
and a Prophet will come accompanied by two men, or more than that. Then his
people will be called and it will be said to them: ‘Did this one convey the
message to you?’ and they will say, ‘No.’ It will be said to him: ‘Did you
convey the message to your people?’ and he will say: ‘Yes.’ It will be said to
him: ‘Who will bear witness for you?’ He will say: ‘Muhammad and his ummah.’ So
Muhammad and his ummah will be called, and it will be said to them: ‘Did this
one convey the message to his people?’ They will say: ‘Yes.’ It will be said:
‘How did you know that?’ They will say: ‘Our Prophet came to us and told us
that the Messengers had conveyed the message.’ That is the words of Allaah,
‘Thus We have made you a just (and the best) nation.’ He said: Just, so that
you will be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger will be a witness over
you.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2448.
Ibn Jareer al-Tabari said
in his commentary on this verse: What this means is that just as We have made
you a just nation, bearing witness for My Prophets and Messengers against their
nations, that they conveyed the message to them that I commanded them to
convey, so too My Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) will be a witness for you, that you believed in him and in what he brought
to you from Me. End quote. Jaami’ al-Bayaan, 2/8
Ibn Katheer said in his
commentary on this verse: Wasata here refers to the best and most excellent, as
it was said: Quraysh awsat al-‘arab nasaban wa daaran, i.e., Quraysh are the
best of the Arabs in lineage and abode, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was wasatan fi qawmihi, i.e., the best of his
people and noblest in lineage. And al-salaat al-wusta means the best prayer,
namely ‘Asr prayer, as is narrated in the books of Saheeh and elsewhere.
“that you be witnesses
over mankind” means: so that you will be witnesses over the nations on the Day
of Resurrection, because they will all acknowledge your virtue. End quote.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/181
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: What we learn from this verse is the
superiority of this ummah over other nations, because Allaah says wasatan.
And we learn that this
ummah is just, because Allaah says “that you be witnesses over mankind”, and
the witness is the one whose word is accepted.
And we learn that this
ummah will bear witness over the nations on the Day of Resurrection, because
Allaah says “that you be witnesses over mankind.” Testimony may be given in
this world and in the Hereafter. When the people are gathered and the
Messengers are asked: “Did you convey the message?” they will say, “Yes.” Then
the nations will be asked: “Was the message conveyed to you?” and they will
say, “No bringer of glad tidings or warner came to us; no one came to us.” Then
it will be said to the Messenger, “Who will bear witness for you?” He will say:
“Muhammad and his ummah.” So they will be asked to bear witness on the Day of
Resurrection and they will bear witness, so they will be witnesses over
mankind.
If someone were to say:
How can they bear witness when they did not see?
We say: But they heard it
from one whose words are more authentic than what one sees with one’s own eyes,
i.e., the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). End quote.
Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah, 2/115, 116
Al-Baghawi narrated in
his Tafseer (1/122) that al-Kalbi said: Wasatan means the followers of the
wasat religion, one that represents a middle path between exaggeration and
negligence, because both are blameworthy in the matter of religion. Shaykh
al-Sa’di said in his Tafseer (p. 66): i.e., just and best.
Allaah has made this
ummah just in all matters of religion, and in the middle with regard to the Prophets,
between those who exaggerated about them like the Christians, and those who
shunned them like the Jews, because they believed in all of them in an
appropriate manner.
And they are in the
middle with regard to divine laws; they did not go to extremes like the Jews or
neglect them like the Christians.
And with regard to purity
and food, unlike the Jews whose prayers are not valid except in their own
synagogues and who cannot be cleansed of impurity by water, so good things were
forbidden to them as a punishment; and unlike the Christians who do not regard
anything as impure or forbidden, rather they permitted everything that exists.
Rather the Muslims’ concept of purity and purification is the best and most
perfect. Allaah permitted to them (the Muslims) all good things with regard to
food, drink, clothing and marriage and He forbade to them all that is impure
and evil. Hence this ummah has the most complete religion, the noblest attitude
and the best of deeds. Allaah has bestowed upon them knowledge, forbearance,
justice and kindness such as He did not bestow upon any other nation. Hence
they are ummatan wasata, perfect and just, so that they may be “witnesses over
mankind” because of their justice and fairness, so they will pass judgement
over the people of all other religions, but no one else will pass judgement
over them. Whatever this ummah testifies is worthy of acceptance will be
accepted, and whatever they testify is worthy of rejection will be rejected.
If it is said: How can
their ruling against others be accepted, because when there are two disputing
parties, the word of one against the other cannot be accepted?
The answer is that the
word of one of the disputants cannot be accepted, if there is some doubt about
his character. But if there is no doubt and there is certainty of justice and
good character, as in the case of this ummah, then the aim is to rule with
justice and truth. The condition of that is knowledge and fairness, which both
exist in this ummah so its word will be accepted. End quote.
SOURCES
Islam Q&A, 39962
http://www.islamweb.net/en/article/180301/
Islam Q&A, 4524, Sheikh
Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
