Are we good Muslims? To answer this we need to know the criteria by which Allah Subhanatallah is going to judges us. Contrary to what we think, fulfilling the five pillars of Islam is not the deciding factor…
With the name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
… It is not the deciding factor because Allah Subhanatallah curses that person that prays but fails to see to his neighbor’s needs.
“So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their prayers, those who want to be seen but refuse to supply neighbourly needs” Sura Al Maun 107:4.
By this verse we can deduce that; how we behave towards others is important in determining how good we are and if we use this as the criteria then most of us will fall far short.
We do not care for the aged anymore and the fact that we now have old age homes bares testimony to this. Our divorce rate is shooting through the ceiling because we do not have the ability to get along with others.
In Ihya Uloom Id Deen, Imaam Gazzali (RA) states that a normal Muslim is he who strives to uplift those around him to his level and a good Muslim is he who strives to uplift those around him to a higher position than himself.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ and his companions were noted for giving away their meals to others even though they did not have more food for themselves and they themselves were hungry.
Apart from how we treat our neighbours, doing good deeds for show is mentioned in the above verse as being wrong. “…. those who want to be …. seen….” Sura Al Mauan 107:4.
It is human nature that when we pray five times a day or when we practise a part of our religion such as wearing a hijab etc. we tend to think well of ourselves and we want others to notice. This craving for recognition stems from our carnal desires and we need to fight this.
We are so prone to this that there are movements in Islam which use this to grow their following and they are very sucessful. Doing good deeds to be noticed is being a poor Muslim and we need to be wary of this.
Hazrath Ali (RA) states: “O Servant of Allah! You should know that a true believer maintains a critical distrust of his own self at all times.”
The mistake of Hazrath Dawood (AS) was that he thought well of himself for a few seconds but when he realised this he repented because he felt that this was a sin. In Tasawaff such thoughts are sin.
“….(While saying this) David realised that We had tried him, therefore he sought protection of his Lord and fell down bowing in worship and turned (to his Lord) in repentance.” Al Quran 38:24.
If Hazrath Dawood (AS) made such a mistake then take it for granted that we all do, but most of us do not realise it and this is where the difference lies between us and him.
It is therefore best to think that we are not good because we would then be critical of ourselves and find ways of improving ourselves. This kind of attitude makes us humble and Allah Subhanatallah loves humility. If we think that we are good Muslims then, this kind of attitude stems from pride and it would lead us to complacency.
In another verse of the holy Quran we see again that prayer is not the criterion.
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but righteousness is that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angles, and the books and the Prophets.” Al Quran 2:177
Here again Allah Subhanatallah is directing us towards what is righteousness which is to become a “momin” or believer. If we judge ourselves by this criterion then we also fall short.
If our belief in the hereafter is strong then we would not hesitate to sacrifice this entire world for that which would earn us the hereafter. Unfortunately we are not like this.
This world is everything to us and no matter how much we have of it, it is not enough. Some of us are living in luxury while the majority live in abject poverty. We should be striving with our wealth for the betterment of the people around us but instead we choose to hoard it and squander it on luxuries.
This preoccupation of ours with this material world is proof of our lack of faith.
Apart from this, we Muslims have segregated completely into sects because we have different mosques for different sects and we are constantly bickering heatedly over trivial issues like reading duas while we do not care at all about important issues such as the “halaalness” of issuing halaal certificates or the permissibility of ordering a cheap qurbanie sheep to be slaughtered in another country or the sudden appearance of archways, domes and sharia compliance certificates adorning centuries old banks steeped in interest (riba) or the consequences of our maddressas raffling goods to raise funds (gambling).
The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that a time will come when nations will invite one another to join them to attack Muslims. Someone asked, will it be because we will be few in numbers at that time and the Prophet ﷺ replied: “No, you will be numerous at that time but you will be rubbish like the scuff of a torrent. Allah will then certainly take away the fear of you from the minds of your enemies and will certainly throw wickedness in your hearts. Somebody asked: O Messenger of Allah what will be the cause of our weakness? He ﷺ replied: Love of this world and dislike for death.” Al Hadis 2:29:3:59.
This hadith is about our times because non-Muslim countries are forming coalitions to raid Muslim countries on some pretext or the other. They did this in Iraq, Libya in the early 2000’s.
We are weak because we spend our energies chasing after this world or we are too busy squabbling over minor differences instead of focusing on the Truth.
So what can we do to be better Muslims?
Our religious leaders and people in charge of Islamic organisations can make a difference because they are the ones that influence the thought of the masses. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There are two classes of my followers: when they are good, people will be good and when they are bad, people are bad – the rulers and the theologians.“ Al Hadis 1:4:2:110w.
There is absolutely no doubt that Islam encourages people to seek religious knowledge and to impart it to others. True, sincere learned people hold a high status in Islam for the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that the knowledgeable people are the heirs to the prophets.
However, if people seek religious knowledge and impart it for the wrong reasons, it would cause harm to themselves and to those that follow them and instead of reaping rewards they could end up in hell and instead of guiding people towards righteousness they could mislead people.
So, what are the wrong reasons for imparting knowledge? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoso seeks knowledge to prevail therewith over the learned, or to argue therewith with the fools or to draw the attention of men towards him, Allah will admit him into the fire.” Al Hadis 1:4:2:110w
In all three cases cited in the above Hadis the learned man is drawing attention to himself and this amounts to serving and glorifying himself instead of Allah Subhanatallah.
He is using Islam for his own selfish ends. This is the challenge of the learned man: this is the thing that he has to be careful of because it is so easy for him to feel good about his knowledge and it is so easy for him to try to impress others with his knowledge and it is so easy for him to get caught up in religious debates to show how good he is.
A true learned man does not preach to show how good he is but he preaches to earnestly guide people towards the truth.
True learned men do not have pride. “Once Abu Yazid Bestami (RA), an extraordinarily great saint and Imam was walking along a pathway with some of his disciples. As the pathway got narrow he saw a dog approaching from the other side and he stepped aside and gave the dog the right of way.
One of his disciples had a disapproving thought about this deed. He thought that Allah had honored man above all other creatures and Abu Yazid is the king of saints and he is with his followers. He should not have given way for the dog.
Abu Yazid knew what was in his heart and he replied thus: “I imagined the dog was thinking that ‘what shortcoming was I guilty of at the dawn of time and what exceptional merit that you acquired, that made me be covered in the skin of a dog and you with the robes of honor as the king of saints.” Abu Yazid said that when I perceived this I stepped aside for the dog.” Muslim Saints & Mystics Page 119.
He realized that his status was no achievement of his but it was actually a boon from Allah Subhanatallah. A learned person should not have pride in his knowledge for knowledge is actually Allah Subhanatallah’s gift to him.
Apart from this, as ordinary people we too have to exercise caution. In the times we live in, we have to be critical because people use devious ways to influence people.
Everyone is an expert in marketing today even when it comes to religion. We must not fall for fancy dress, or fancy talks, or fancy events, or fancy mosques, or fancy magazines, or fancy titles.
Do not judge a book by it’s cover. The more fancy, the more cautious we have to be. We have to be critical and take everything with a pinch of salt.
Sadly we even need to be careful of that which we love and hold dear when it comes to our religion because even this is used to trap and mislead people. People even use prayer or the beautiful rendering of the Holy Quran to trap people.
Ibne Siria reports: “This learning is a religion. So look from whom you receive your religion” We have to educate ourselves and keep an open mind so that we do not become someone’s blind follower.
“you are content with knowledge learned (from others): you are seeing with the aid of another’s lamp. When he takes away his lamp, then you will know that you are a borrower not a giver.”.
At the same time we must not think that we know it all, for this will limit us. If we do come across a sincere person then it is imperative that we follow him whole heartedly.
“Follow those who ask no reward from you and who are following the right path.“Al Quran 36:21.
Most importantly, Allah Subhanatallah most certainly listens to us, and we must ask Him for guidance. If we sincerely ask Him then He would surely guide us, and if He guides us, then who can misguide us then? End.
Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad Sallallahu Allayhi Wasallam.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi in 2015.
The Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (fondly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp; +27 84 910 1486